Thursday, September 25, 2008

Lets Knit one For The Green Team

Over and over one reads about how we the people are trashing our planet, smog, pollution, our land fills filling up with plastic and aluminum containers that will last forever. Yet one goes to the store to buy one's necessities, food and medicines and just look at the packaging it comes in?? One has to wonder just how many tons of plastic are manufactured just to hold six packs of sodas and beers together. How much of the cost of those fast food burgers are tied up in all the packaging that they come in?.
We the people have gotten real lazy , no wonder obesity is so prevalent---we are to lazy to return bottles to claim our deposits, we LOVE those individually wrapped portions, that save us having to cut and divide them them at home.---I doubt if the majority of adults today remember the day when ALL meats came from the butcher rolled up in butcher paper---today we insist on the clear plastic wrapped styrofoam containers---so easy to pick up and put in the basket, rather than having to wait for a butcher to grind ya a pound fresh.
Well here is ONE thing we all can do---and if we all do it---will be a major step on cleaning up our environment. Stop using plastic AND Paper bags when shopping. Instead knit yourself your own personal shopping bag, or maybe acouple of em so one is always handy. One could buy one from some of the better grocery stores---but frankly I find the ones they are selling are way to small to handle my normal weekly grocery load. It is a great way of families and individuals to get creative and show their personal flair in what patterns and designs they use in their shopping bags---hey would make a great xmas or birthday gift for them Uncles and Cousins that are so hard to shop for---after all how long does it take to knit a good sack, maybe with his or her Name or Initial---a family crest ?? what ARE your Family Colors.?? So "Go Green" and knit yourselves a handy dandy personal shopping bag.

10 comments:

  1. Great idea Gary.
    Have you any knitting patterns for bags you care to share?

    Bear((( )))

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  2. at my age they took all the sharp implements away from me---but I've dropped some heavy hints with some good looking senior women, and so I got high hopes for Xmas.

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  3. Great idea, Gary! I hate all those plastic bags from the grocery store. And my pet peeve (well, one of many) is when they put, like, TWO items in one bag. By all means, let's use as many plastic bags as possible...

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  4. Got a better idea Gary...how about using the plastic bags you have saved (I know ya do..we all save em) and use those to knit yourself a nice big bag with...or you could weave one out of the old bags. Recycle...keep it green.

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  5. Fantastic idea. I actually do have some of the cloth ones that the grocery chains sell, but unfortunately haven't gotten into the habit of taking them back with me. My intentions are good, just a habit I need to get into.

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  6. I've always thought it was weird that people thought it was "better" to use paper rather than plastic. You have to cut down trees for that! And you're right about all of the packaging. I'm one to always buy the bigger portions and split things up and freeze them at home. A good example of something similar I did lately was I wanted some celery to take to work for a snack. The grocery had some already pre-cut and washed and in a plastic container for $3.99, or I could buy a fresh stalk, in no plastic (not even a bag) for $1.99 and take it home and wash and cut it myself. Well, duh... It's small things like that. People just don't think, though.

    Of course I write this as I drink my Deer Park water bottle... I hate tap water so I buy the 24 pack bottled waters. I *do* only take one to work, though, and refill it all day with the filtered water we have here!

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  7. Great ideas!! Now all I need is a pattern and I will make us all some. Let me know when someone finds a pattern. I prefer to crochet. Dana I know you are on it!!LOL

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  8. Slow day at work today, so I researched patterns, both knit and crochet. I found a pattern for each. www.padmeprojects.blogspot.com has a knit pattern actually made from plastic grocery bags that you knit into grocery bags. The date for the blog is Sept. 27, 2007.

    The crochet pattern if found at www.theadventuresofcassie.blogspot.com. The date for that blog is 03/29/08.

    I used google to find these. Have a great day!

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  9. My wife bought several of the nice cloth bags (with strong handles) a few months ago, and now we have several in the house and several in the car. The number of plastic bags coming into the house has dropped significantly.

    One thing that impressed me during the summer when I was shopping for groceries in Quebec was a food store that gave a credit of five cents for each recyclable bag that you brought in. If you brought in three bags and all three were needed to bag up your groceries, you got a credit of fifteen cents at the end of your bill. Not a lot of money, but a decent gesture by the store; it acknowledges that the plastic bags actually cost something.

    Next time, I'm going to bring in 20 bags, and see if they can put one item in each bag, and I'll save a whole dollar. Somehow, I don't think they'll go for it.

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  10. I'm in. I have the bags from Trader Joes but like Bonnie I often forget my bag. Traders, when you bring your own bag in to the store close to my house, enters you into a monthly lottery with your name and phone number. If they draw your name you get a $25.00 gift cert. Thats a major incentive for alot of folks here in Irvine.

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Speak up, don't be a nebish---your opinions do count.