New Bag, New Box, New Bottle?

“Would you like a separate bag for your bananas?” said the young, friendly check-out clerk on today's post-work trip to the grocery store.

Would you like a plastic clamshell box for your tomatoes, ginger root, peppers, pears, lemons, and…

 

Would you like a case of water in little single-serve bottles?

Would you like…..

Well, to be honest, I might like it. Packaging makes life pretty darn convenient and organized. Really, what says newness better than something packaged in a clear, shiny plastic box? Or bag? Or bottle? We like them. We like them SO much. 

Tonight Miriam and I were cleaning up her wooden castle blocks. They still go back into the original container, a little cardboard box whose sides are now bent. The blocks don’t stay in very well. I caught myself daydreaming of the home organization aisles at Target. You know, all those color-coordinated boxes, crates and canvas sorters? “J” personality types like me drool over the clever ways everything can be so neat and tidy. For a moment I thought about getting a new container for the blocks.

Then I woke up. I have shoe boxes in the basement. I have gift bags in the attic. Nathan has wood scraps I’m sure he could fashion into a simple box. I don’t need to buy anything. Sorry, Target execs. I really do like them, but I don’t have to have them. 

It has been and continues to be a journey for me to learn how to rely on less packaging; I can do much better. It was a little easier when we lived in towns with co-ops that encouraged not only bringing our reusable bags but containers to fill up our flour bins, spice jars and shampoo bottles. I know it’s possible; that’s what makes the reality of not having it even harder. We can do so much better than bringing our own bags, but that is a start. (or better yet, ban plastic bags altogether as Chicago has done)

Check out the Story of Stuff project. The segment on bottled water is excellent. Check out the grocery stores that promote less packaging. And when the cashier asks if she can put every thing in a separate bag, be bold. Just let those bananas touch the milk and cheese. They won't mind.