How Green is Your Shopping Trip?

So for a while, Adam and I have been using our giant blue Ikea bags for our trips to Stop & Shop each week. We love them, two fit in the cart tightly and we fill them up with our groceries. And it's only one trip each in the house with the groceries.

Our stores have the self scan wands you take with you to scan as you shop, so we never have to double pack things. So it's so easy to use reusable bags with our store's shopping ways.

Recently though, I was getting really fed up with the number of plastic bags we use in the produce department. Since the bulk of our grocery bill each week is produce, it was a LOT of plastic bags. Granted we do take them to be recycled, but still, why use it to begin with?

So I was going to buy some fancy eco-bags for produce online from etsy.com and then found one that looked surprisingly similar to something we already had in the house - zippered lingerie bags!

So to dress them up a bit, I stitched a little greet ribbon loop on them - it's totally useless but just makes it look cuter.

So now we use the bags that are meant for my bras and delicates in the laundry for our produce - don't worry I had like 15 of them in the house and I kept some for laundry and some for grocery.

You know what, they are great! the produce can breathe in the bags. They are compact to take to the market. They can be washed in the sink or washer, heck probably even the top rack on the dishwasher!

We're really loving it - and with the zippers - everything is sealed in there nicely with no spills of produce in the cart or drawers at home.

Seriously, try it! You'll thank me!

Finally... Trader Joe's!

YES! Finally - after 5 years of driving up to MA everytime we needed our TJ's fix, we're finally getting one in RI. They closed the deal on the property last week and we'll have a store here by the fall. And not far from our house either.

Adam and I are huge TJ's fans... every time we go back to the midwest we have to go stock up and we make people send us things all the time too.

Finally, reasonable priced dried fruits and nuts, fruit leather, Goyza, edamame, excellent fish, good tasty snacks and fabulous cheese! We can't wait!

We know it will be packed - we'll have to plan our TJ runs on week days.