What a lovely collection. I carry my bags in the back of my car as well. I have a large thermal bag where I keep all the other bags for:

1. grocery store
2. Wal-Mart
3. health food store
4. library
5. book store
6. Aldi (special totes that open up and hook on the sides of the cart for easy filling)

I also carry a tote that folds up, and when open has wheels on it. Great for using at the flea market and farmers market.

-Grainlady (aka baglady ;-)

I just got the neatest shopping bag from Home Depot. It ain't really pretty like Alison's but it has great functionality for grocery shopping.

It expands to the width of the shopping cart and has clips that hook on to the sides of the cart to keep it open while the bag person fills it with groceries. Once the groceries are in, pull up the clips, grab the handles/straps and you are on your way.

It's only 99 cents, roomy, easy to place groceries in, and sturdy.

Those are cute alison! I have totes in the back of my car too, and a cooler. My totes are reused, my husband gets them at work when they issue new manuals and such, but they always have the name of a product or company I've never heard of on them. When they wear out I am going to make my own, thanks for the idea.
Di

Very cute bags, Alison! I have started using reusable cloth bags, too.

Especially after reading the article in the link. Made me physically ill....

Here is a link that might be useful: plastic bag waste

Wow, what a link! Thats terrible, I get so many plastic bags. I am going to start taking my totes to all the other stores not just Aldis.
Di

We have been using reusable bags that we bought at Trader Joes. They aren't as charming - they are made out of plastic recycled from bottles rather than cloth and I find the patterns a little garish, but they fold flat when not in use and are stiff enough to stand up by themselves for loading and unloading. The form factor is about the same as a grocery store paper bag so they can hold a lot and pack well into our trunk. They are very sturdy. Whole Foods has the same thing available with a different garish pattern - maybe the plastic doesn't take subtle colors? (See the link below for a picture.) Whole Foods charges just under a dollar for them.

We keep a set in our main car for using at any grocery store. In our other car, which isn't used for shopping as often, we keep a motley set of cloth bags acquired over the years.

Here is a link that might be useful: Whole foods bag made from recycled bottles

I made myself a set of cloth bags at least 10 yrs ago, but they aren't nearly as pretty as Alison's. I've only lost one of them so far. I have to keep them in the car all the time because I'd never remember to bring them along, even though my grocery shopping is always quite planned. I also have another cloth bag in my purse for miscellaneous shopping trips.

Despite using re-usables for groceries, I always seem to have a steady supply of plastic shopping bags accumating in the cupboard. However, I use these for my kitchen garbage, and usually balance the in-flow with the out-flow. I have a huge conceptual problem with buying trash bags for the express purpose of throwing them out!

Alison, those look great! I love my tote bags..I use them everywhere..and for many reasons..I need to make some of my own too..
I have a few from Safeway, and the most are from Albertsons..Worth 99cents really...
Costco has larger ones..they are kinda cool..I'll go check out HomeDepot too..I need to pick up a quart of touch up paint anyway...
I have two "purse/bags" I've been working on..I need to just get them done! LOL

Very nice bags. I also keep mine in the car but sometimes I still forget! Mine were the 99 cents at the local market and are made out of recycled soda bottles. They fold and snap for storage and are larger than the ones I've seen lately. I use them to pack food for trips also. That said, I'll have my sewing machine out for a stitch and b-tch session this weekend (sewing a new bimini top for the boat) so I may try my hand at making a couple.

Those are beautiful. I wish I had your "rudimentary " sewing skills!

Alison, great bags, I too wish I had your sewing skills!
I went to a grand opening for Vitamin World and they were giving away the canvas bags, but they were folded up like an oblong wallet and I actually thought they were coupon holders. They had velcro near the top on one side and then another velcro on the back side, near the middle, which I liked the compact style, but they weren't near as nice as yours Alison.

Brenda

Isn't it great so many places are giving away/selling cheap the tote bags? I like the recycled soda bottle ones, altho' I'm still partial to sturdy canvas. (A friend of mine made a good 10 bags out of a painters drop cloth. Talk about cheap!)

I don't have a picture of them, but last year I found $1 totes at Garden World in all sorts of hideously bright colors. I got three for a friend in eye-gashingly garish yellow, and painted the symbol for radioactive material on the side. You don't overlook them very easily!

I still get plastic bags ocassionally, if I forget, or if I have ice cream or chicken. (Baggers are pretty well trained to automatically wrap chicken in a plastic bag no matter what else you've got.) I also use them for kitchen garbage and to clean out the litter boxes, so I figure I get at least one more use out of them. But I've definetly pared down my consumption of them.

Someone mentioned on one of these forums that the standard practice in Europe is to charge shoppers for plastic bags -- that might be the fastest way to encourage people to bring their own!

I've gotten several shopping bags from Trader Joe's, from the local Goodwill for a few cents, and even a couple from my independent grocer for 99 cents each.

They aren't as pretty as yours, but they work. I usually walk to the store, but I think I'm going to toss a couple in the back of the Jeep, just as a backup!

Maybe I could get Ashley to paint some with fabric paint to make them prettier......

Annie

I've got a story to relate about such reusable cloth bags, but I hope I don't offend anyone.

Both of my parents passed away within the past 2 years, and their remains were cremated, pending family decisions on their final dispositions. Recently, we finalized those plans, and I went to the storage facility to take possession of their remains. I was a bit taken aback when I was presented with both urns, each placed in the same type of reusable fibre bag that my supermarket sells for $.99, except these were boldly emblazened with the name and logo of the funeral home.

Gee, how can one tastefully ever reuse these??? Even a thick-skinned type like myself wouldn't risk grossing out the bag-boy at Co-op by handing these over. It certainly impressed to me, at least, that there are certain circumstances when single-use disposable bags are quite OK.

Linda, That link is amazing!! I can see how it made you sick to your stomach, although it is really well done. I have a collection of reusable bags but none are anywhere as nice as Alison's. I am a bit of a bag lady so i lust after those. Alison, you should try selling them on Ebay. You could do really well.

I still use bags to contain poopy diapers so they don't smell as much. However I take all the bags my dad has collected everytime I go to visit him. I doubt he will ever change his ways and this at least reuses them a little. However soon I will be all done with diapers. However my CSA is always looking for bags so i will still drive my dad's here.

My favorite store to shop for groceries is now using biodegradable plastic bags.

-Robin

Admittedly, I forget my cloth bags all the time. I have a bag of tote bags - one thing about being a teacher, everytime you go to a workshop, someone gives you a new tote bag. So I haven't got the excuse that I don't have any!

For those who still want to use plastic bags or at least help the environment - Wal-Mart has a program that I believe is nationwide. Schools collect plastic shopping bags and bring them to Wal-Mart, who donates money to that school. Between my two schools, in the past year Wal-Mart has donated over $3,000 in cash for the plastic bags that the kids (and their parents) bring in to school. Oh, it's a space user, that's for sure. But if any school wants a lesson learned during a fundraiser, this would meet the need!

DonnaR/CA

We get our totes from the grocery stores that we shop in. They are the large plain colored totes with the store logo on them. Nothing as pretty as what you have made Alison. Very nice. NancyLouise

I recently found the string grocery bags we used when we lived in Israel 1970-74. Back then one had to provide ones own bags. I tossed them in the washer/dryer and I keep them in my car. They aren't large, but they work!

I also bring my own paper bags into the market (I have paper and fabric). I put them in the top of my cart (where the kid sits) and if don't have a shopping list, and suddenly think of another item to get from across the store, I just jot it down on the paper, LOL.

For me, it works to keep a stash of bags in the back of my van. I've also noticed Trader Joes and some other grocers switching to brown paper, not plastic.

Alison: maybe the next swap, you could send some bags....