Those Pesky Plastic Bags

I had a friend ask me what I do with plastic bags that I eventually accumulate.

Not just the standard grocery bags, but the plastic packaging, bread bags, dry cleaning bags, or other types of bags that are labeled as plastic #4 and don’t belong in the curbside recycling bin.

These bags should not be tossed in with your regular recycling because they basically mess up all the machinery and cause all sorting to come screeching to a halt as they have to pull bags free from the machines.

As any normal person does, I hoard them under the kitchen sink until I have a full bag. Then I drop them off at my local grocery store, like Mariano’s, Target, Jewel, Walmart, and more. Check here to see what stores have drop-off locations near you.

In reality, we shouldn’t be using these plastic bags in the first place, but sometimes we get them. They get handed to us before we get a chance to even say something, or a friend sends you home with your leftovers wrapped up in a bag.

It happens. It’s okay.

But it is important to note that using plastic bags because you can bring them to the grocery store to be recycled is NOT THE ANSWER.

Instead, bring your own reusable bags to the store. You’ll also save $0.07 on the bag tax (if you live in Chicago, IL).

 

Buying Local: Week 3

With both of us not being around the prior weekend, we missed the farmers market for the second time in a row.

K stopped at Local Foods in the beginning of the week to pick us up some ingredients for dinner, but I then supplemented the rest with a trip to Mariano’s.

We get to pick up our first CSA share with Nichol’s Farm next Saturday, so naturally, we are super excited to see what we will get!

What We Bought:

• Strawberries from Local Foods
• Chicken breast from Butcher & Larder at Local Foods
• Bread from Chicago, IL
• Salad mix from Bright Farms in Rochelle, IL
• Oberweis milk and ice cream from family farms around IL and WI
• Greenridge Farm lunchmeat from Elk Grove Village, IL
• Giovanni Rana pasta from Bartlett, IL
• English muffins supposedly from Milwaukee, WI, but I need to do some research into that one
• Sweet potato from somewhere probably not nearby

What We Learned:

• I miss my daily banana. My fruit bowl is so empty.
• The amount in our recycling bin has been decreasing because we aren’t buying as may products in plastic and cardboard.
• Some challenges may be coming up, such as with baking goods like sugar and chocolate chips.
• Returning the glass Oberweis bottle to the grocery store earns you $1.50 back

 

Sad, empty fruit bowl waiting for the season’s first strawberries!

 

 

Buying Local: Week 2

K was gone over the weekend, and I spent some time at home with my mom for Mother’s Day, so I missed out on Saturday’s farmers market.

Luckily for us, Green City Market also runs on Wednesdays and since I work from home, I can easily pick some produce up during the week.

Fortunately, we also have other options besides the farmers market. There is Local Foods, which is not far away, and our nearby Mariano’s does carry numerous local options.

For the past week so far, we have basically been cleaning out the fridge and our cabinets, eating whatever random stuff we have left. I have basically been eating steel cut oats every single day because that is all we have left. I am not complaining about that though.

Since K is going to be gone again over the weekend and I will be pretty busy, we did not need to load up on groceries this week.

I accompanied my cousin and her toddler to Mariano’s and picked up a few things:

• Oberweis milk from family farms around IL and WI
• Greenridge Farm lunchmeat from Elk Grove Village, IL
• Today’s Temptation Bread from Chicago
• G.H. Cretor’s cheese popcorn from Waukegan, IL

Oberweis milk in our super empty fridge

After that, I skipped over to Local Foods to get the rest of this week’s necessities:

• Veggies
• Hot dog buns
• A container of walnuts
• Tortilla chips to compliment the rest of the salsa we have left

We are going to be gone again over Memorial Day weekend, so hopefully, this won’t be so sporadic once we are actually home for a weekend!