Reusing Plastic Bags

• The easiest way to reduce the use of plastic bags is to recycle the ones already in your home. Instead of bringing home new groceries from a shopping trip just takes the ones already in the house, and have the grocery bagger place newly purchased items in the recycled bags. With each trip take existing plastic bags with you, and use the same idea for other shopping trips such as shopping for school supplies or clothing.
  
  

Using Cardboard Boxes For Shopping

• Wholesale stores such as Sam's Club do not provide their shoppers with grocery bags, however cardboard boxes are available at the checkout lines for carrying out purchased items. This same idea can be used in regular grocery stores by taking your own cardboard box along. Once the items are paid for, place them in the cardboard box and put the box in a shopping cart. Place your cardboard box with the groceries in the car and completely cut back on plastic bag usage.
  
  

Using Cloth Shopping Bags

• Cloth shopping bags are becoming trendy in the green living movement. A cloth shopping bag is reusable over and over again, and can be taken along for any shopping trip. Instead of paying for a cloth shopping bag you can make you own by recycling an old bedsheet, curtains or fabric purchased from a thrift shop. Morsbags.com offers printable patterns and instructions on how to make your own, completely recycled and reusable shopping bag.