I am sorry I don't have any great storage ideas for you but I wanted to share that Trex, the makers of composite decking, is partnering with schools to have plastic bag drives. They recycle the plastic bags into their products.

Our school is participating. Maybe you could find out if a school in your area is participating in a plastic bag collection drive or you could help start one in your area.

Here is a link that might be useful: Trex Plastic Bag Recycling Programs

Okay. The first step is acknowledging you have a problem. Do you have plastics recycling where you live? If so, remember there there is a new home and a new thing for an excess object to become.

Have you checked the number on the yoghurt containers? I always reused food containers until the research came out about how plastics that were meant for one time use degrade. If they're number 5 they should be okay. Otherwise, use them for crafts or storing marbles or something, or recycle them. Remember, hand washing them could easily be as big a resources suck as recycling them and buying new.

It sounds to me like you need an airing cupboard for your plastics. Something like the European dish draining cupboard where you could put your rough dries to finish and have draining wands for the bags. Then you'd only have to worry about the long term storage. Like a nice deep drawer for the containers where you could stack them by size, and have organized trays with the tops on their sides so that they're easy to find, and a covered basket for the bags (covered so they don't escape).

Another thing to do is look into bento boxes for the lunches. There are some really lovely ones that might seal well enough that you could do away with a lot of the bags. :) And even though you'd have to dry them too, you might be able to part with some of the packed away yoghurt containers. And you might look into getting some reusable fabric sandwich and snack bags. You're washing them anyway, and it might be easier to deal with the cloth ones.

Hi plllog. Yup; problem long-acknowledged but there's no 12-step program. I think I'm actually just a few miles north of you and yes, there is a massive (and spurious) recycling program in effect. Just like it's easier to design an issue properly before it becomes a problem to fix, reusing is 'more-right' than recycling. Until I have nothing left to reuse, I will not be comfortable taking anew. Thus purchasing bento boxes or fabric containers, etc, isn't going to cut it either. I hear ya (and dh, loudly, frequently) that cleaning is not necessarily resource-optimal. Therein lies the pathology.

Bethatasitmay... What a fantastic idea an airing cupboard sounds. I wonder if you could just design a drawer with one of those metal lattices rather than wood as the box? If it were at the bottom then any dripping would be OK, probably (hopefully); it'd dry soon enough. This is a dry climate so mold isn't a huge problem usually. The bags just go back in the cardboard box they're sold in once dry.

Thanks a ton for these ideas. You wouldn't happen to have seen a picture of a 'European dish draining cupboard' would you?

"You wouldn't happen to have seen a picture of a 'European dish draining cupboard' would you?"

We used a tiered Rev-a-Shelf pullout behind a regular wood cabinet door. It's all metal latticework, so air flow is good. Not very European, but it works well as a drying cupboard for recalcitrant plastic storage containers.

I keep plastic baggies in a drawer thingy under the sink. All of my bathrooms get these bags for the waste baskets. Any garbage from fridge gets put in these also before they head in the garbage. I also have an aversion to touching left over sink remnants (no garbage disposer-septic) so I will use leftover baggies/plastic for scooping that gunk up.

I would like to state I do use reusable bags for planned shopping,but plastic still finds it's way into our home, so I too, feel better at least re-using before re-cycling. I've lined paint trays, covered brushes, cut them open to protect counters during projects and taped them down. I will even wear them if I can during DIY projects rather than buy new plastic!!! Can't help for the food storage container bit I don't use them.

Maybe you should just make sure they can't be re-used more than once, so you have no choice but to re-cycle them after that.

Irish- love the link- I'm going to look into that for our school.

Oh, yes, I do agree about reuse! I finally was vindicated for my collection of Chinese soup containers (which aren't appropriate for reuse for food) when I was sorting mosaic tiles for the backsplash in my laundry room and used them all! My point about the bentos and fabric bags is that they might be things you could machine wash (saving resources) and which would (hopefully) be more reliably food safe.

I hear you about not buying new, but when it's negatively impacting your quality of life, it's a problem, not conservation. For instance, why do you have to save all the yoghurt containers in the kitchen? The non-refood soup containers are in my studio for crafts projects. Maybe you could have a box in a storage area for excess containers, where if you should run out in the kitchen (fat chance!) you could grab a few, and you could donate to the kindergarten or whoever needs containers, and if you overflow the box, you could actually let go of the extras and recycle them. I do this with cardboard boxes. I reuse the heck out of them, but at some point the overflow go to other people or recycling. It becomes house poop. It's very satisfying to void the bowels of one's house.

Here's a blog with a so-so picture of a drying cabinet. Scroll down for it. Here's a better one of the inside. Much better pictures.

Your magic drawer sounds great, but if you pack 'em in they won't dry, and I wouldn't take that bet on the moisture being okay. If you have room for a drying cabinet, however, you could use it for a lot more than just the plastics. :)

And do you have one of these? The great thing about this style is that you can drape a bag over as many of the wands as you need to keep it open to dry, or dry a bunch of little ones at a time. And you could mount a couple in your drying cabinet or put them on the shelves.

The way we deal with plastics and other consumables in the kitchen:

1. Plastic lunchbox containers get stored in a drawer that is about 9" deep (usable depth measured on inside) and 15.5" wide (on inside.) Pyrex storage/baking/mw dishes get stored in similar drawers. Lids get stored in shallow drawers above.
2. Our large plastics get stored on a super susan along with lunch boxes and smaller insulated snack bags. These plastics get used very very rarely.
3. Plastic bags that can be reused for food storage get stored in a small rectangular waste basket under the sink (we don't have any hazardous cleaners under the sink.)
4. Recyclable containers, all unreusable plastic bags and all recyclable metal get dropped in a chute in the mudrrom that goes to a big bin in the basement. Dh sorts it into the proper categories before going to the transfer station (dump).
5. We use very few paper towels (mostly for puppy accidents and cat hairballs.) We have a deep drawer full of rags next to our sink. We use dishcloths instead of sponges.
6. We reuse AL foil when possible. We store clean, flattened pieces on top of the toaster oven.
7. Compost goes into a container that pivots out from under the sink when we open the door.

I had difficulty giving up the plastic container habit but I really don't like storing food in plastic--I've always used glass or metal when possible (I do have a glass jar saving habit that is a bit out-of-hand). I bought a bunch of lunch box containers when my daughter started school. She's 22 now and my teen son is still using the same containers. If I had young kids now, I would invest in some of the metal lunchbox containers coming out now instead of the plastic.

Thinking back, I think I had to ask other family members to start throwing recyclable one-use plastic containers into recycling when I wasn't looking. It didn't take long for me to realize that life was improved by not having them around.

We use pyrex containers with plastic lids (that can be replaced without replacing the whole container) and canning jars (also with replaceable lids) for most of our storage needs. We hand wash all plastic (except plastic meant to be exposed to heat)--I found the dw made plastic containers brittle and more likely to crack. I have some larger permanent plastic containers but I very rarely use them. I bought them for pot lucks and holidays on the road but I find I tend to use pyrex and metal dishes instead.

The nice thing about the pyrex is that it is multi use--along with food storage and toting prepared food to other places, I use it a lot for baking, reheating items in the oven, mw'ing, and serving.

Good luck! I think you should seriously rethink devoting resources (time and space) to processing and storing plastic that wasn't meant to be reused--especially since you stated that you don't like using plastic! If you're storing to reuse for another purpose, why not store them in a place where space is less valuable?

Here are pictures of our plastic lunch box container and pyrex container storage:

We have a lot of leftovers in the fridge right now and a stack of larger round pyrex is missing in that drawer. We used to store used plastic bags in the bottom drawer to the left of the rectangular pyrex dishes but I decided to use the drawer for bread and oatmeal. I think the container under the sink works out better--it does a better job keeping the bags from puffing out (but I don't like to keep them too tight just in case a little moisture is left in them.) It's difficult to tell from the pictures but the drawer with rectangular dishes is right under the one with the round pyrex ones (to give you an idea of drawer depth.)

I use reusable bags when grocery shopping and the mall, yet plastic bags still find their way into our house.
I reuse bread bags when sending in my sons' snacks or wrapping anything "to go", like when I take leftovers in for lunch at work. I use any extra plastic bags instead of plastic wrap when storing leftovers in the fridge. I ran out of plastic wrap a few months ago and have not really needed it since. About once a month I go to the drawer for some and then remember I forgot to replace it yet again. The plastic bags from fresh vegatables work great as a separate layer when defrosting meat in the fridge (in its own package). Bread plastics work for that too.

When my sons were little, the plastics worked for diapers as we never kept a pail in the house. Each one would get wrapped, knotted and usually thrown outside soon. If you know someone with a baby, it is a good way to purge.

I use a lot of plastic when painting to cover the rollers and brushes overnight (in the fridge) and even to cover my feet or shoes. I also cut open bags and attach them to the blue tape to make edges even more foolproof.

When I packed to move, I would wrap things in their own plastic bag in addition to padding, so if something broke it was contained. I like to think it added extra protection. Of course, I also used sheets, towels, placemats and clothes to wrap my delicate stuff so as not to need designated packing materials. For instance, I'd unpack a box and have a stack of t-shirts on one side and a bunch of china on the other.

I do reuse Ziplocks, but never if they had meat or dairy in them. The heat/cleaning needed to sterilize would be worse for the environment than throwing them out. By using the disposable kind of plastic, we avoid buying or using ziplocks a lot of the time. I do admit than nothing beats ziplocks for storing chopped meat as it can be spread flat like a thick album and therefore defrost quickly. It works for leftover taco meat as well.

I do use leftover chinese containers, but never heat in them. They come in handy all over the house. If you have extras, I am sure the school's art dept would be happy to take them off your hands.

I am a lot like you as I find it terrible to part with something that I may be able to use someday. I feel much better if I can find a place that will use things and try to avoid throwing anything out.

I am looking forward to use drawers for my plastics in my new kitchen. As it is, they are in a base cabinet and when you open a door, you need quick reflexes to keep things from hitting the floor, lol. I do promise to pare down somehow, but I am reformed a bit from how I used to be ;)

As an elementary librarian, Plllog is right; school's are always looking for egg cartons, chinese containers, laundry detergent caps etc. Would you be able to donate, knowing they would be used and really appreciated?

Yes! I can donate to schools with a clean conscience! I may have to go that route. Egg cartons I save in towering stacks to return to the egg farmers; ditto the veggie containers. Etc. It is quite the sickness. plllog, I know those wooden rod-devices for drying bags -- but owning one would require buying something! Funny, eh? Mostly, I determined long ago that they're just not really big enough for me; a friend had one so I got to see it in use all the time. What I found worked for me was those cheapo plastic (and bought for the dedicated purpose: shock!) hanging drying thingeymabobs with clips on the end designed for "lingerie". I could get them at a dollar store and hang them from a towel rack. You can clip dozens of bags to these, open ends up for water-escape. I have photos of all this somewhere but I doubt it would interest anyone, really.

I could go on and on but it's more about pathology and obsessive-compulsive games, I think, than home-storage! Zelmar, you're right: I am seriously rethinking devoting so many resources of all sorts to the scourge that is plastic. At the least I'll redouble my efforts to avoid acquisition, but I will actively, also, engage others to just get rid of it since I have this stupid hangup about it. You are quite right: life is better without it; life is short.

I really like the idea of one pull out garbage bucket devoted to plastic bags. And some paper along the side of it (I have stacks of those too though those have thinned out over the years at long last. Don't even get me started on mailing envelopes...). Anything else gets donated for reuse and reuse once is just going to have to be good enough (I reuse indefinitely and that's the source of my reluctance...).

I agree completely about pyrex as saving utensils that automatically double for reheating and are washable. There will be a drawer for those. And a drawer for the lunch plastic. Does it drive you crazy having the lids in separate drawers? Perhaps it's OK to pull out two drawers per single container's use because it's all well-organized and where it's expected to be. I often store plastics with lids on even though it's space-intensive because nothing irks me so much as having to hunt for a proper lid.

Thanks for the ideas and pictures, all. And the setting-straight. I know it of course and speaking out about it really is like standing up at a 12-step meeting and confessing your need for help! ('I loathe plastic but cannot manage to make it go away'). So I appreciate the ideas for limiting it and taming it and just saying no.

just an idea about containers and lids - and trying to match them up.
A friend of mine labels all her containers and lids with a permanent marker.
One letter per size. So when searching for a lid for a bottom she sees it is labelled R and then looks for lids labelled R.

When i stayed at her I did find it interesting and easy to match up

A note too about the recycling of plastics. That wonderful stuff they make soft water repellant sweaters and the like from, whose name escapes me now, is recycled plastic

I think you mean fleece...

It really helps there are other people out there who are as careful (ok.. crazy) about their plastic bags as I am. My dh just does not get it. I reuse and re-purpose them for just about everything. I also avoid getting them in the first place, yet never quite get rid of all.
I'll be at a checkout and say I don't need a bag and the cashier will look at me like I am crazy. I carry out a bunch of items in my bare hands if I don't have one with me. My biggest mistake is bringing too small a bag or finding a big sale and coming up short. I forget to put them back in the car sometimes or if I drive dh's, I find that he cleaned out his car and put them in the house on purpose...grrr..... As I said, he does not get it....

Next plan of attack is packaging from ordering online. I do sell on ebay from time to time (am a power seller from years ago) and may need them someday for shipping, but I collect almost every one that comes in and know I shouldn't. Once our new kitchen is set up and the materials (boxes all over) for all the renovation/extensions are out of the bsmt, garage and every nook and cranny, I swear I will organize all the odds and ends that need homes. I will donate what I can't use (I already give a lot out on freecycle) and reclaim the space for ourselves instead of for "stuff". I always hear George Carlin in my head when I think of all the "stuff" I accumulate, lol.

I keep my lids in baskets and trays, vertically and organized by size. It doesn't take but a few seconds to put them in the right group than to just shove them in. The baskets also make it easy to lift the lids in and out. I use one with the lids for my pyrex bowls in the cupboard as well. I don't have lid issues since I put them in baskets. :)

I think you might like something like these for lunches:

http://hyenacart.com/agreenerway/

I rarely use plastic bags, and most of my kid's lunch is in a plastic tupperware type of container. But I keep meaning to make some cute snack bags, when I finally finish my kitchen.

Here's an idea to use instead of plastic wrap

http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/how-to/how-to-make-reusable-bowl-covers-home-hacks--108271

And we use all cloth napkins and "unpaper" towels to pretty much eliminate using paper.

We have one large (wide and deep) drawer for plastic containers (e.g. Tupperware), which are mostly used for storing leftovers and for school lunches. I reuse plastic containers when we have them, mostly for bringing dinners to neighbors (like when someone has a baby) or sending leftovers home after having guests. My drawer isn't nearly as neat as zelmar's, so no picture!

Bags: despite using the reusable bags for grocery shopping, we still end up with plastic bags. But now we have a 65lb dog, so let's just say we have other uses for them...

My issue is shopping bags from clothes stores. I just can't throw those away or recycle them immediately; they're just too nice. So I try to cut down when shopping by having purchases from multiple stores put into one bag. Then I reuse them for everything (donations to charities, sending stuff to school, holding papers for recycling, etc etc) but I still have a stack! It seems like such a waste - my DD will buy a single tee shirt from some place like Hollister and it comes home in a nice heavy paper bag with a cloth ribbon handle. So we try to reuse those when we go clothes shopping, because honestly I don't need more bags with pictures of half naked male models. (OK, maybe that's no so bad.)

If you have bags with pics of half naked male models, I'd gladly take your extras if that would help ;)
Maybe I could use them to store my lids in and get a smile every time I put away leftovers....

Just seconding what dianalo said about the old shopping bags - every time my son gets something from Abecrombie and Fitch I find the bags in my 14 year old daughters room! She seems to have taken a liking to the half naked male models as well!

Here is a link that might be useful:

Plastic bags: find a friend with a cat or a baby. Done, and they will be warmly welcomed too.
--> Unfortunately, it's the rare plastic bag that can take being heated without leaching chemicals harmful to us/our water supply -- I used to be a fanatical dishwasher-plastic-bag-washer, too, but my more eco-aware man has weaned me from that habit.

Plastic containers: recycle or use elsewhere in the house (paints, crafts). They are dangerous to reuse for food, and even the made-for-food ones wear out fairly quickly and are not very eco-smart. Do consider using glass containers instead for lunches and leftovers. You can get super deals on old pyrex containers at garage sales and eBay, and the suckers can be repeatedly sterilized at high heat forever and ever.

Clothes shopping bags: ditto cat/baby, or use them as a spill-safe tote for your glass lunch containers.

[I am to books what you are, apparently, to plastic containers. Glad to welcome you to the ranks of irrational hoarders. ;-) ]

Ah ha! Someone I can relate to re: books! My DH thinks I'm crazy b/c I've kept every book I've ever bought...and 95% are Science Fiction and Fantasy (heavy on the SF). The shelves in our Comp Room/Library are stacked 2-deep with books!

My DH got me a Kindle last year for Christmas in the hopes that it would cut down on some of the "book clutter" (as he calls it). But, I really prefer a physical book to an eBook, there's something about actually holding a book in your hands...

[BTW...I re-read most of them from time-to-time.]

Books? Where? Books!!! Books!!!!!! Books aren't clutter!!! Books are people, too!

I do a lot of no-thank-you-ing on bags, and reuse the heck out of them too, but books generally need bags and I'll take one if I don't have my own with me. Story I read in the Times many years ago. Guy goes to bookstore to buy a big stack of books (9 or something). Young girl at cash wrap asks if he wants a bag. He says yes. She scolds him for not saving a tree. He responds, "Look around you, Honey! This is a tree graveyard!!"

Excess paper, envelopes etc can be shredded and added to the compost - it's just more 'browns'. That's where my junk mail goes (yes, the colour ink is fine: they're all derived from soy these days)

I made myself some netting bags from stuff leftover from a sewing project (it's hat veiling). Weighs nothing - I use them for produce at the supermarket and never use the plastic produce bags. The cashiers are all used to it now, and they all nod approvingly.

hi aliris..

I just want to say that I work at a supermarket and I always thank my customers who bring their reusable bags.

I ALSO thank my customers who refuse bags, paper or plastic.

Thankfully, I have noticed more and more people finally becoming aware of our society's overuse of plastic. We still have a long way to go however. The younger generation is much more aware than the older.

dianalo...I would never look at you like you were crazy if you refused bags for your order, no matter how large it was! I would thank you appreciatively, and offer to have someone help you to your car! You are doing something that benefits everyone. We need more people like you!

The customers who want "double plastic and bags packed light," are the ones I would like to "give a look"...if you know what I mean.

KA:)

OK...I have one suggestion to offer.

Keep the sandwich bags (or whatever container you use for sandwiches)
IN the bread drawer.

My grandmother used to make plastic bag wreaths...they are actually very pretty if done well...
Here's one idea, but google it for hundreds of variations :)

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

You sound like DM who is a compulsive hoarder--sees the value in EVERY little piece of garbage. She never throws away/recycles anything. Now, you can't even get into 95% of her house. Stop while you have the chance! ;)

Hahaha my husband's the same way. I just got FED UP with all the crazy plastic things everywhere and how hard it was to find a lid even when organized...so I gave away EVERYTHING. I was so tired of opening the cupboard and watching everything tumble out onto the floor which would eventually happen once the organization went away. Now that we've lost some storage space due to finally getting a dishwasher put in our old house, I wanted to use only really necessary dishes so I got rid of lots of things we don't really use or need or that make us feel cluttered in the kitchen. I didn't just get rid of the recyclables and cheap storage containers but I have 3 kids and I got rid of even their plastic cups and bowls! And two of them are only 4 years old! Isn't that in sane? But it's not safe anymore anyway to have a bunch of plastic - at least to heat it in the microwave or put too-hot of food or beverages in them. To replace the Tupperware/Rubbermaid/yogurt containers, I went out and bought beautiful, shiny, thick-glass storage containers with bright apple green excellent-fitting lids, at a local kitchen store, and they're all stackable. I'll nuke things in them or freeze things in them with no worries. To replace the kids' bowls and cups, I got beautiful clear glass (but very thick and sturdy) glasses that were bigger but not too big. They work better in our new dishwasher anyway (no more fading plastic colors or pools of water) and I got gorgeous white bowls that aren't all that much bigger than their kiddie plastic ones but boy do they clean better and stack better - and they're the right size for adults too. So now I actually have 3x as many bowls taking up less space! And filling the dishwasher's a breeze now too cause the majority of the dishes all match so loading seems to happen faster cause it's just repeat repeat repeat, you know? ;) This was a GREAT decision for me. And because I have less junk, it forces me to look inside the fridge and get rid of food before it gets moldy cause I might need those dishes soon!

Hi y'all -- sorry this thread got away from me and I never looked back after a certain point.

I know there are fellow inveterate plastic-rescuers around. But it's ironic to find myself in this position because there are few who hate plastic as much as I; I hate it so much I can't throw it away because that will generate more pressure for it. It's the bottomless cup-paradigm - if you don't like the drink, draining the cup won't put a stop to it. Or something.

I have confusion about the issue of safety and plastics. Much of what I read I believe is not true. I would never heat any plastic-encased food, really, in a MW. Having no kitchen for a while I've resorted occasionally to premade costco foods in plastic containers that can nominally go in an oven. But they melt. How scary is that??

However the stuff about washing bags leeching vinyls or whatever it is that's claimed -- I don't believe that. I think age can start vinyls to fall apart, but washing? nuh-uh. Food grade plastic: did you know most of those "tshirt bags" are not rated for food? You're not supposed to put food in em. I gave up worrying about that long ago; life's too short. Everyone does it. I try to remember not to, but frankly that particular scare has been pushed out of my forebrain at some point. BTW I love how the ones most vocal in "sharing information" about how washing plastics results in unsafe plastic to use are ... water bottlers. My kids regularly get scolded by teachers for reusing water bottles. It makes them feel badly. And I try to spare them the public humiliation the teachers sometimes put them through regarding this. I think the humiliation is likely far worse for them than the supposed vinyl slough-off. I think mold in plastics can certainly be a problem; it can be hard if not impossible to adequately clean plastics of mold if not food residue. But disintegrating plastic? I don't think so, not usually, not unless heated.

Much of my feelings on this subject are generated by a friend who is a much-awarded materials chemist.

Anyway... there are lots of good hints in this thread that I thank one and all for.

More tales from the war zone of neurotic inability to throw-away: I have been - not once or even twice but several times in the past - been threatened with arrest for refusing to take a bag for goods purchased at a store. My kids don't believe me about this, but it's true: not so very long ago (and more so in certain parts of the country) it was considered just shy of insane, certainly unpatriotic and utterly criminal, to wish to leave a store without one's purchases in a bag.

When I forget to bring a bag into a store or don't bring a large-enough one, my "punishment" is to leave the store with everything in my cart: I tell the cashier that my car is a big-enough storage vessel for it. This usually gets a smile.

BTW, part of this neurosis is wanting to avoid purchasing a container when there are so many orphan-containers around. If you have recourse to a perfectly acceptable in-want-of-reusing container and instead go out and buy one, that's generating unneeded demand and pressure on resources. That's how the neurotic argument goes....

And finally: books. They are clearly their own species and worthy of building houses for, are they not? (another primary reason for renovating here!) But I have recently discovered PaperbackBookSwap. If this isn't better than sliced bread I don't know what is. You can swap your done/disliked books for someone else's. There are so many books out there I'd like to just have around in case I ever found time to read anything again -- this is the way to do it. I cannot tell you how much fun this has been. It's not just for paperbacks either.

If you want me to send you a signup link, I think you or I or both of us get a free credit or two. Email me and I'll send you the link. No worries if you'd rather sign up independently; I have more credits than I can likely read through before I die!

Here is a link that might be useful: Book exchange site

aliris, you're a kindred spirit. Good points, good works.

When clerks try to push plastic bags on me, I say, no thanks, freedom from plastic bags is a national security issue. "These come on tankers from the Middle East." Some are puzzled--much of the American public are unaware that plastic is a petroleum product.

Aliris, what I've read about not reusing water bottles is about them harboring germs. Heating could kill the germs but degrade the plastic. I totally get reducing demand for plastics and diverting the ones that do come to you from the waste stream--as long as you're not punishing yourselves for what society thrusts upon you. Do you have a food co-op anywhere near you? Depending on local health ordinances allowing it, they'll often let you use your own containers.

You can find a bag to reuse, or acquire a soft pouch from a thrift store, to put a variety of your rescued plastic bags in so that you don't have to fight store security. Or allow them to put your purchase in one of their bags for your walk to the door or car, then remove your items and give them the bags back for reuse.

And you can inform some of your shopping choices with a thought about what you're going to do with the packaging when you get it home. If there's a plastic container you don't have a good reuse for, consider a different item. Maybe make your own yoghurt once you have the new kitchen?

I'm not trying to dissuade you from doing what you think is right. It's just that you sound a little overwhelmed by the consequences of your beliefs and I'm hoping to inspire you to find some ways to cope with them.

BTW, one of my own cherished beliefs is to create demand. Even when a system is imperfect, if it's heading in the right direction, I'll do what I can to encourage it.

Which leads me to the book exchange. Check around locally. Many libraries have book swap events, or else they take donations of books which they sell for a quarter as a fundraiser. Schools and churches have book swaps. Used book stores will let you buy credits for new to you used books with your old books. If you don't have a free book swap near you, organize one. Maybe get a table at a farmer's market. Besides benefiting the community and creating connections with people, you'll be saving all that mailing packaging which you may reuse, but others don't.

My parents have a place in Florida and they have I think a 2 1/2 gallon bucket turned upside down in one of the cabinets. They then take all of the t-shirt bags and drape them over the bucket for storage. These bags are then used for "garbage bags" in a small holder under the sink.

I chuckled when I read the comment by chicagoans about the dog providing new uses for plastic bags, because it was just what I was thinking. With four dogs, all over 100 pounds, and all who like to go for walks or to the dog park, we can never have too many plastic bags. Consider donating your extras to your neighborhood dog lover. Believe me, you will not want to reuse them after I'm finished with them.

hoholligator. No arguments there!

Sorry the thread got away...

Yup, the plastic-thing is pretty overwhelming. I am deeply convinced in the coincidence of social ecoconcern and OCD. In mid-life I am trying to whine as much as possible about the hoarding so to try to stave off getting lost in the debris when old age hits!

todds - your parents sound clever!

plllog - you describe a trust in store security and the "modern" tolerance of reusable bags that suggests you must be a bit younger than me. It really is very difficult to believe nowadays but honestly, it was *violently opposed* not so very long ago to remove a store's object from the premises without being housed in *their own bag*. Depended where you were, again, but even the concept of "bought" stickers was anathema once. I never cease to be blown away by how quickly this all changed, and with practically no trace of the former horror of reuse. Sometimes some things do improve...

I was thinking about you the other day. I bought a bunch of wine for cooking with and a decent bottle for drinking. I told the cashier I didn't need a bag, and learned that it was required by law. That or a cardboard bottle caddy, which is what I ended up with. That's just the alcoholic beverages. I don't understand why but there are some weird laws.

I do vaguely remember the thing about the store's own bags in some department stores, back some time ago. I assume that they also figured out that the easiest way for people to disguise shoplifted items was to put them in shoplifted store bags. :)

The store's bag makes it easier to conceal the behind-the-wheel drinking I guess. Also makes it easier for the lawyers to know whom to trace back to for liability. ;)

ROTFL!! Actually, I think you can use your own bag for the wine. It just has to be in a bag. I was using all my bags for the groceries, and bottles of wine are too heavy. I like your explanations better though. :) At least the sixpack carrier they gave me has wonderful reuse possibilities. :)