BYOB

Even though I am a fan of booze, that is not what I am talking about here. (Maybe a post on green beer later, and I don't mean beer on St. Patty's Day.) I am talking about reusable bags.

While living in Denver last year and working at a church I wrote a lesson set on "Keeping God's Green Earth Green" and one of my teachers asked if we could make reusable bags for the kids to give to their parents. I loved the idea, and as I delved into the topic more I realized how important it really was.

Images like this one above haunted my computer screen. We live in a disposable country; where everything is made for a one-time-use-only. But why?

As you might have read in one of the comments of the blog, I was not raised like this. My grandparents, the U's, shopped at places like Aldi (a fine German discount grocery. I am slightly biased to most thing German, since I was a German major in college.). At Aldi, they do not give you free plastic bags. If you need a bag, you pay. Plain and simple. My grandparents always filled their cart with small boxes and fabric bags upon arrival to the store. I remember how embarrassed I was that they did this because they went against the norm, but now I realize how ingenious it really was. They just kept there boxes and bags in the trunk and had them on hand every time they shopped. Their house wasn't filled with plastic bags with no real use, and they weren't filling their trash with them everyday as well.

I remember buying my first reusable bag a little over a year ago. I remember how proud/embarrassed I felt when I walked into a store for the first time with it. But once I opened my eyes and looked around I realized that I wasn't alone. The store was filled with people carrying reusable bags. Awesome! I still get a giggle (yes, I giggle.) when I come in toting my bags and someone says, "Cute bag!" or "That reminds me. I need to stick those in my trunk."

One of the things that I love about my reusable bags is that I can get different colors and designs. Currently, none of mine match and I have different ones for different things. They are an expression of me. (Yes, I am comparing myself to a bag.) Also, at most stores you get a discount for bringing in your own bag. It is usually around $.03 a bag, but hey, every cent counts in my budget.

This Christmas I went a little out of my comfort zone and gave one Chico bag to my MIL and FIL (mother-in-law and father-in-law), my SIL and BIL (you get the idea), my mom and dad, and my SIL and brother. This is out of my comfort zone because I do not like forcing my ideals onto others. I do not consider this blog forcing because I am not holding anyone at gun point to read it. Anyways, I just thought this would be a little change they could all make without feeling like a tree-hugging-hippie. (No offense to any tree-hugging-hippies out there.) Even though I have no idea if they will use it or not, I am happy to know I gave them the option.

Do you use reusable bags? Why or why not? Do you have any favorites? Leave a comment, and let me know!

P.S. I find stats pretty boring to read, but I am more than happy to provide any for those of you that might be interested about the affects of plastic bags on the environment.