Daily Archives: January 21, 2009

Stores That Reward You For Bringing Your Own Bags

January 21, 2009
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When I go food shopping these days, bringing my own bags has turned into a kind of game. Based on how long my shopping list is, I try to judge how many reusable bags I need to bring. The idea is to avoid using any paper or plastic bags from the supermarket.

I must be getting really good at this “game” because I always seem to have just enough bags or come home with some of the bags still empty. What would make this “game” even more worth my while was if my grocery store, Giant, would reward me for using my own bags. SuperFresh around the corner gives me $.05 for each bag I bring in, but SuperFresh is way more expensive to shop at, as is Shop Rite, which offers $.03 for reusing a Shop Rite bag and $.05 for bringing your own reusable bag.

If you’re wondering what stores will reward you (financially) for bringing your own bags with you when you go grocery shopping, this Frugal Hacks blog posting asks readers to list the stores that give a discount for bringing your own bags. Some of the stores that readers have listed that do reward you include:

  • Whole Foods
  • Kroger
  • Trader Joes
  • Albertson’s
  • Safeway

Someone mentioned getting a bag credit at Target. Has anyone tried that out? Do you have other stores to add to this list?

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Buy Less Stuff Revisited

January 21, 2009
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When you’ve got three women in a family with thick hair, you’re doing to go through a lot of hair conditioner. Which is why I’m not surprised that I finally had to go out and buy conditioner at the store today.

You’ll recall from my late December post called “Buy Less Stuff” that I’d spent an afternoon (with my mom, actually) organizing all of the toiletries that we’d be stockpiling under our sink. I wanted to store them all together in easy-to-reach containers so that I had a real sense of my inventory and I wouldn’t end up buying more shampoo, conditioner, lotion or soap simply because I couldn’t “see” what I had. By the end of our organizing, we had containers each filled with shampoos, lotion, hair conditioner and soap–much of it little bottles we’d accumulating over time from staying in hotels on business trips.

While our shampoo and soap containers are still going strong, we’ve just finished up all of the conditioner. I was to the point where I was filling each bottle of barely-anything-in-it conditioner with water, shaking it up and dumping it over my head, just to get some conditioner on my hair. When the water was coming out clear, I knew it was time to bite the bullet and buy conditioner. We’d lasted almost a month using up our supplies. I guess that’s good.

I purchased a gargantuan bottle of conditioner when I went grocery shopping today. We’ll see how long it lasts.

P.S. If you’re not interested in stockpiling those little bottles of toiletries, you can always donate them to your local shelter.

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