No Bags Challenge - round up

Well, my month of accepting no bags from shops is up… and it was a success!

I have avoided taking any plastic bags… now, if I could just vanish the receipts as well….

The best thing to come out of this whole process is the habit I have formed. I am now used to thinking about taking a bag with me when I go shopping - in fact I now usually just have a green bag in my car. And I’ve moved to walking to the supermarket more - especially as Nick’s been away, and I’ve been buying much less food! So, I’ve developed two new positive habits that I intend to continue.

Now, if I could just cultivate the habit of not-being-messy…..

Did anyone else out there do the No Bags Challenge? How did you go?

No Bags Challenge - Week 2 Update

Well, I have been doing well with my No Bags Challenge! I have had one slip up.. or have I? You be the judge:

The other night on my way home from work I was really, really tired. So, I decided to be lazy and get take-away. I pulled in at Red Rooster and put in my order - a skin-free wrap and 3 crispy strips. Now, I normally just get a wrap when I go there, and they never give it to me in a bag, so I didn’t even think to tell the young guy behind the counter ‘no bag, thanks’. However, obviously my order of more than one item necessitated a huge paper bag to enable me to carry it… So when he came out of the kitchen holding the bag and called my name, I hesitated.

What to do? On the one hand, if I take the bag I fail in my challenge. However, if I don’t take the bag (which, of course, I brought home and recycled) what will happen to it? Most likely, because it has already been ‘used’ it would just be thrown out, rather than given to the next customer.

So, after all of that had gone through my head, I determined to take it, deeming the harm done outweighed by the good. So, did I do the right thing?

And: am I seriously over-analysing this??

No, I’m not a crazy cat lady!!

Today I drove up to the local shopping centre, as my housemate needed my car to get his new elliptical trainer home. While I was there, I remembered that I had run out of milk and wet cat food for Gob. I also didn’t have any bags on me. ‘No problem’, thought I - ‘I’ll just get a tin or two to tide him over’.

But when I got to Woolies, they were having a sale - 20c off each tin! So, of course, I bought six of them - and my three litre bottle of milk.

The first strange looks I got were inside the shop - I didn’t have a basket, so I was just balancing the six cans in one arm while carrying the milk in the other hand. The second look was from the checkout girl when I said “Oh, I don’t need a bag thanks!” (how could I face you all in light of my No Bags Challenge if I took one?). So, once she had scanned them, I took a moment to precariously balance my cans once again (luckily there was no-one waiting in the queue behind me!) and off I went.

Every person who walked past me in the shopping centre did the same thing - their eyes flicked to my arms, then to my face. By the time I got outside, I had a grin - they had all looked at me as if I was crazy! And given the fact I was carrying the cat food and milk - well.

I had my suspicions confirmed when I reached the car, and Cam (housemate 1) said “you look like a crazy cat lady!! Why didn’t you just get a bag?” And of course, I had to update him on my Challenge and that I couldn’t let myself or anyone else down.

So, I have stuck to the challenge so far - no bags taken from any shops! And I’ve gotten a bit of amusement into the bargain. Let’s see how the rest of the month goes.

New Challenge - no bags

So, I know many of you probably already do this religiously, but I’ve set myself a challenge - as of today - to not accept a bag from a store for a month.

Now, I’m usually pretty good about this - but I will forget my green bags sometimes and just sigh to myself. So, this challenge is aimed at keeping me honest, and building the habit of carrying my own bags with me.

Anyone who is in the same position as me and would like to join in - leave a comment below!

Wish me luck!