I was idly reading an article, contemplating the latest price for gas and wondering what new highs and lows were in the local news today.
One of today’s topics I believe was something to do with grocery stores and bagging your own groceries. ~ There was some mention about cashiers bagging or not, or at least something along that line of ~ Can you remember when?
Along a related line was the latest on environment green. No more plastic bags ~ back to paper bags again? But then what about cutting down the trees to make the bags? I tell you it’s a no win situation.
So can you just imagine some person having to bag their own groceries, standing in the line up and hating every minute of it. What was worse, ~ even having to buy the bags!
There they are dragging their butt and grumbling all the time while they bag. I guess one can’t blame them when you see the prices in the grocery stores these days.
This for some reason prompted me to come out with the remark:
‘Bag your own grocery shopping bag rage!’
I mean like. ~ Just think about it.
We have road rage and someone stole the parking space rage, or someone jumped the lineup rage etc, etc.
“Jeeze the stores these days want you to do their work for them! While they stand watching, with their blah, blah, blah.”
If you’ve ever grocery shopped, then you have heard it all before I’m sure.
Meanwhile you get someone else who is waiting in line, getting a little bit impatient, stomping around whilst waiting their turn to bag.
I can see it all now, ~ “Man gets arresting for whacking another customer with a wet lettuce while bagging same!” ~
The mind could work wonders with that one.
I must keep that possibility in mind and shop where they bag the groceries for you!
C’ya
16 comments:
Hi ERIC. We have taken a slightly different approach. Our market still bags our groceries in canvaslike bags that we provide. I always have 3-4 in the car and I think Donna has 6+. It does cut down on the amount of plastic we are returning to "nature" (when I remember to take them into the market with me). :~)
Hi Leon,
A lot of the stores here, have also gone the way of the canvas bags, they sell them to you and are a good buy at 99c. (reminds me of England years ago. )
It's easy to forget the bags though when so many stores are still plastic or considering going back to paper.
What raises, my eyebrows lately is the overwhelming numbers of plastic water bottles, I bet not all of those are re-cycled.
We keep about 10 canvas bags in our car. I figured it would take me about 6 months to learn to remember them consistently, and I was right. You're right about the plastic bottles. We use a Brita filter to make our tap water taste better.
My 99-year-old mother, who lives with us, still needs about 7 plastic bags a week in order to dispose of the cat's kitty-litter clumps. She also insists on bottled water for herself. "Brita" water is OK for the cat, however.
P.S. Coincidentally, I wrote a haiku last week about plastic bottles. It's on my "freeverseandworse" blog. I was struck with the irony of seeing a truck delivering vitamin-spiked water in, what else, plastic bottles.
Hi Forsythia, like you we now keep canvas bags in the truck for the stores without bags. It's funny how they accualate when you go out without them, then buy more. :)
Sorry I missed the haiku Forsythia. Where we live there is a quarry about 3 miles away. The water here is very bad for the lime in it, it wrecks havoc with all it touches. We too use the Brita filter, have done for years.
The bottled water though is not much better, so they say ~ you don't really know where they filled the bottles. Then there is the plastic! will we ever get away frim it all... :(
Wow. Do you shop at the same store I do? There's always two lanes out of six open and fifteen people in line. But it does offer the opportunity to get to know other people. :) I met a boyfriend once that way.
I don't mind bagging my own groceries. They don't hire enough people to do the job anymore. So many cutbacks. And I've always been in favor of canvas bags. Its nice to see that coming around.
Hahaha Zirelda. Don't you know that most stores nowadays are clones? At least it seems that way.
I think that each time we go they all go to lunch leaving just one cashier working the till. :D
Bagging your own is getting to be the in thing in order to cut back on labour. We don't mind so much anymore, it can be fun sometimes. :)
Here's the plastic bottle haiku:
Health in a bottle
Herb-and-vitamin water:
Food for landfill gods.
Thanks Forsythia, that is very good, I like that.
Which reminds me, its time I started a little more poetry myself. Thanks for sharing. :)
We use canvas bags too because at one point I had so many plastic ones I was floating in them. It is hard to remember but well worth the effort - they don't break like the plastic ones do, more can go in a canvas bag and they're easier on the hands too.
With all the literature on NOT using plastic either in the microwave or freezer/cooler because of the toxins given off it seems so strange there are so many bottled waters now...
It does seem to be a universal problem Janice but all you say plastic vs canvas is very true. :)
Now bags vs bottles, where will it all end up I wonder.
Hi Eric - Interesting topic! I, like so many others, keep canvas bags in my car, even freezer bags to keep stuff cool in, and the plastic ones I sometimes pick up in the shop I use to put recycling plastic & metal material in. They are very keen on recycling here in Germany, which I totally agree with. Aren't I a good boy ;-) Cheriooo!
You are indeed a good boy Swen and it is so good to see you back on the keyboard.
This recycling thing is a world wide project I'm sure, ~ it's just plain commonsense now for all to try and do their part. Too little too late? ~ Maybe not. :)
Eric...you're from the UK, right? My first experience with bagging my own groceries was in Brighton, England and then subsequently in AMSterdam on repeated trips there. At Albert Heijn(they own Stop and Shop, by the way), they offer these chintzy plastic bags that will fall apart if you look at them wrong. OR you can buy a sturdy tote bag or plastic bag for a nominal charge. OR you can bring your own bag. Not a bad policy, in my opinion. And as far as people bitching about how the store is doing less for them, I'm considering the source: The Self-Entitled, Coddled, Over-pampered American Consumer...that's my two cents...
LOL@gap ~ I can tell you are from the UK also, who else would hold such a view of their American cousins! hahaha
There are some you could say are "a pampered consumer," ~ but you can get that in any country as well my friend.. :)
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