I'll Start with the Easy Lifting

Since I'm just getting warmed up on the blogging, I'll start with a change that is not creative or unique, but I've been working on for years and have finally found the perfect balance for me - shopping bags.  I'm sure everyone has heard the arguments for reuseable shopping bags, the horrors of those plastic store bags and the questions about whether paper bags are any better. So, several years ago I started my quest to eliminate those plastic shopping bags from my life.  This was an easy choice, for me, as they have long bugged me for many reasons that have nothing to do with the environment - they hurt my hands to carry them, I hate trying to catch all the loops when carrying more than one, it takes WAY too many for my typical shopping trip, it takes too many trips from the car to get everything inside, they break too easily, they spill too easily and they were always in my way.  I knew I would never miss them if I could just find another way to carry my groceries.

It started with an impulse buy.  My local grocery had some large reinforced bags (not fabric) with nylon straps for a couple bucks each.  I bought a few and fell in love.  These bags held so much - I could get a fairly full grocery cart of stuff into 4 bags.  They were sturdy enough to put a gallon of milk, a jug of juice and a few smaller things in the same bag.  If I could lift it the bag would hold it.  They were shaped and folded like a paper bag with flat bottoms so they would stay upright in the car on the way home.  They had a short handle for carrying in the hand and a long handle for over-the-shoulder.  I could frequently get all my groceries for the week into the house in ONE trip.  For a while, I was set.  But, once the novelty wore off, I started to forget them - either forgetting to put them back in the car after unloading or forgetting to bring them in at the store.  They also weren't really washable, so after a time they started to get funky.  Then, the handles started to break.  I probably would have just bought more, but the store no longer sold them.

I still wasn't ready to invest in the expensive canvas options I knew were out there, so I bought a few of the smaller fabric bags for about a dollar each.  These worked OK, but didn't hold as much, didn't survive washing very well and I had the same problems with forgetting them.  For a while I would just buy more when I forgot them since they were so cheap.  I eventually accumulated more than a dozen and realized things were getting out of hand.  On the up side, I had so many that if I forgot to put them back in the car after unloading, I still had plenty more in the back.  I also expanded my thinking from just grocery bags and started taking them to the mall and other shopping trips, when I remembered to bring take them in with me.

Then, I found Repax.  For me, these were perfect.  It's a local product (BONUS!), though I have since seen others that are similar.  Repax is a set of 4 large nylon bags that stuff into a small carry bag.  The 4 bags will carry a week of groceries for my family.  Like my first set of bags, if I can lift it, the bag can carry it.  I almost always do laundry and grocery shopping on the same day, so I unload the groceries and then throw the bags in the wash.  Best of all, the stuff sack with all 4 bags fits in my purse.  So I always have them with me - at the grocery, at the mall, at the toy store, anywhere I am shopping.  I'll pull one out at clothing stores while I shop to make it easier to carry the items I'm considering.  When only getting a few items at the grocery or department stores, I'll use one of these instead of a cart.  I also discovered I could fit some washable/reuseable produce bags in with the carry bag with the grocery bags.  No more store plastic bags at my house!

So how does this balance for me?
Heart/Body/Mind: These bags are easier to carry and I feel better about using them.
Time: I save time carrying groceries into the house. They are MUCH more convenient than other options, so I use them more.
My Wallet: These bags are more expensive than the cheap fabric bags at many stores, but cheaper than the canvas options I've seen.  Some stores where I shop are offering a bag refund now, so I've probably gotten about half the total cost back in refunds.
The Earth:  A definite improvement for the earth.

This is me, joining the blogosphere.

Alright, alright, I can't resist - I'm jumping in.  Welcome to my blog, both of you.  Let me tell you what you can expect from this blog, at least as I currently intend it.  I hope to use this forum to talk about things I'm trying, things I've changed, and things I think need changing to bring better balance to my life.  I'm noticing more and more in my life that I make many decisions by weighing four different categories of information: how it will affect the mind, body, and heart of myself and my family, how I want to spend my time, the financial impact and the cost or benefit to the earth and those who share it with me.  The scales tip in different directions with each decision.

I'm full of contradictions - I drive a not-very-fuel-efficient SUV but I'm constantly looking for ways to reduce, reuse and recycle.  I'll try all kinds of "green" products and alternatives, but there are some chemicals I may never give up.  I get just about all of our food from the farmer's market, our locally-owned grocery or Whole Foods and feed my family home-cooked meals at least 4 nights a week; however, we also eat at McDonald's (gasp) and love our fried Louisiana seafood.  As a small business owner, I feel it is very important to shop at local small businesses, but I'm no stranger to WalMart and Target.  So if one post sounds too tree-hugger for you, tune in next time and I may be a shameless consumer!

I also reserve the right to post anything else that comes to mind.  I promise to keep the discussions of specific politics and religion to a minimum, but may ramble on about my family, my business or my hobbies from time to time.  If I ever sound like I'm trying to tell you what to do, please know it is not intentional.  I know that what works well for me may not suit you at all.  I hope I can influence some of you to consider something new, and that some of you will influence me as well.