You know what this is? This is 20 cents. Many municipal areas now enforce a ban on free bags given with a purchase. In Seattle, merchants must charge a minimum of 10 cents per bag. If it's just a small item that I'm buying I can put it in my purse, and skip the bag. If I am grocery shopping I bring a bunch of bags with me. But if I am out on foot, like in the city, or hopping from store to store in a large shopping complex, I am unlikely to be carrying a stack of bags with me. And if I am buying more than I can easily manage in my hands, or that will fit in my purse, I need a compact way to carry a couple of plastic bags.
The above photo is of 2 plastic grocery bags, folded very flat with air pressed out, and kept in a ziploc baggie. All together, this bundle is the size of a deck of playing cards, and tucks nicely into the side pocket of my small purse. I just keep them in my purse, so I don't have to even remember to bring a bag when I'm running errands.
Even when I'm not in the city, many suburban retailers offer a credit of 5 or 6 cents per bag that you bring in yourself. I was in Target the other day picking up a couple of necessities, and I saved myself 5 cents for using one of my own bags. The inspiration for this compact bag storage was those net shopping bags, which come in their own pouch and sell for $7 or $8. Using what I already have, I made my own version. True, not the pretty colors of the net ones. But these are free, and that's a good thing.
