I am always one of the last people to pick up on the latest “going green” trends.  It’s not that I don’t love the earth or want to be more eco-friendly.

It’s that I’m lazy and cheap and like my stuff.

I tend to be suspicious of green products because there’s a lot of overpriced, yuppy crap out there being marketed as “eco-friendly” and therefore “worth this exorbent price tag”.  Thanks, but no thanks.  The Earth and I had a talk and we’ve agreed neither of us wants me to be poor or a pretentious asshole.

That being said, if I find a green product that makes sense I’m all about doing my part to save the environment.  Especially if it helps me in the process.  (That’s not selfish – that’s creating a win-win.)

I started looking for reusable shopping bags when I noticed that the plastic grocery bags I brought home every week were taking over my laundry room.

I had told myself for years that it was OK that I didn’t bring my own bags to the store because I save and reuse the plastic ones I take home.  Of course, I never used even 1/10th as many as I accumulated.  When you start having to come up with new (and bigger) storage solutions for your plastic grocery bags, it’s time to search for a more eco-friendly and less wasteful solution.

Some reusable shopping bags are expensive.  They come in artsy prints and chic colors.  They come in sets and kits and their own carrying cases.

I finally settled on the BAGGU Reusable Shopping Tote 6-Pack in “SKY”.

First of all, the color is important.  I went with the Sky Blue because I thought my husband would be more likely to go along with my new “go green initiative” if it didn’t involve him toting around shopping bags the color of raspberries.  Also, the bags were cheaper in Sky.  Which is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard – but whatever.  At least it was stupid in my favor this time.

Some of the reviews I read before buying this complained that each bag had it’s own mini carrying case.  People bitched that it would be too hard to stuff the bags back into the case and that they weren’t compact enough and didn’t come with one case to put all six bags in.

Meh, they were cheap, so I gave them a shot anyway.

I love them.  I’m thrilled I went with this brand and style.

I actually like that each bag comes in its own case because it lets me keep one in my purse at all times and the rest in the car.  Or I can send one with my husband and take a few with me if we’re not going to be together.  That makes it easier for me to actually remember to use the damn things more often.

I’ve used and reused all of the bags and have never had a problem folding them back up and putting them away.  Maybe I’m a bag folding genius, but I doubt it.

Of course, the other concern is – how many groceries can you actually hold in 6 totes?  Tons.  And tons and tons.  And the big wide straps allow you to be able to carry tons and tons of groceries more easily because you can put the bags over your shoulder if you need to.

I can store 10-15 plastic grocery bags worth of groceries in my 6 BAGGU totes.

As an added bonus, the cashiers at the grocery store know that I am eco-friendly and hip and up on all the latest trends.  And having the respect of a 16 year old grocery checker is always something to be proud of.

BAGGU Reusable Shopping Tote – 6-Pack

$18 in Sky.  $38 in other colors. Because Amazon is weird.

Posted in Going Green - Go Green with Green Products for Green Living Tagged: BAGGU, eco-friendly, going green, plastic grocery bags, resuable shopping bags, reusable shopping bags, storage solutions, totes