How Many Bags Have YOU Gone Through?

Ever since Noah was born,  more and more I noticed how many Ziploc bags we went through. I am somewhat of a germaphobe, so when I used a Ziploc bag to store one of Noah's pacifiers, I would almost always throw it out after only one use. As I threw the plastic into the garbage, a sense of guilt overcame me. I felt bad for throwing it out after only a single use, and that I was throwing money away.

Another guilt I have is with plastic grocery bags. These days, I see more people bringing reusable bags to the grocery stores. I say to myself that every time I'm going to start doing the same. We have a million plastic bags sitting in our pantry and I wonder how many we have used in just the past month. Since plastic comes from oil, and oil usually spells disaster (insert Iraq) (insert BP), maybe we should try to use a little less of it.

I've decided I'm going on a Ziploc and grocery bag strike, and I want to see how long I can go. To replace the Ziploc bags I plan on purchasing a few of these. They have so many fabric choices and I love all of them!

As for the plastic grocery bags, I have a bunch of reusable bags that I've gotten for free here and there, so no additional cost there.  From now on, I'm going to play it safe and make sure to leave some reusable bags in my car in case I make an impromptu shopping trip!

One more thing. Since Christmas is right around the corner, many of you will be using a lot of wrapping paper and/or plastic/paper bags. Why not wrap your gifts in reusable fabric the Japanese way? I came across this website that shows you how to wrap your gifts in fabric (called furoshiki) and it looks so adorable!

How will you stop using so much plastic? Are you ready to go on the strike with me?