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I may have mentioned that i make lunches for the girls and we go through a fair amount of bread as a result. Add to that that I can easily sit down and eat a loaf of rye bread by myself and you're talking a lot. So I've started going to the bakery each week which I find to be quite enjoyable and it occurred to me today that they give me a new bag with each loaf. So I leaned across the counter and very nicely inquired if it would be OK for me to bring these same bags back and have them put the next loaves into them. A few awkward moments of silence and some bizarre looks later, they said it'd be fine. So I'm over the bread problem as I can now use the same bags over and over. They are thin so we'll see how long that lasts, but I'm pretty psyched about it nonetheless. It's weird how much joy figuring out that little bit of the puzzle brought me, but it's one step closer to keeping the basement from overwhelming me.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
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At a store yesterday the clerk put our ourchase in a plastic bag. I then said that we didn't need the bag so he give us our bagless purchase and threw the bag away! Next time I will have to speck up sooner.
Yep, I'm afraid that's pretty common. If there is no one else in line I try to engage these folks ina polite question and answer session, but generally I will say no bag as soon as they say hey and then say it again as soon as they "make the move". Amazing how people are trained to do this without thought.
I'm certain you've thought of this but I'll throw it out there to you anyway. Since you already have that plastic bag, obviously it's best to keep using it. But when it gets too flimsy, consider bringing your own smaller cloth bags with you. I try to package most of my produce, bread, bulk grain items, etc. in reusable cloth and mesh bags. You can find pretty much any size if you look carefully, they last for years, and they're easy to periodically clean.
Thanks so much for taking on this incredible project! I look forward to following you all year.
Hey guess what else works you could start baking your own bread too. But if the bakery is whilling to work with you great. The plastic bag debacle
I often pick up only one item- a bag of whole coffee beans which I self-serve from a bin into a shiny paper (and what else?) bag. The cashier always says, "Paper or plastic?" I smile and reply, "It's aready IN a bag." This happens everytime. The name of the store? Whole Foods.
Well, I know that Anonymous had bad bag luck at Whole Foods, but if you go there you can pick bread out of their bakery section yourself with their little tong-thingies and put it in whatever bag you want.
I have a question for Lillian -- if you use your mesh bags to hold your produce, how do you get around it when they have to weigh what's in it? I love the idea, but wonder about that.
Also, I've been taking my re-usable bags to Target with me, and they are completely baffled. The number of plastic bags that go out of there is phenomenal. I'm going to tell them that they should make and sell their own re-usable bags with a big Target on the side. I''m sure that'll go nowhere...
Hey Tiffany,
Thanks for the comments. I don't use any bags for produce, just put them right on the scale and no one seems to have a problem. I think the whole foods things is more ironic than endemic as it really depends on the baggage checker. Target does sell re-usable but my bet is that they give it to you in a bag (hehe).
dave
As for the mesh bags, Dave's suggestion of weighing individual pieces of un-bagged produce is one thing I do too. But if it's something like say, brussel sprouts, I generally keep the produce in my mesh bag.
As for the weight of the bag, I have two options/suggestions.
First, just eat the cost. I try to use the lightest/ smallest bags I can find and just pay the few cents extra it costs from the additional weight. This works as long as you aren't buying black truffles at $200/lb.
Second, I try to do a lot of shopping at a local co-op (I'm lucky to have an outstanding one within walking distance) and they are great about letting me pre-weigh all of my containers and bags. Then they subtract it from the total at the register. I'm realistic though, so I know that the average 17 year old at the local grocery store might not get this concept. No harm in asking though, right?
buy some reusable produce bags from www.reusablebags.com organic free trade fair wage cotton and use them for everything. For more plastic rubbish free sources go to www.plasticisrubbish.wordpress.com
We bake our own bread regularly in a bread maker machine. but when buying bread from a bakery wrapping it in newspaper is may also be fine which you can then recycle/compost.
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