why does the grocery store give you so many bags??????

[lizajane]

i HATE grocery bags, wal mart bags, kmart bags... they are icky and plastic and gunk up my house and make me think of huge nasty factors spitting out gray polluted smoke.

so i take my own cloth bags to the store, but somehow i STILL ended up with two plastic bags today, neither of which were full!! why don't they use ONE bag for the cheese, yogurt and bread??? is there really not enough room in one bag for a loaf of bread, three cups of yogurt and 2 squares of cheese???

not to mention the fact that i still had room in my cloth bags. i wish it were like europe here and we all just bagged our own stuff.

would it be rude of me to say that i prefer to bag my own groceries??

what a weird peeve, but i can't help it.

[McQ]

We actually have lanes here that are self check and self bag. Which is great if you have two people or not a lot of stuff.

I think the checkers are trained to group like items together and to separate cleaning products from food products.

I'm sure you could ask to bag it yourself, but why don't your just tell them no plastic or to put it all in one bag instead.

Allison
~ mommy to Declan 3.24.03

[dogmom]

I consider this a suburban problem. When I lived in the city those baggers new how to pack a bag! Since so many people had to walk/take public transportation there was not 6 bags for 8 items. It was one of my constant complaints to my husband about moving out here, right after having to take a car everywhere. I have to tell people at check out "please only use one bag" when I only have 4 or 5 items. I also ask for paper, since I have a use for paper and they tend to pack those better. I do bring my own reusable bags, but sometimes I forget.


Jeanne
Mom to Harvey
1/16/03

[jmofarrill]

I often bag my own groceries - I don't think you *have* to let the baggers do it.

[deborah_r]

I think in some stores the people might get in trouble from their manager for not being there to bag your groceries. The manager might not bother to ask them if you WANTED to bag your own groceries and will just kind of keep it in their head as a strike against that worker.

It's weird, I used to work in a grocery store in Connecticut (high school and college job) and we usually did not staff enough people for every customer to get their bags packed. It was quite common for people to pack their own, or else they would have to wait for the checker to do it. But in the West I've noticed I never even get a chance to bag my own - there is always someone there to do it.

Maybe it's changed back where I'm from now too, but when we first moved to Santa Fe in 1994, DH told me not to bag my own because they do it for you and I would offend them (he exaggerates a little I think)

Also, I think they pack up the paper bags better because stuff doesn't roll around so much in those so you can put bread in the top without worrying about other stuff rolling around and crushing it - but PRIMARILY it is because the paper bags are more expensive for the store. In my glorious grocery days we were told to use plastic unless the customer asked for paper - we even were supposed to keep the paper bags out of sight so they wouldn't think to ask for one!

My apartment is being taken over by bags too, and I was just looking at them yesterday wondering what to do with them. I feel so guilty if I throw them away!

[khakismom]

My Target totally does this, and you're right, it is frustrating! Once I get home and start unpacking, sometimes I'll find that a few bags have 1 thing in them!! When they ask me at my grocery store, "paper or plastic?", I always say paper, and usually get funky looks for it. With plastic, it's easier for them! They just throw stuff in the bag. With paper, you can fit more in it, and I think it takes a bit more time to pack it because it's like a puzzle and the bagger might have to think about how best to stack the groceries.

I throw half the bags away and keep the rest, because I do use them.

[amp]

I often get home and complain when I find a bag of onions packed on *top* of my tomatoes or chips! But I've also been known to start packing bags right alongside the baggers. I'll quickly grab the soft stuff, like eggs, bread, bananas, chips, etc and bag those so the poor moron bagging doesn't get to, or I'll grab things like the chicken pack (which totally give me the skeeves!) and pack it in it's own bag so it doesn't end up with my fruit!

[22tango]

You SHOULD be able to recycle them at the grocery store! Most groceries have a big box where you put them to be recycled. I always ask for plastic since they don't rip, and they don't take up much space when scrunched. Once I've got a bag of them starting to overflow, I bring them back to the store with me!

The thing I *REALLY* hate is when they bag the milk!! UGH! Bagged milk just cuts into my hands...and there's already a handle. It's just a waste.

[brubeck]

Actually I use the plastic bags to line my portable potty for Amy. Now that she's taken a real shine to it you can't believe how many I go through. :)

[deborah_r]

I tried using them as dog poop picker-uppers but there always seems to be holes in them!

[papal]

I don't think it would be rude. I have the same peeve.. even if i remember to take my cloth bags I like to bag my own groceries.. seems like i can get things packed more efficiently. These days everything seems to be DOUBLE plastic-bagged at my Giant? WHY ARE YOU DOUBLE BAGGING A BAG OF POTATO CHIPS? ARRRGHHH!

Even so, at the end of the month i have a huge stack of plastic bags that i end up throwing out.. i hate doing it but where do i keep them and what on earth do i use them? I have not seen a recycling bin at my Giant.

[starrynight]

I recycle them by using them to carry things to the goodwill box, or I use them as trash pail liners in my small bathroom can. It's easier to keep the can clean that way and I can just take the bag downstairs when it's full instead of the whole pail to be emptied.

I also give them to dh with his lunch in the every day for work. Just pack/make his lunch and then tie it shut and leave it in the fridge for him :). It's cheaper than buying him lunch pails all the time since he loses them!

[mharling]

I grew up in small town Iowa and they know how to bag groceries! One of the chains even had a contest (using paper bags, of course). I don't know exactly how the winner was determined, but I do know they cut the bag down the side after it is packed to see if the groceries will remain together. It drives my mom crazy to go to the grocery store with me here. Even if you ask for paper, they will usually try to double bag it; and the bag itself even says that double bagging is not necessary! If I get paper, I use them at home. I recycle the plastic ones. I really need to get some cloth bags to take; this thread may be my motivation!

http://www.auction-pix.com/katasha/stuff/snowman.gif Mary & Lane 4/6/03

[gremlin44]

Your grocery store may not have a recycle bin for bags, but check the other grocery stores in your area. Whole Foods and Trader Joes almost always have them.

[egoldber]

"Maybe it's changed back where I'm from now too, but when we first moved to Santa Fe in 1994, DH told me not to bag my own because they do it for you and I would offend them (he exaggerates a little I think)"

Actually, in some stores, this could be a union issue. I used to work in a grocery store in college that was a union shop. It was a BIG DEAL to the checkers and baggers that checkers did not bag. And by bagging your own groceries, there was less work (and therefore fewer jobs) for baggers.

Not trying to start any union discussions here, just pointing out why the issue of bagging groceries may not be as simple as it sounds!

Also, there's a local store near me where you HAVE to bag your own. I love it because the prices are SOOOO cheap, but I always feel a little guilty since I know the reason the prices are so cheap is that they don't hire baggers. And I also don't love it on the days I have to bring DD with me. When she was an infant, it was no problem taking her to the grocery. But now I try to go when she's in preschool or else at night after DH is home. Grocery shopping with a toddler is not so much fun. And then trying to bag my own on top of that, yikes!

I also recycle my bags as well as using them to pick up dog poop(although newspaper bags are better for this), scooping cat litter (although the holes are a definite problem), and also to line my bathroom trash cans. But I am thinking I should get my tush in gear and put some cloth bags in the car!

[peasprout]

It used to annoy me too. Now I use them to put DD's poopy diapers in. I can then throw them in the trash and keep my Diaper Champ odor free. Since DD poops three to four times a day (!!), I'm going through bags like crazy!