Going green & getting organized with Chico Bags

ChicoBag Reusable Shopping Bags have been a long time favorite of mine. I’ve been using them for years to grocery shop, go to the farmers market, picnics, etc. I often get asked about them so I thought I’d do a post I could direct people to. What I love about them is:

• they are practically indestructible
• they wash well
• they are super tough
• they hold a ton of stuff in each one
• they pack into little bitty bags that I can carry everywhere with me
• they save the environment

I always have some in my purse and in my car. I have a tiny little drawer in my kitchen that they are stashed in so whenever anyone in the family needs a bag – they know right where to go.
Part of being organized is having a plan, being prepared and going with works for you.
The best part is that we end up not getting so many plastic bags in the house. I have to admit that I do get plastic grocery bags sometimes – I need something to scoop the cat box with and for other icky things but for the most part, these are my go-to bags.
What’s funny is that I’ve been using these bags for so long, but when I first started bringing them to the Publix by my house when we moved to Tennessee, the baggers were completely baffled. Now they know me, and Publix (and most other stores) sell their own re-usable bags. But every time I go – someone asks me where I got mine – ’cause they are really cool. I called Chico Bags to see if I could be an affiliate and re-sell them but they don’t do that (yet!). I wanted to promote them anyway (did I mention I love these bags?). While I was on the phone with them, the nice representative said, “would you like me to send you some of our new bags?”. Hmmm, let me think about that ….well, yeah! So they sent me three new bags. As you can see, the cat really likes them. But I’ve been using them and here’s my thoughts:

1. The bag made of 7 plastic bottles is called the Recycled Plastic (PET) Reusable Shopping Tote. I got mine in a great chocolate brown color with an amber handle portion – very sturdy and attractive. I really liked the color scheme and the cute little logo which I thought was a flower but is actually little bottles. Nice bag – may get more of these – very useful and I love the idea of the recycling.

2. The bag called the Chico Bag Vita Reusable Bag
is much bigger and I do love the longer handles – fit right over the shoulder. This one, though, is super crumply and wrinkly and the material isn’t as soft feeling as my other bags. Love the size though – this is making a great bag for carrying library books and going to the pool. I chose the color I thought was going to be more of a coral but it turned out to be a really really bright orange! Actually a good fit over here in Tennessee – one of the local sports teams has this color so I’m set. Would be more set if I were a sports fan, but whatever.

3. The third bag was another like the ones I already have. This is my all time favorite bag. I’ve got over a dozen and have been using them for so many years and they still look brand new. This is the original ChicoBag Reusable Shopping Bag.

What fun to get to test these out – and since I’ve already been using them, I can’t speak more highly than that. Get yourself some.