Do you wash plastic bags?
August 13, 2009 by Jennifer Chait
Filed under Doing it Yourself, children's activity, food
I’ve known my fair share of thrifty folks who wash plastic bags. They’ll hand wash and dry and some people even toss them in the laundry on cold. This obviously reduces your trash, so saves you cash there, reduces your consumption of plastic bags, so again with the savings, and reduces your negative impact on the planet, especially if you recycle the baggies after. Still…
I have to wonder, with all the reusable sandwich and snack baggies and wraps available now, why are people still washing bags? Some may argue that you have to wash the reusable baggies or wraps too, which yeah does take water. However, have you ever seen reusable cloth baggies (SO small) it would take dozens, maybe hundreds to make up a full load which makes the water issue almost a moot point. And while cloth baggies or wraps cost more at start up, there’s no comparing costs in the long run. Cloth is cheaper. Cloth baggies can last years, while plastic baggies won’t. Cloth baggies save you time (no trips to the store) and they don’t add to your trash bill. Best of all, they’re healthier for the planet.
Here are some places to score good reusable baggies:
Plum Creek Mercantile - reusable, organic, Velcro closure, and last forever (I love mine, and my son has not lost any). About $25 for five bags of varying size.
Eco Sandwich/Snack Bags at Kathi’s Creations – cute designs about $5 a pop.
Kid Konserve – makes nice wraps that work like baggies. A killer deal too at just $25 for a set of five.
Better yet really save some cash and make your own reusable baggies!
I don’t wash my plastic bags but I hate using so many every day. Thanks for this post, I contacted Kathi’s Creations to order 10.