On a Lighter Note

[drafdog]

When I was younger, the groceries came home in paper bags. They were relatively stiff and sturdy and we tended to reuse them for various purposes, like packing old newspapers for collection by the Scouts. The bags stood upright in the trunk of the car and when we got home, it was easy to pick them up and carry them into the house. But we have “progressed” to plastic bags. These flimsy, formless, limp objects sag and collapse around the contents and when you arrive home, half the groceries are rolling around loose in the trunk. On top of that they end up filling the land-fill sights. I even remember rummaging about in the trunk of my car and finding the remains of a head of lettuce that must have been there for a couple of weeks at least. Some cars are now equipped with cargo nets that stretch across the back of the trunk and are of some help in controlling the problem. Some mini-vans have a row of tabs on the back of the bench style rear seat on which to hang plastic bags. This is also useful. But the system that I have been using seems to work best for me. You might give it a try.
I bought an extra laundry basket. I got one of the better ones with reinforced handles for better strength. It stays in the trunk most of the time. I take it into the house to collect the returnable bottles (soda and beer) and carry the lot to the car in one load. After shopping the groceries go into the basket thus avoiding all of the scattered cans and bottles rolling around in the back. I live in an upstairs apartment with no elevator and it is a relief to be able to pick up the basket carrying all my groceries and carrying it up to the apartment in one trip.
Lately I’ve gone another step and refurbished an old (classic) 10 speed bicycle. It now sports a pair of fold-away baskets on the back. The “ecological” cloth bags from the grocery store are an exact fit for the baskets. I’ve put over 100 miles since the start of summer on the bike running to the bank, the grocery, library, church (6 miles) and just around the neighborhood.
God has been very good to you. Isn’t it time you did something good for yourself?

 

[Allegra]

When I lived in a third floor apartment, I always packed my groceries in a laundry basket. I shopped at a store that only had paper sacks with handles and the handles always came off while I was carrying them. About the third time my pickles and steak went bouncing down the staircase, I started using a laundry basket to get them upstairs.

 

[SgtSchultz]

I just ask for paper bags when I get a lot of groceries. This way I can carry them in one bag instead of three or four, plus they don’t shift all the time. I, too, use them for recycling old newspapers and other miscellaneous paper waste, like cereal boxes or old papers.

Other times I’ll use a satchel or backpack when grocery shopping, or if on the way home from work I’ll stash a few things in my work bag and a few in a plastic bag.

 

[Gordon_Sims]

I’ve been using the cloth grocery bags for several years. I’m to the point where I’m going to have to start replacing some of them because they’re falling apart. I even had the handles rip free on one bag as I was bringing in milk a couple weeks ago.