Friday, May 9, 2008

Plastic Bags -- The OK Kind

I'm going to blog about plastic bags now because my friend Melissa told me I should. Frankly, I think she just misses blogging. And frankly, I miss her blogging, too, but such is life.

So I called Melissa about an hour ago and she said I needed to blog about those "big plastic freezer bags." Why? "Because," as Melissa said, "You know what? You can put them in the dishwasher, and they get clean!" She'd done just that with a big plastic bag that had been emptied of garlicky paella. Having only used the bag once, she refused to give up on it. Having washed it in the dishwasher, she can use it again, perhaps even for something that you wouldn't want any garlic near, like strawberry rhubarb compote.

I have to admit, plastic kitchen bags -- for storage, for snack -- are a terrible addiction. I almost always have my reusable grocery bags for trips to the market. In fact, in my day-to-day bag, I have the grocery bag and a water bottle and not always a lot of room for anything else. But the kitchen bags? I just can't quit them.

I use them for snack, for storing food, for freezing food. I try to reuse them, especially the snack ones, but I don't always succeed, because I lose them before I can rinse them out and put them back in the closet. It's discouraging. I'd like to be rid of them, but until I find a company that makes reusable, washable snack bags, I'm stuck with them.

I know, I know - -there's tupperware, snack containers, cups with lids. I've tried them all. They work sometimes. But the problem is the lid! I can't always keep track of the lid. If there were a little snack bag with a velcro tab I'd be in heaven. I have sandwich wraps for sandwiches like that -- why can't that company make snack bags? Inquiring minds want to know!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean! I do rinse and reuse the ziplock kind of bags as often as possible. No guilt; not a useful emotion. Good for you, though, using reusable bags. There's a cool baggie tree for hanging them that I saw awhile ago...wish I could remember where!

Robin Aronson said...

I want to use reusable bags -- I just can't find them! Unfortunately, with me and guilt, I just can't say no to it, either, so i live with it along with my plastic bags.....what can I do?

Anonymous said...

Listen. I have a relative who grew up in the Depression. He regularly rinses out and reuses plastic bags that originally contained bread and other supermarket stuff. When I think of the mold/bacteria factor, I'm creeped out. I'm trying to come up with other ways to be green, like unplugging appliances when they're not in use and turning off my computer at night.
Lizi

Robin Aronson said...

Turns out it's not so easy being green, but we all find our way. Who knew?