My journey to saying “no” to single use plastic. 

Janice H Walker

Step 1: Looking for alternative sources for the plastic you didn’t ask for.

Step 1C: Plastic bags and containers

It has now been a year since Covid-19 changed everything. Some things for the good and some not so good. One thing that has changed for me is grocery shopping. You see I love to cook. I have always loved to cook, ever since I was maybe eleven, I was helping prepare dinner for the family. There were eight of us, both my parents worked and didn’t get home until six. I tried to help out by getting dinner started. On Saturday afternoon I would go with my mom to the grocery store. I didn’t mind the shopping; it was putting the groceries away that bothered me. We would have to go up and down every isle, again I didn’t mind. My mom was looking for a delicious meal, made fast and not expensive and something I could start before she got home. Quite sure that is when “Hamburger Helper” became popular. (To this day I don’t like it, which is sad because it is one of my husband’s favorites. He doesn’t get to have it very often. Plus, I can cook way better than anything that comes out of a box.)

Pre Covid, I would go to the grocery store once a week and enjoy shopping, especially the fresh fruits and vegetables. I love going to markets and new grocery stores. Ethnic markets would be a real treat. Discovering new foods was exciting for me. Covid put a stop to shopping. Now it’s fast in and fast out. It is not safe to shop. For a while we would venture out to get our groceries. We had to put a stop to that, when the case numbers were climbing in Henry County and our local store, like so many do not have the means to enforce the mask wearing mandate. So, standing next to a “mask less” person looking over the fresh vegetables, wasn’t going to work for me. We decided to order our groceries and pick them up.

We have now ordered and picked-up groceries three times. Yes, it is convenient, yes, it saves time and yes, it keeps us safe. But oh, my goodness the plastic. At least before when we were doing our own shopping, I could use my own produce bags. The store shopper puts everything into a plastic bag. One saving grace is they use paper bags, probably because they stand up. When I finished putting away the groceries, I am left with an average of ten plastic bags.

I am interested in trying the suggestions listed below. Especially the rope/twine for tying up plants in the garden.

Rope Rope Made From Plastic Shopping Bags : 5 Steps (with Pictures) - Instructables

Sleeping Mats Turning Plastic Bags Into Sleep Mats For Homeless - The Savvy Age

Rugs https://www.thriftyfun.com/tf517076.tip.html

Handbag https://www.instructables.com/Shopping-bag-from-plastic-shopping-bags/

https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/21-nifty-ways-to-reuse-plastic-jugs-and-bottles-at-home/

Not only are there too many plastic bags in with my groceries, but there are also plastic containers. I am converting many of these containers into mini greenhouses.

https://newengland.com/today/living/gardening/make-a-mini-greenhouse-with-recycled-items/

Soon I will be able to go back to food shopping. In the meantime, I will take my plastic bags and recycle them into something useful.

Milk Jug becomes a Bird Feeder and A Plastic Grocery bag becomes a Braided Rope.