The Reusable Bag Rationalization

It wasn't that long ago that you'd go to a store, buy a new pair of pants or sneakers or underarm hair moisturizer and you'd walk out of the store with a thick, heavy plastic bag.   In recent years the retail merchandise conveyance has changed quite a bit.   Instead of thick plastic, you usually get paper or sometimes you get thin plastic.    In some cases (like many of the grocery stores around here) you can select recycled paper or thin plastic if you don't have your own bags.

It's a good change and things are moving in a positive direction.   In some locations, you are required to have your own bags or boxes to carry our your purchases.    But in some cases, there seems to be a step backwards going on.  

If you go to a fancy or expensive store in a shopping mall, there is a reasonable chance that the only type of bag they will have is a reusable bag.    There are two stores I shop at fairly regularly for general clothing and fitness wear and for some reason, both of these stores only have these thick, very nice bags.  

I asked one time if they had a paper bag because I didn't need a reusable bag and was told, "you can use it for all sorts of things.   They're great for groceries."   Yes, I know they are, but I have plenty of reusable bags that are just the right size for groceries and I don't need another bag every time I shop for new sneakers.  

I'm wondering what the message is though.   Is it that the store wants you to advertise for them?  Do they want to give you a nice bag because you'll associate the quality of their take-home, disposable packaging with the quality of their goods?  

Anyone can refuse a bag or bring their own, but the exception, not the norm from what I've seen.    For now, when I didn't have a bag of my own and wasn't able to carry out the item(s) I bought without a bag (which I've done,) I'm just collecting the bags for some yet-unknown purpose.  

In the meantime, I'll keep in mind that reusable bags, "are great for groceries" and try to remember to bring my own bags when I go shopping in the future.

The Big Boy Update:  My son had his fourth-birthday party today.  Nana and Papa came to town and many of his friends from school were able to attend as well as some from our street.   It was in an indoor playground and I'm fairly certain everyone had fun, including the adults who got to talk while the children played.    When we got home from the party we had a few gifts to open.   I was asking my husband to go slowly on the opening so I could get pictures with cards/names beside them for thank you note writing.   After the third time of my husband telling my son he had to wait, my son said plaintively, "dad, you're ruining my birthday!"

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:   My daughter got in the bath last night and sat down in the water.   She looked around suddenly and said, "hey, something is missing...we need toys!"   She was right, she had forgotten to put toys into the tub from the toy drawer before getting in the bath.

Fitness Update:  Okay, I didn't exercise per-se today, but my husband asked me to check my step count when we headed out to the early birthday party, remembering my four-hundred step morning the other day.   I told him, "I didn't put my phone in a pocket for a while, so I'm sure it's low.   But it wasn't:  it was at over seventeen-hundred already.    Maybe some mornings are more step-intensive than others.