Thursday, August 7, 2008

Going Green

So, I'm trying to singlehandedly save the environment, eliminate global warming, and repair the hole in the ozone, but I keep getting sabotaged.  For one, Greg refuses to stop using the toilet and just dig a hole in the backyard.  We'd save a bundle on fertilizer.  Secondly, the ladies at the grocery store think I'm a big wimp.  When we signed up for the Costco card, they gave us these fabulous "green" reusable shopping bags.  Greg wanted to throw them away, and it took me 5 minutes to convince him that I really will use them.  They are quite large, and they fit a ton of groceries!

Last week, I went to Harmon's and I only had Paige with me.  At check-out, I told the checker and the baggers (they had two - it wasn't very busy) that I didn't need paper or plastic because I brought my own.  I've done this before and it worked beautifully.  All three women just stared at me and the oldest lady asked me if I would be able to lift the bag after all the groceries were inside.  I told her that I would be fine.  Paige's patience for the cart was over, so I let her out while they checked me out.  She was all over the place, and had a lot of fun handing me bags of chips off the display case.  I wasn't really paying attention to the checkout, and when they were done, I put Paige back in the cart and got ready to go.  This is what I saw and I just laughed:
Apparently, the ladies DID NOT think I could carry the reusable bag, so they put a few light items in the bag (a couple boxes of crackers) and put the rest of my groceries in plastic bags and put the plastic bags inside the reusable bag.  Does anyone else find this as hilarious as me?  I'm still laughing at the irony of it.  Do I at least get credit for trying to "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle."  I don't know; somebody email Al Gore.

9 comments:

Alexie said...

Curtis would be so proud. He tries to get me to be more "green" every day. His newest addition, if your concerned about fertilizer, is a composter in our back yard. It'd been there for 3 weeks before I finally asked what it was. He was so excited to tell me and all I could say was, "Really? It's ugly." I give you two gold stars!

Kimberly Porter said...

Ha! That is so funny! That is my favorite story of the day.

Valerie said...

=) I'll laugh with you on that one! I got a few of those "reusable" bags at Smith's, and I can never remember to take them with me when I go to the store! So kudos for even thinking about it and following through!

A couple of months ago I was at Kent's (local small-town grocery store) and I asked the teenaged checker if I could please have paper. She looked at me with a blank stare. So I said I wanted paper bags to put my groceries in, please. She looked totally confused and asked how many I wanted. I said, well, I don't know, how many do I need for the groceries I was buying?? (!) She looked totally put out that I would actually ask for above and beyond, and I began to wonder if ANYONE asks for paper anymore! At Smith's when I asked for paper bags the other day, the woman suggested that I get the "reusable" bags. I must have the appearance of someone trying to go green!

Brian and Kim said...

That is too funny!!! Way to go green!!

Jackie said...

Yes, that is hilarious. And congrats on the Costco membership! Can't get enough of that store! One of my favs. I love the color green, but admit I'm not much of a green person.... Guess I should give it a try.

Jen-ben said...

hahahahahaha!!

Tera said...

I love the bags! I have some from Harmon's. I had a hard time getting used to it, but now I just grab them, I shove all of them into one. If you use them at Harmon's, they give you 5 cents off for every bag they use. How's that for green?!!

I also try to not get plastic bags at other stores, I just shove whatever in my purse.

I must say, I really didn't start it for any other reason than I am sick to death of a whole cupboard full of plastic bags, because you can't just thorw them away without using them again.

Kristy said...

Ha Ha! Well, you get an "E" for effort anyway...

Jen-ben said...

I'm still laughing about this one...