Grocery Spending/Menu Plan | Plastic vs. Cloth Edition
Both when I posted this photo in September (while we were on vacation) and when I used it as an illustration for my Walmart post, several people have been vaguely horrified at the pile of plastic bags in the back of my van.
So, to make you feel better, here is a picture of what the back of my van usually looks like after a grocery shopping trip.
See? I really do think reusable bags are the way to go (yay for reducing plastic consumption!). I bring my reusable bags with me when I shop, almost without fail. It's only on vacation that I end up using plastic bags, and that's because my reusable bags are filled with beach towels, sand toys, and shoes (they double as luggage in our house!). Incidentally, I ended up being highly grateful that we got plastic bags because on the way home from vacation, one of our kiddos came down with a stomach bug, and reusable bags are nowhere near as handy as plastic bags in that situation. 😉
Here's the stuff that was inside my reusable bags (I apologize for the dizzying effect this photo angle may have upon you...I will not do that again!).
You might be wondering why in the world I bought 3 whole bags of candy...stay tuned, and I'll show you later this week. 😉
For breakfast this week, we'll be eating muffins, oatmeal, toast, yogurt, bananas, and maybe some granola if I manage to make some.
Lunches will be homemade yogurt, yogurt smoothies, fruit, sandwiches, and leftovers as necessary.
And here's our dinner plan:
Saturday-Due to a belated menu planning session, we ended up having our usual Saturday night pizza on Thursday (this confused Zoe no end...she was sure it was Saturday night because we were having pizza!). So tonight's meal is the meal originally slated for this past Thursday.
- Seafood Subs (on purchased buns, no less. Chalk this up to chef who is a little overwhelmed right now!)
- potato chips
- fruit salad
Sunday
Monday
- Chicken Tacos
- fruit salad
- chips and fresh salsa
Tuesday-This is Sonia's birthday, so she's picked this meal. 60,000 bonus points to her for choosing such an easy meal, because her birthday falls on my piano teaching day this year!
- Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (that's what the loaf of purchased bread is for)
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Jello (a combo of Berry Blue and Rasberry...she chose these at the store herself)
- Birthday Cake and Ice Cream
Wednesday
- BBQ Beef Sandwiches
- Homemade Buns
- green salad
Thursday
- Panini Sandwiches (made with my, uh, special panini press)
- Spinach Salad
Friday
- Orange-Honey Glazed Chicken Breasts
- Challah
- green beans
I was going to comment on your Walmart post but ran out of time. I have many pet peeves about Walmart. (Too many to get into, but...) The one thing I HATE about Walmart is those bag carousels and the fact that they put only 2 or 3 items in each bag. I get completely erk'd by it.
I avoid Walmart unless there is something specific at a lower cost than other stores.
Like you I have my cloth shopping bags. I've been really good about keeping them in the trunk or a few behind the seat of our truck. I find I can pack them better, they carry easier, and I don't have to find creative ways to rid my house of plastic bags.
I've started using reusable bags recently and I love them. I'm sorry I didn't make that move sooner, but better late than never, right?
Happy Birthday wishes to Sonia. She made your dinner job easy peasy! And, glad to know that's what the purchased bread was for...saw it in the picture and wondered, hmmm....
Enjoy the weekend!
Me too! I used plastic for a lot of years myself.
I think you were the one who asked about panini-making, and I promise I WILL get around to posting about that one of these days. lol
No worries, Kristen. I'm a regular reader so whenever you get to it is fine :0)
Can't wait to see what the candy purchase will turn up!
So I've been a follower of your blog for awhile now (love it!) and every week I read your meal plans and a lot of that stuff sounds really tasty! Just wondering if you ever thought about posting some recipes?
I do post some of my recipes...just haven't gotten around to posting a lot of them yet. I link to the ones I've posted (like the Buttermilk Waffles...just click on that word, and you'll be taken to the recipe).
If you go up to the top of my blog, you can click on the "Recipes" tab to see all the recipes I've posted. Alternatively, you can go over to the "Categories" menu on the very right side of the blog, about half way down (below the Simple Cloth ad) and there's a Main Dish recipe category.
Hope that helps!
I do the same thing with my cast iron fry pans. Why would I buy a panini press when I have a stove?
I do think a panini press might be a little bit easier to use, but every time I am tempted to buy one, I always hesitate because then I'd have to find a place to store it! My kitchen isn't particularly long on storage, so I always have to keep that in mind when I'm lusting after kitchen equipment.
Our reusable bags also double as luggage on vacation. They are great for that esp. the big Aldi bag! I sometimes forget my bags when running a short errand for just an item or two but the plastic I end up with gets recycled at our grocery store or used when cleaning out the cat pans. Before using the reusable bags it felt like I was swimming in plastic bags no matter how many ways I tried to reuse them, there were just too many!
I use reusable bags too. And out in California, a few stores (Trader Joe's, Gelson's, Henry's) let you save $0.05 off of your groceries if you use reusable bags. At Gelson's they put in a drawing to win a $25 gift certificate to the store each week also. The perks of being green 🙂
Just tell those who are horrified by your plastic that you are saving up to make these: http://www.dana-made-it.com/2008/07/tutorial-recycled-grocery-totes.html
or these:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/778389@N20/pool/
I think I remember to take my reusable bags to the grocery store about 50% of the time. I have to unload my groceries immediately and take the bags right back to the car or I forget them 🙂
Love your blog!
lol! That's exactly what I do too...unpack, fold them back up, put them inside the large bag, and take them back out to the car. Otherwise, I always forget them!
I haven't forgotten my reusable bags for a "full" shopping trip in years, my issue is for the quick trips or the ones that come up when I'm already out. I started keeping a cooler bag and a resuable in the car. It seems to help. I like the stores that have big signs at the parking lot or front door: DID YOU BRING YOUR BAGS?
I don't always use reusables. (I'll give you a minute to get over the shock. ... OK now?) I use paper bags for recycling and plastic to line small trash cans. Sometimes my shopping trip also serves to replenish the supply.
PS: It may be a negative reflection of my habits that I didn't boggle at three bags of candy. Last trip I got six. All on after-valentine's day 75% off sale. Those should last a while ... unless I fall prey to Katy W-S's problem.
We almost never have plastic bags come into the house, but there's still a stash of old ones, just in case - like a disposable diaper that needs out now! Or dog-walking off-premises. I keep a small tough canvas bag in an outer pocket of my old and capacious back-saver bag from LL Bean, and said old black bag doubles as a shopping bag a lot. I absolutely hate plastic store bags, so the fewer we collect, the better.
You're so awesome! I am too lazy to take all the bags to the grocery store... but I should. Thanks for this post.
I forget my reusable bags a lot. But its good to have a stash of plastic ones for trash can liners, doggie poop bags, etc. If you ever find yourself with too much of a surplus, donate them to your local homeless shelter. They are always in demand.
I keep all my tote bags in the trunk of the car so they are always with me. To solve the problem I had with going into a non grocery store without one, I now put my purse in the trunk of the car, so when I get to a store I have to pop the trunk to get my purse and Hey, there are my bags! Works like a charm. I have also taken to using the plastic bags that some groceries come in, like cereal or diapers, instead of those used to bag my groceries. They are just as handy for doggie doo, cat clumps or smellie diapers.
I also use mesh bags designed for delicates to be washed in for my fresh produce. THey zip and are plenty big. I found them for 50 cents each and have about a dozen. At first people where like "what it that" but now I see lots of other people doing the same thing.
I use my plastic grocery bags to line my bathroom garbage cans - perfect size. I am only recently using cloth bags to do my shopping. Can't seem to get the hang of it though. I keep forgeting them in the car. I've decided to put my notebook/list in the master bag so that won't happen anymore.
Correct me if I totally missed this in the post, but what did you spend this week?
It occurs to me that since I've been limiting my spending to 80-100, that I'm getting down to the nitty gritty in the house. (I've been somewhat relying on previous overstock from week to week) In fact, the cupboards will be pretty bare come Thursday. How do I feel adequately stocked with out going over budget? Until I started reading frugal girl, my mind set was always by ahead or stock up.
Oh my goodness, Laurie! You're totally right...I never included my shopping totals. Duh.
I'll try to correct that tomorrow. lol
I work with special needs people and every week I bring my bags and we make it into "plarn"! The red bags from zellers are the best for this. I still try to use my cloth, of course, but if I forget, at least I re-purpose the bags. this makes me feel slightly less guilty 😉
Kristen,
I love your blog, read it daily, and often recommend it to family and friends. I'm especially curious about your Sunday menus...they always seem quite light (this week just breakfast?). Do you eat Sunday dinner out? with family? fast?
I also use reusable bags. But I have a concern about them. They obviously can be reused many, many times, but eventually they also will get holes/break past the point of fixing or sewing them back up and I hate to think how many of them will be filling landfills in 5 - 10 years' time. The upside of using plastic bags is that they are recyclable (at least they are here in New Zealand)
That's a really interesting point, Franci; hadn't thought of that before. You make a good argument for using sturdy cotton bags or something else that's long lasting and recyclable.
If not, them if your bags are cloth, they could become rags or composted. If they're plasticy, then they may be recycled plastic already - at least they often are in the US. If that's the case then you've saved the world the need to make 5-10 years' worth of plastic bags for one household, which isn't perfect but is an advance over what would have happened otherwise.
Thought of another use: to stuff things, like draft dodgers or stuffed animals.
I am new reader, joined after you were on TV last week. Great Job! Wondered about how much of your shopping is done at Aldi vs. Weis? And which one do you go to first? I went to Aldi yesterday and really liked the price of their produce but they didn't carry everything I needed for the week, so I ended up going to Harris Teeter because I don't enjoy Walmart especially on Saturdays.
I'm so glad that you use reusable bags too. It's reassuring that there are other frugal moms out there who take the time to use them. I feel guilty if I ever forget them. I'm reading a book called "No Impact Man", have you heard of him? He's trying to live one year without waste. It's pretty good. 🙂 He also talks about reusable bags. I have a video from YouTube on my blog about him. Check it out.
It's taken this ole' Nana quite a while to get used to remembering the bags - so here's what finally did the trick. I keep two or three tucked under the right floor mat withthe handles in sight. Somehow that finally got it through my thick skull to remember the things. I truly feel virtuous carrying them in my hand like a good little girl. Love your work. I really enjoy the entries and am snacking on cheap homemade yogurt as I write this. It is truly amazingly delicious. Blessings, Sharon Lea