To my Concerned Readers: I do have cloth bags.
Since a lot of you were alarmed at the number of plastic bags in my grocery picture yesterday, I just want all of you to know that I do indeed have re-usable bags. In fact, I have a great many, and when I am home, I faithfully take them to the grocery store. I can't actually remember the last time I used a plastic bag at a grocery store and I am totally sold on using them. It's not terribly hard, and as long as I remember to put the bags right back in my van after shopping, I don't have trouble remembering to use them.
However, I don't think I have enough bags to hold the volume of groceries we bought yesterday, and I didn't bring all of them anyways (some are being used to hold things like shoes and clothes right now).
Yesterday was just not a typical shopping day for me. I hardly ever plop down $165 for a week of groceries, but I did yesterday, I hardly EVER darken the doors of a WalMart, but I did yesterday, and I hardly ever use plastic grocery bags, but I did yesterday.
Although I'm not entirely abandoning my frugal and green lifestyle, I am living a little differently on vacation. For example, I don't have a compost bin, so my produce scraps are going down the garbage disposal. There's no clotheslines or drying rack, so most of my laundry is going into the dryer. I bought frozen pizza instead of making it myself, I bought ready-made yogurt, and I even bought several loaves of bread. The recycling options here are limited (newspaper and metal are about it), so we're definitely producing more trash than usual.
But, this is two weeks out of the year. The other 50 weeks, I'll cook from scratch, line-dry my clothes, make yogurt, bake bread, recycle and compost like crazy, bring cloth bags when I go shopping, and avoid Walmart. I promise. 😉
So, no worries. Except for once a year, I'm a die-hard cloth bagger. 🙂
P.S. I will take the bags back to Walmart to recycle them.
I personally think the way you are vacationing IS frugal.
2 week vacation that you drove to? (Just assuming from the picture). BUYING groceries! Many people spend their vacations dining out. And I bet the entertainment you are finding is if not free - very cheap!
🙂 Can't wait to hear more about your vacation!
One person's method: I use a combo of cloth and disposable bags. See, i use paper bags for holding recycling - if I dump recyclables directly in the can, something always escapes when the garbage crew dump it, making a mess of my neighborhood. I use plastic bags as trash can liners. So if I'm running low on either, I ask for those. Otherwise it's cloth & freezer bags for me. The only hard part is convincing the bagger not to throw out my stash of produce bags. I reuse those, too.
For a fleeting moment I did wonder about the plastic bags in the photo but I figured you would have thought it through. 🙂 I use a mix of plastic bags and cloth bags. Once a month I get plastic bags when I buy my groceries - I need the plastic bags for my recycling - our council only picks up recycling when it is in plastic bags. I have written to them about it but nothing has changed.
Anyway, I think you've planned a pretty frugal holiday - enjoy!
Oh, for goodness' sake, don't worry about it! Like you said, you're on holiday!
I might throw in a little caution - when you blog, you can suddenly feel accountable to a bunch of people you don't even know. Don't. And don't feel like you need to justify what you do just because someone raised an eyebrow over it. You're probably never going to 'please' everyone - and you don't need to! 🙂
Go relax in the sun!
You deserve a vacation...we all do. Enjoy!
I'm always amazed when we go on vacation. The systems for composting recycling etc. we have put in place at home are no longer there. Just think there are people out there who live their lives like this (or worse) all time and they don't even think about it.
Enjoy your vacation, notice the difference from your daily life, feel good about your efforts at home, but don't stress out over what you can't do on vacation.
Don't worry, be happy!
Gawd! I can't believe at what some people pay attention to, just throw the plastic bags in the recycle bin and enjoy the sun.
Heehee...I try to use fabric bags but it only works if they actually make it back into my car. And then I have to remember to get them out of my trunk at the store. I have WAY more bags than I need because I kept forgetting them and buying new ones.
They are on vacaction people! Relax!
I think it is important to give yourself a break once in a while or you just burn out! I spent a couple of weeks cooking primarily from the garden and pantry. During that time I took a break from couponing. It was a little break from the routine and I was actually excited to go back and look at the coupons this month.