I think this is great. I bought three of those "green" fabric market bags. I keep them in the car so they're handy for shopping. I was once in a checkout behind a guy who had a cart full and he baggeed everything in his own bags. Saved at least ten plastic bags. Tho I do like plastic bags, I use them as waste basket liners and for when I scoop the cat litter box.

Jannie,
How funny you mention what you do with plastic bags. Me too!
I have one of those under the sink/cupboard wire trash holders that are perfect for the plastic bags also.
I also use them as my sink liner when making salads and just through the garbage in them then out to the trash.
My best friend saves them for me and probably gives me 50 everytime I see her.

Trin

One of the supermarket chains here now charges 5 cents per plastic bag. It is supposed to be an incentive for people to bring their own reusable bags. I've been using the reusable bags since they came out and always keep them in the car.

If you shop Target you might have a pleasant surprise like I did. I wrote about this in the money saving forum but I turned down a bag at Target recently and got a 50¢ credit! Now THAT made me happy! I'm going to keep that in mind, but I do need to check the policy. I've never seen anything about it or heard anything about it. Usually I like the paper handle bags when I can get them there but for half a buck, I'll carry my own. Especially considering Menards has them for free (after credit rebate) so they cost about 7¢ to pay the tax.

And this morning I noticed a "new" use (to me) for them. I get a lot of things shipped to me at home for work. This morning I had 4 large envelopes and a medium sized box plus my PDA to carry out. The envelopes were slippery and the box made it bulky and I noticed I had a bag to go back to the van anyway.... so... common sense said USE IT!! I did. Worked great. I'll be using them more often. Actually I've often used paper or plastic bags to carry the stuff out when I have a bunch of things.

Granted, by doing this I won't have the bags for garbage, litter bags and recycling, but I think I can deal with that. Especially with the credits I'm starting to get.

....it just struck me what kind of a tightwad I must be to be happy over a few cents credit over bags! LOL

I do all my shopping at Whole Foods and it's really expensive. I'm really careful and I don't eat meat or prepared foods so it's cheaper.
Anyway, they have these really good wild salmon patties stuffed with goat cheese and spinach. They are $8.99 a pound but if you buy over 2 pounds they are $6.99. I just had one for dinner. Also, the same goes for the regular salmon. Over 2 pounds you save $2.00 a pound.
Donna

I don't shop often at Whole Foods, but I was needing a goat cheese log and FOUND IT! Have also found all their personnel are always very helpful!

Whenever there is something that regular food stores don't carry, you can at Whole Foods.

They have a bistro and met a friend, there, today, who was eating a yummy looking BLT fried green tomato sandwich.

Ooh...I hope my Target starts doing that. I take about 8-10 when I grocery shop. I would miss plastic bags if they disappeared altogether though. Very useful for a lot of things. I've probably cut my plastic bag usage by 75%.

glenda,
If you want a good inexpensive goat cheese log Whole Foods has a brand called "Cheese Buys". It costs a lot less and they make Goat Feta cheese in a big container too. I mix it with my pasta and tomato sauce.
Donna

I bought 11oz all natural goat cheese log for $5.99.

CHEESE BUYS :O)

Thanks for the tip Glenda! I shop at Whole Foods weekly because I am on a gluten restricted diet and was unaware of the 10 cent off deal. I'll bring my tote bags next time.

For those who use those cloth bags,be careful where you keep them in the car and for how long. I had some on my backseat,and as most of you know i was out of commision for awhile this past year dealing with surgery and such.I started driving my own car a few weeks ago and saw all this stuff on the backseat,and thought what the heck is that?? It was those bags,they had disintergrated(sp) down to paper ash. Of course my car was parked in the driveway all that time in the sun.What a mess it made.
Kathi

I've been using my own bags since we got married 27 years ago. Back in the early 90's a chain back in NH gave 2 cents off if you used your own bags. It didn't really catch on. I'm going to look up Whole Foods we don't have them here, at least not near me.
Target sells food? Not here.

"Target sells food?"

Target doesn't sell perishables like fruit and vegetables, but you can get stuff like peanut butter, cookies, crackers, bottles of juice, potato chips, etc.

But it's not just food that goes into bags. If you buy anything at all at Target, they want to put it into a bag. So, if you decline the bag, you get the credit.

My Target sells, veggies, etc.
I do not frequent them, though!

I always take my own sacks and only two grocery stores give credit for them....a nickel a bag.
It is funny that the two markets giving a credit are the two with the cheapest prices and best produce: FoodMaxx and Foods for Less where you bag your own groceries.
And at Trader Joe's if you take your own bag you get to sign up for a drawing for a $25 gift certificate.

Our Target has an entire grocery store inside. They sell fruits, vegetables, flowers, meats, deli...everything.

In fact, the quailty of their fruits and vegetable are better than any other supermarket, including the commissary (by a long shot!) in town.

I always use my own bags but the grocery stores around here don't discount.

I always forget my bags but going to make a effort to remember them....Our closest Target in Tulsa has a whole grocery store in it like a super walmart....love love love Target....I really like Whole Foods but it is way to expensive with 3 teenagers....Stacy

Our Albertson's gives away bags for answering surveys and that type of thing or they sell them for $1 and they take 5 cents off of your bill for "each" bag that you bring and they use. I have 22 of their bags...and I use them where ever I shop...even at Wal-Mart.

I have never been to a Whole Foods market - none in my area, but they sound neat!

I have the reusable bags and LOVE them! I have 10-12 (depends on who has stolen one for gym clothes, etc).

They hold so much more than a plastic bag and with the square bottom - they pack nice. They are much nicer to carry into the house and unload, since they sit nice on the floor too.

I generally fill all of them when I grocery shop - LOL! My goodness I get a lot of groceries!

I have some seasonal ones. A bright orange jack-o-lantern, a blue one with snowflakes, and a red one with hearts. My grocery store sells them during different seasons.

I bought one of the Wal-Mart ones - those are no good. They have no support in them. They don't like to use them at Wal-Mart either. They don't have any space to set them to load - since they use those plastic bag carosels.

I sometimes skip taking bags entirely. I load my groceries right back into my cart, pay and get a receipt, then take them outside and put them in the trubk of my car. If all I'm buying is a case of sodapop and a box of laundry detergent, I don't need no stinking baggies!

I wish our Target had a grocery store. The ones I've been in that have them are wonderful.

I try to take my own bags in the store but don't always remember. I keep them in a pocket in my car door so I really should remember them. My favorite bags are from Kohls. They fold flat and have a snap that keeps it folded. It's holds a lot of stuff too.

Linda

That's great, Glenda, and I agree, I hope more stores start doing that so the incentive is there for people to cut down or out the plastic bag usage.
Must be careful with re-usable bags, however, and wash them on occasion or bacteria can build up from food spillage (you know how sometimes meat or packaged fruit can be drippy when you buy it) - I was thinking Lysol spray would be a good thing here, just give the inside of the bag a spray after each shopping trip.
Wonder what we will all do for garbage can liners etc when plastic grocery bags disappear...lol.
Suzan J

i bought a loveseat this weekend at Ikea (for my furgirls no less lol) and because i used debit on my bank card i got 3% credit to apply to the next purchase. i was pleasantly surprised since i had already got a promo $50 gift card for buying the sofa. ~ liz

When I buy meat I always put it in those lightweight meat/produce bags so it protects the bags. I too have thought they'll need to be washed occasionally if things spill in them. Plus just normal use will get them dirty. But they should wash easily and dry quickly. Just remember to pull the cardboard bottom.

FWIW, virtually all Targets have a "market" where they have cookies, crackers and limited canned goods type of things. The "Super" Targets have a full grocery store. They don't have a huge selection and some things are expensive but some things are very reasonable, near cheap.

I bought 8 of the Roundy's bags to use at Rainbow. They were 45¢ each and they give 5¢ credit for each use. Haven't quite been reimbursed for them yet but it won't be long. I just leave them in the vehicle and they're ready for when I stop, even if it's spur of the moment. But I'm really pleased about the Menards deal. I'm thinking about having others buy them for me to get more. They're handy for use around the house. But they'll likely have them free again before long.