It wasn't that long ago that pretty much every home had some sort of container that was crammed full of plastic bags, a receptacle that lived under the sink, in the pantry or hall closet that was replenished weekly, particularly after a trip to the grocery store.
These bags were so plentiful they often outgrew the container, an issue that became moot when their use was ultimately deep-sixed due to the toll they were having on the environment. It’s hard to argue with the ecological logic behind the ban, although for supposed single-use items, they certainly found a second life through a variety of purposes around the house.
We've moved on to become a greener society and one of those steps forward has been replacing single-use plastic bags with those of the reusable variety, so ostensibly you only require a certain number of bags to accommodate all your shopping needs these days.
For the most part, that seems to be working in our household as we’ve got a basket in the back of our SUV filled with bags that we’ve taken into the grocery store so often that the bottoms of each have been reinforced with an ever-thickening lining of receipts.
However, the notion of only ever needing a handful of bags is still a work in progress. You see, as I was cleaning out the garage last week, I came across a container that was crammed full of, you guessed it, reusable bags.
These weren’t our trusty grocery bags, but rather ones that had been acquired over the years through purchases made at a variety of stores. They’re from those times when we weren't sure we were going to buy something so didn’t bother to bring a bag or when the one or two items we intended to purchase turned into a dozen, taxing our ability to carry them out to the parking lot.
There were a few bags from Winners/HomeSense, a couple from IKEA, another from the Shoe Warehouse, one from Dollarama, quite an attractive one from Trader Joe’s and even one from the Bon Ton Bakery in Edmonton, a bag that at one time contained some of the most delicious pastries on earth, but has since been relegated to the auxiliary bin.
We’ve got the grocery routine down pat, so grabbing bags out of the back is now as automatic as closing the doors or locking the vehicle, but carrying a bag into other stores hasn’t become second nature, at least not yet.
Just last week we popped into FreshCo to pick up two items on what was supposed to be a quick, before dinner stop. We wouldn’t need a bag if we were just getting a couple of things, right, but once we got in there and started looking around, two items soon became four and before too long had grown to eight.
Despite the haul and the awkward array of items, we were insistent about not buying a reusable bag. It wasn’t that we were too cheap, we just didn't have any more room in that container in the garage.
