Reusable totes are awesome. When you don’t suck, and actually bring them.

I try to take them right back out to the car after I unload the groceries. That worked a couple of times. Then I kept getting busy. So I tried making somebody else, less lazy that me, take them back to the car. That only worked once.It turns out I AM NOT the laziest person I know. I’ve been so busy gloating in my head that the bags still haven’t put them back in the car. For awhile I tried just buying new bags. Which is a waste because I noow have aboout 40 of ‘em and I can’t ever use them all. I’ve also tried writing at the top of the grocery list “Bring Bags Dummy” but I usually forget my list.

I also have this problem. I need help.

And now I’m officially a Lazy Douche also because not only did I waste your time and kill some of your brain cells, but I probably created more pollution and used up damn good electricity being NO HELP AT ALL.

I suck.

I’ve had the same conversation with myself in the parking lot… short of the spitting in my own face. I don’t have that talent yet. I’ll get to work on that pronto.

BUT! I keep the totes in my truck! I try to remember (you like that? TRY to remember) to put them back in the seat pockets after I use them. Then when I forget them and am still in the parking lot, my conversation goes more like, “You forgot the bags again.”
“No, I forgot to get them out of the truck when I got out. Go back for them.”
“Oh yeah. That would a good idea.”
“I know. I’m brilliant.”

Then I go get my bags out of the truck and go inside feeling all brilliant-like.

But, granted, that only works if I remember to take the bags from the house and put them into the truck after unloading them of groceries.
Twitter: niseag03

Also, my keyboard has joined me on the douche run and doesn’t like to type correctly. Really. I totally did not just post that comment without spell checking because I’m watching Dexter and am too horny to think. I swear.

Make it a kid’s chore to take the bags out to the car when the groceries are unloaded?

Have a cabinet by the front door or in the garage for them? Sign to remind you?

I’m very fortunate to live in San Francisco. Plastic bags were banned, and so the paper bags are strong and have good handles. I try to bring reusable totes, or a bunch of paper bags when I remember, but also I don’t mind too much having more paper bags, because we sometimes use them to carry recycling downstairs. Good for party contributions, too.
Twitter: Al_Pal

I ‘usually’ remember to have them in the car. I also have twice as many as I need (because I kept forgetting to bring them and would buy more), so if I forget I still usually have some in the car. The most frustrating is when I have my husband’s car, ’cause there aren’t any in that one!

yep! – I leave them in the car boot

Welcome to my world. I’ve got a whole BAGFUL of reusable bags … that I always forget. And I never remember to get meat out for dinner. Or anything like that. And your heroin needed an E to make it special.

But I still love you. And I’m working on loving me.
.-= Veronica´s last blog ..Curled up =-.

In the car. I now have a set for me and a set for hubz vehicle. I put the empties from unpacking the groceries right in front of the door I have to go out (small house)to get to my car so I walk ON them unless I pick them up to take them back out. Also, when we lived in Sicily (96-99) we used reusable bags (which I am still using in hubz vehicle)because we would be charged for each bag (a la IKEA) used. Also had to use a coin to get a cart which was returned to you when you returned the cart. Sicily was a much cleaner place in spite of an active volcano!

I actually accumulated so many that I always have some in my van and in Matt’s car. It just turned out to be easier to have too many.
Also, our Stop and Shop charges 10 cents per bag, because we live in crunchy-ville -which I like, in general, but not sure I think charging people is the best solution…seems like it might be punishing folks who don’t have bags, can’t afford bags, etc…although really, you could just bring a box, anyway. I clearly have very mixed feelings about charging for bags, but I hear it worked in Ireland! Yeah, Socialism!
.-= Karen´s last blog ..Summer’s Sweet End =-.

My mom has extras in the trunk of her car. Or you could make it a habit to put them on top of your purse when you’re done unloading them, then when you go to leave next you can’t help but see them and take them back out to the car.
We have no car and you have to pay for bags here in Belgium, so it’s pretty easy to remember to take some bags when you shop.
.-= Lilacspecs´s last blog ..Let’s Talk Tennis =-.

At this point, I have eleventy-bazillion reusable bags, so odds are good that I’ll have a few in my car even when I’ve been really lazy about gathering up the ones inside the house. I’m actually pretty good about remembering to take bags with me to the grocery store, but I always kick myself when I forget to grab a bag when I’m going to other kinds of stores. That’s why I have a plethora of Home Depot bags handy for scooping out the catbox.
.-= Average Jane´s last blog ..Average Jane Is Contrary =-.

I forget my stupid bags every stupid time I go to the store. You would think I wouldn’t, because I happen to love them, love that I don’t have to worry about them spilling my grocery crap all over the pavement, love that I can stuff them full with, like, TWICE the stuff of the plastic bags, love that my kid can play with them and I’m not worried about him asphyxiating… you get the point. Oh, and I’m doing something great for the earth and future generations. I actually used to work at a county office situated 1/4 mile outside of a landfill, and beeshes, if seeing those humungous piles of rotting waste every work day isn’t enough to make you never throw anything not completely biodegradable out again, well… (I don’t know how to finish that sentence. Help me out, Lotus.)

But I still forget them because I, too, am a lazy douche. It’s okay. I think we’re forming a sisterhood or something: Lazy Douches of America. LDA. Anyway, so all the careful meal planning that I do, buying stuff on sale? Completely useless since all that money that I saved is spent on buying new bags.

Sigh. But I do love them. Also, since Breast Cancer Awareness Month is coming up, my local supermarket chain will start selling these awesome pink reusable bags that are SO CUTE. Bonus.
.-= Anne´s last blog ..maybe I should end my sentences with prepositions =-.

I have a huge collection of “bags for life”. That’s mostly because when I forget them, I have to buy more. But I have done the “trolley-to-conveyor-to-trolley-to-car-to-house” scenario completely bagless. But I felt like a right needle unloading my groceries singularly from the car to the house, and the melons had rolled about the smushed the cheerios and then impaled themselves on the edge of something sharp, which meant a melon scented wet patch which was most uncool…
.-= pixielation´s last blog ..More iphone appyness =-.

I have no advice that anyone else hasn’t given, I just want to let you know that I love your go green posts. Keep ‘em coming! I keep thinking about getting the buckets to collect the cold shower water, but as I am lazy too, I haven’t done it yet. I keep forgetting when out and about.

As for the bags, I either put them next to the door or on my purse or have my son put them back in the car. All of these work. I am completely forgetful about everything else, but these approaches work for me. Now if I could only remember the list!!! Aaaarrrggg!

After I unload them I hang them on the doorknob so the next time I go outside they are hanging there in the way and MUST be moved in order to shut the door. (My husband HATES this by the way.) Anyway…they get taken out the car and thrown in the backseat and thus they are always in the car. Of course the next trick is to remember to grab them out of the backseat on the way into the store. Ugh.

Even though I have eleventy seventeen bazillion of the damn things, I still kept forgetting to toss them back in the trunk of the car after each use, so now I punish myself if I forget the reusable bags. Momma be very sad when she doesn’t get to buy some sort of dessert at the grocery store, and momma be much better at remembering after a week without ice cream.
.-= Burgh Baby´s last blog ..Mary Hurts My Brain =-.

Go read the fun monday comments– my only thing to really say is that you need to put your groceries away and then immediately take the bags back to the car. Have the little one help as his chore for the day. If you keep them in the car, you can’t forget them. If they are anywhere but the car right now, take them at LEAST to the doorknob, and make it a priority to take them out to the car the next time you leave the house.
.-= jill´s last blog ..Fun Monday: It’s in the bag, baby! =-.

Well, this is probably repeating everything that everyone already said, but I keep mine in the trunk of my car. To remember to put them back in the trunk, as I unload them, I keep one bag open and fold all the others to place inside the first bag. Then I stick that bag fulla bags right next to the back door where I will trip on it the next time I go out to the car. It seems to work for me.
.-= Andi´s last blog ..Today’s Meditation =-.

I put them on the doorknob to the front door, so I have to deal with the stupid things getting in my way each time I want to leave the house. Now I don’t actually drive my car all that often, but sometimes even when I’m not going to the car, but to the bus stop, I’ll stop and throw them in the car on the way. Basically, I make them such a nuisance that I can’t avoid dealing with them. Or my dear husband has to deal with them. He usually gives in first, to be completely honest. (Um. I just read through some of the comments and it looks like Carissa does this too. I’m a copycat.)
.-= NGS´s last blog ..45 x 365 #214 =-.

I, too, keep the bags in my trunk…and often forget to bring them into the store until I’m in the check-out line. My Trader Joe’s even has a big sign out front that says “Did you remember your bags?!” Doesn’t matter. I still forget. Luckily, I usually have a teenaged kid with me, so I send ‘em out to get them. That’s what you need!!! A teenaged kid!!!
.-= Claire in CA, USA´s last blog ..40 Days of Lent =-.

Well the obvious thing to do is put them back in your car trunk after unloading your items in the house. This is what I do. But the other thing that I forget to do is take them out of the trunk and into the store. I’m working on that one.
.-= Junebug´s last blog ..Breitbart’s Big Government exposes Acorn prostitute scam with video and text from James O’Keefe =-.

Just dropped by to say thanks for visiting my Fun Monday. I have 2 sets of bags one lot live in the car, always replaced immediately, not virtuous just can’t bear having them in the way. Another set kept in a cupboard for when I might walk to the shops. It’s become a habit and I’m too mean to keep on buying new ones so I remember LOL.
.-= chrisb´s last blog ..Fun Monday # 133 I’m a bag lady! =-.

I had this problem for a long time too. Or I would just forget to get them out of the car until I had all my groceries. Nothing like leaving your kid in the cart while you run out to the car to get your bags…
When I’m done putting my groceries away I put the bags by my purse… where I will then have to pick them up next time I’m going out to my car. Then I put them in the back seat of my car. 99% of the time I’m taking my kid in the store with me so I see the bags when I’m getting him out and remember them.
Most of the time it works… and when it doesn’t… well, we re-use the plastic bags for garbage bags or take them to the store to recycle them!
Good luck!
.-= Krista´s last blog ..California Day 2 =-.

I hate it when I forget mine! I keep them in the car, and sometimes don’t remember until I get out to the car with my PLASTIC bags!! I feel like such a horrible person.
.-= Suzy Voices´s last blog ..Are You Kidding Me???? =-.

I too put them back in the car as soon as I’ve unpacked the groceries. Well, I don’t do it myself, that’s what boys are for
.-= 12ontheinside´s last blog ..I Picked This One Well =-.

Can you stand another take them right back out to the car? I made that a habit as soon as I put the last grocery item up and it hasn’t failed me yet. This is where I admit it is one of the FEW things I remember and that is kinda sad.

I have at least six of those bags, even keep them in the car. But don’t remember them until I’m already through shopping.
.-= Tara R.´s last blog ..Fancy-smancy new header =-.
Twitter: Tara_R

Well I totally thought I was so clever, but apparently not since I do the same thing as everybody else! I store the bags in my car. After unpacking them, I hang them on the back door handle, and carry them back to the car the next time I go outside (we have an unattached garage…). Well, at least I know I’m in good company with my brilliant idea!

I have the Flip & Tumble bags that scrunch up really small, and I just keep them in my purse. They actually have a pocket inside that they fold themselves into, but I just shove ‘em in.

Of course, I own a coffee shop and have to buy bagels & milk & stuff every morning, so it works out for me to always have them in there but it might not be as practical for people who only shop once a week or so.

I also have the world’s most gigantic purse, so that helps. I don’t miss any of the room those bags take up.
.-= seven´s last blog ..ohmyseven: Do you guys know I have given over 5000 stars? That’s a lot of love, people. =-.

I think those bags are great. And almost everywhere I shop now sells them.
Okay, get your rotten tomatoes ready…
I own 1 (which I got for donating blood). I know using the plastic bags is bad for the planet, but I seem to be stuck with no other option: I always need a Wal-Mart bag for something. Scooping the cat’s litter box is very high on the list. Followed by poopy diapers (the Diaper Genie bit me once and had to go live on a farm in the country…) and lining all the small wastebaskets in the bathrooms and sending wet clothes home with the step-kids. Our waste management service “requests” that everything be in a bag and tied shut, so those plastic ones are handy for the small-but-stinky loads of trash that must go to the dumpster right away!
I can’t seem to avaid them, but I use as few as possible and then reuse those for something (sometimes they get used several times before they are discarded). Large items like gallons of cooking oil and bags of cat food do not need to be bagged anyway. (Much less double-bagged). And if I actually went in and bought just 1 or 2 things, I skip the bag completely- just show the receipt at the door.
Commence tomato-bombing.
.-= ‘cuz I’m the mommy, that’s why´s last blog ..And They’ll Let Anybody Drive a Car… =-.

LOL!
Okay, I think I just hurt myself laughing! But that’s a good thing. I haven’t had so much to laugh about lately. And I forget my reusable bags all the time. So what do I do? I buy another one. Don’t ask how many I have. I don’t know. But now we need more storage to put them away.
Love ya, Lotus.
.-= WackyMummy´s last blog ..Jackrabbits of the Apocalypse =-.

Since we seem to be kindred and/or sisters from another mother… You are not the only one to have had that exact convo with yourself. Just sayin’.
I would buy bags even though I had bags but had forgotten them. So now that my collection is that extensive I keep some in my car and always replenish. I also have one that folds up so small that I keep in my purse. When I whip it out of my tiny purse in the store everyone around me has bag envy.
.-= Kaytabug´s last blog ..Eye See Macro Monday =-.

Yeah… all this has been said.

We have more than we need so it takes two mess ups to be without bags. There is no “place” for them in the house so they have to go back to the car. We either take them right back out to the car or hang them on the front door knob until we go back out.

And when I say we i mean my wife…I always forget.

Lotus-
I think I need to encourage you to give yourself a fucking break. You are your worst critic and I hate to hear you self-flagellate yourself too often.

I will say that with your public blog, I am sure you get some pretty ridiculous comments/emails to rival the worst critic cliche.
.-= Josh´s last blog ..Big Day!! Firehouse & First Bath!! =-.

Keep them in the car. Right on the back seat, next to the car seat, so you see them when you get out of the car. (Doing double duty as a handy toddler toy on the drive) Then they inevitably spend the next 3 weeks sitting on the kitchen floor until you finally think to take them back out to the car…but that’s your problem, not mine.
.-= K8spade´s last blog ..Sometimes There Aren’t Any Words =-.

To remember my bags I actually have twice as many as I need. When I return from the store I fold them back up and put them with my keys. Next trip to the car I put them in the trunk.

Now I’m not perfect. I forget sometimes. I often get inside Target and realize they are in the car.

And because sometimes I, too, am a lazy douche, if my kids are with me, I absolutely do not go back out and get the bags.

I do more good than bad and that’s all I can ask of myself.
.-= Leighann of Multi-Minding Mom´s last blog ..Survivor is Lost on Me =-.

Here in Switzerland they don’t give you a bag at the grocery store. They just scanned it rapid fire and shoot it down the counter at you, where you should be quickly putting it in your own bags and then without delay also be ready to pay as soon as the scanning is finished. Stress!

I usually hang the bags on the front door handle to force myself to take them back to the car next time I go out. Usually this works. Sometimes not.

The worst thing is when you go all the way through the store, do all the shopping and only then realize that the bags are in the car. Last time this happened, I decided to put all the groceries back into the trolley after the cashier scanned them – without a bag. As I was shopping I kept thinking that this would be embarrassing, but I really did not want to buy more bags, so I did it. By the time I was checking out, I was mentally daring anyone to look at me funny. Dammit – I was saving the planet.