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Tree Hugging Family - Living Green

Bring Your Own Bag Challenge

by Jennifer on June 1st, 2008

canvas_bagLast month’s paper towel challenge was a little quiet. Still, we’re happy that some of you did participate and cut your paper towel use, and hopefully more of you will participate in this month’s challenge.

This month’s challenge is BYOB - or the Bring Your Own Bag challenge.

Peggy made a nice little chart for her paper towel challenge. Frankly, I’m not that organized, not about challenges anyhow. What I’m going to do is lay out the challenge and some ideas, and we’ll take it from there. Since this month is reusable bag month here at Tree Hugging Family, we wanted our challenge to relate, hence the BYOB challenge.

Your challenge, this month, should you choose to accept it is multi layered…

  1. BYOB - If you’ve got reusable bags, your goal is to take them everywhere. The grocery store, pet supply store, take them when you go clothes shopping.
  2. If you don’t have your own bag to bring, your goal is to get some reusable bags. Get one even.
  3. The end result - no plastic bags coming into your house this month.

Last month I ended up with a few plastic bags. I used them for other things, and currently my house is plastic bag free, which is a nice way to start off this challenge. One way we can chart our success this month is to count up our bags at the end of June. If you already have some plastic bags in your house, keep any new ones that come in somewhere else.

Difficulties with this challenge:

The most likely problem with the BYOB challenge is that one, you have no bags, or two, you forget your bags at home. During the month we’ll be writing posts that should help you with both.

To get started:

  1. Set up an area where you can collect plastic bags you acquire this month.
  2. Get a note on whatever door you leave out of (the garage, the front door, etc.) that says, “DON’T FORGET MY BAGS!”
  3. If you don’t have a bag yet, start thinking about getting one. We’ve done many posts on reusable bags before, so you can read:

Now, are you going to try and BYOB everywhere this month? Let me know in the comments and we’ll have some update posts all month, including a wrap-up post to see how everyone did.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in June 2008

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30 opinions for Bring Your Own Bag Challenge

  • DramaMama
    Jun 1, 2008 at 3:09 pm

    Hey - I enjoy BYOBing a bunch already! One thing that really helped me to remember my bags and keep them organized was a basket in the van. I always had them when I needed them and it was pretty easy to remember to put them into the basket. Before they would be under the seats, all the way in the back, etc and really hard to find. I need ideas like that…keep it easy! Then I don’t give up! Glad to see you are planning to share more tips this month!

  • Heather S
    Jun 1, 2008 at 5:33 pm

    Ugh. I did not participate in the paper towel challenge, because we never use them. But this one hits home. Every time they ask “paper or plastic” at the grocery store, I remember the variety of BYOB I have - sitting at home. . . I wlil definately be trying to change my ways along with the challenge this month.

  • Liz
    Jun 1, 2008 at 6:54 pm

    Hey, this sounds great for me. I have a bunch of bags and I use them semi-regularly but I’ve really been trying to be more hardcore about it. I have a huge, embarrassing collection of plastic bags that I’m trying to put to good uses. Hopefully this will help keep me on track.

  • Jennifer
    Jun 1, 2008 at 7:55 pm

    I’m in - obviously. Glad to see some of you in already. Here’s why I’m in. I don’t have any trouble when it comes to remembering to BMOB to the grocery store, but I do tend to forget to take them elsewhere. We don’t shop much, so that may be why, but if we go somewhere like the pet store, I somtimes forget. Then I make Cedar and me carry all the stuff with no bag, which is not always easy.

    My goal is to keep one or two in the car for surprise trips to a store.

  • Wendy
    Jun 1, 2008 at 8:32 pm

    If I forget to bring mine in and Im only buying 1 or 2 things I walk out(after paying) with no bag…if I forget and I have lots to buy I go back to the van and get them…I too keep mine in the van.
    Now my problem is dh…he is a manager of a grocery store and brings home stuff…in plastic bags!

  • Ginny
    Jun 1, 2008 at 9:17 pm

    I’m totally in, I’ve been getting pretty good at bring my own bag. However, i do still forget. Great challenge!

  • Peggy
    Jun 1, 2008 at 11:47 pm

    I also usually remember to take my bags to the grocery store, but never seem to have them at other places like the clothing stores. So, the challenge will be good for me too.

  • Joe
    Jun 1, 2008 at 11:48 pm

    I’m in.
    Already well stocked in reusable shopping bags, and from the Hillsboro Farmer’s Market, this morning, I picked up a smaller bag to try using for produce.

  • redhead
    Jun 2, 2008 at 1:26 am

    count me in. i’m usually pretty good about my bags - i too keep them in the car, but i also only remember to use them in grocery stores.

  • kisha
    Jun 2, 2008 at 3:10 am

    I am sooooo in. I have about 8 bags in my car and usually take them in the grocery store with me but I forget when I go to like a dollar store. Maybe if I tell my daughter to help me remember she will she’s really great about reminding hubby to turn lights off, lol!!!!!!

  • stacy
    Jun 2, 2008 at 8:32 am

    We secretly did the paper towel challenge with you and it was refreshing. This month we are openly going to join the BYOB Challenge.

  • lucinda
    Jun 2, 2008 at 12:59 pm

    Hi everyone! I’ve been BYOB-ing for a while and have gotten to the point where I never forget them now. I keep about 6 in my car and if I don’t remember to take them back out after the groceries are put away my 11 yr old son will do it for me. The best thing I’ve done was purchase a Chico bag… one of those nylon sacks that stuffs into it’s own ity-bity little pouch. I keep it in my purse so when I run into a shop for a few odds and ends I always have it handy. If I’m only picking up 1 to 3 items I just skip the bag and carry it out. It’s always fun to see the cashier’s face when I skip the bag because they sometimes don’t know what to do with my stuff until I take it from them. If I’m still putting my wallet away or taking out my car keys they sort of just stand there holding my stuff, not quite knowing if they should set it down or hand them to me, lol. I also took all my old plastic bags to be recycled a while ago and instead collect the ones from my mom’s house and use those to line my kitchen garbage bin. I took an empty tissue box, stuck it to the inside door of one of my cupboards and stuff the plastic bags in it.

  • elleno
    Jun 2, 2008 at 2:19 pm

    I love this challenge! I was just talking with someone this morning who was bemoaning the fact that she has bags but forgets them. So here’s what I do.
    1) I keep one bag on the front seat of my car, as a subliminal reminder that I need to bring it with me (along with its friends in the trunk).
    2) I put BRING BAGS on my shopping list! That way, when I get into the store and scan the list I know right away if I’ve forgotten the bags and I go back out to get them.
    3) I get to the store and say “Remember the bags, please” to myself. I learned in an NLP class that if I say “don’t forget” my brain only hears “forget” and will obey!!!
    I also carry an ECOBAGS string market bag, which scrunches up into a neat ball in my pocketbook, for all of the smaller purchases along the way. It also works well in the produce aisle.

    Good luck with the challenge everyone!

  • Jonica
    Jun 3, 2008 at 1:17 pm

    Hi!

    I wanted to join this challenge. I do have some bags that I had gotten that seem to be falling apart. They were the ones for the stores that are selling for under 1 dollar.

    Since I am on the bus and metro alot I think I may need to go to some place like Trader Joe’s and get theirs. But, I wanted to ask if anyone has had the bags and had them last for more than a month?

    Thanks

  • DramaMama
    Jun 3, 2008 at 3:11 pm

    I’ve had the red TJ’s bag for over a year! No complaints!

  • elleno
    Jun 3, 2008 at 3:20 pm

    I have a bunch of canvas bags from ecobags.com and I also use their produce bags. These bags last years, not months. One of the challenges with so many of the inexpensive bags is that they’re just a new level of throwaway bags and they’re not recyclable. Also, I can throw my canvas bags in the wash, which you can’t do with a lot of the less expensive ones. Hope this helps.

  • Jodi Plume
    Jun 4, 2008 at 10:04 am

    I’m in! When we do our regular grocery shopping, we always remember our bags. (I hadn’t been using these for quite awhile and restarted about 3 months ago.) But for the trips to grab a few things on the way home, etc I don’t have them. I really need to keep them in the van. But on the bright side, I have less than 10 plastic bags in the house right now. I use these for emptying the cat box mainly. I have even stopped using these as liners for the trash cans. We do take bags when we go mall shopping, I have some that we don’t use for groceries. And yesterday I needed a few items before going on a hike with our Earth Scouts group and I refused the bag at the checkout. :D So as soon as I post this, I am taking my bags out to the van! Oh and I am taking it one step further and ordering some cotton produce bags this week. trying to get a group buy going on so we can get a discount.

  • Kamber
    Jun 4, 2008 at 2:30 pm

    I’m in. I have lots of reusable bags. I can usually remember them for everything but a small grocery trip. That’s what I need to work on.

  • Jennifer
    Jun 4, 2008 at 8:22 pm

    Wow - it’s great to see so many with reusable bags already. It seems like the majority of the issues surround taking them places other than the grocery store. I’ll try to get some posts up that might help this situation.

  • Jennifer
    Jun 10, 2008 at 12:42 am

    Hey everyone! Go here to report on how you’re doing with the challenge, and to see what stupid mistake I made.
    http://tinyurl.com/4ror7r

  • Give me a break…
    Jun 10, 2008 at 4:11 am

    […] win a children’s book — Think Green! signed by the author. And two, we’re running a green reusable bag challenge this month, and there’s still time to join up. We’re trying to cut our plastic bag […]

  • marye
    Jun 10, 2008 at 9:27 am

    I have a couple of sets. I leave one set in my car, one set in Marc’s truck and then I keep 2 small zip up bags in my purse. They are about the size of a wallet and unzip to a nice size bag. My goal for this month is to make produce bags.

    But..do you guys have any suggestions for things like bulk honey, peanut butter, and spices? If I bring mason jars they weigh too heavy. You can always reuse the old plastic container you used before but this is not the best alternative..
    and with spices in bulk they seep through cloth. :/

  • Jennifer
    Jun 10, 2008 at 12:46 pm

    Marye, I’m going to answer your question in a post - since it’s sort of in depth. I”ll try to remember to link it here.

  • Shontell
    Jun 16, 2008 at 2:05 am

    OOh this is one I have started on my own a few weeks ago. I need some smaller bags, but so far I have brought home only one brown paper bag. I used to have one of those terry cloth plastic bag holders jammed to the gills, but we are currently empty. We took some leftovers to a store nearby that has a recycler for them and used the rest for baby’s diapers. I wasn’t planning on buying much when I went into the grocery store the other day, so I didn’t bring a bag in with me. BUT I was so bent on no plastic, I didnt put any of my fruit in bags either. I loved it, but the cashier gave me a few unhappy sighs as she was ringing up our fruit one at a time. lol. oops.

  • Peggy
    Jun 16, 2008 at 2:20 am

    Hello Shontell. Thanks for joining us.

    If you’re looking for some reusable produce bags, check out Jennifer’s review of hers:

    http://www.ecosmartfire.com/default.php

  • Jennifer
    Jun 16, 2008 at 3:18 pm

    Welcome Shontell! That’s great that you’ve only brought home one bag so far this month. Some cashiers will sigh about anything. I actually ran into two nice cashiers the last two times I went shopping it was a great change.

  • elleno
    Jun 16, 2008 at 4:51 pm

    I remembered to bring my reusable canvas bag into the mall and deferred bringing home 5 plastic bags!! WOW. Proud of myself!

  • Laura
    Jun 20, 2008 at 10:47 pm

    I’ve been discussing the bag thing with my boss and my hubby, and I’m ready to invest! My hubby and I even thought it might help us not to buy so much at the stores, which is an added benefit!

  • Peggy
    Jun 21, 2008 at 1:36 pm

    Great elleno. The mall is a difficult one to remember.

    Laura, please let us know how you like your new bags! Whichever ones you choose, I think you’ll see an improvement over the plastic ones that feel like they’re tearing into your hands.

  • amberstang
    Jun 30, 2008 at 9:18 pm

    I’ve been bringing my Stop n Shop canvas bags to Target and the mall for sometime. I do get strange looks from the salesclerks on occasion, but I come home with no plastic or paper bags. I leave the bag on the car seat as a reminder to take it into the store. Home Depot has a large orange bag which is the perfect size for carrying the bulky items (paper towels, etc).

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