For years I’ve brought home countless plastic bags from the grocery store. Eventually, depending on how much I went food shopping, I’d run out having used them cleaning out the litter box. I put the poop in them. Regardless of secondary use, I still felt a little guilty. Regardless, they eventually made their way to the landfill. Somewhere I have miscellaneous tote bags from various events, but who knows where they’re at. In the back of my mind, I’d be on the look out for used totes, but just didn’t come across any. eBay resulted in new canvas totes that were either too expensive or ugly, frankly. How could I combine cool with ultimate reusability?

I seem to recall these plastic bags old ladies would carry. Plaid, durable, and chic because they weren’t chic. Thinking about it, I further recalled that at some point in the last 5 years, they’d actually become a trend and could be found at niche stores for more than a couple bucks. OK, so I’d look around. It took a little time, as the trend has faded, but eventually I found them. I bought four.

Now, in tune with No Impact Man’s theme of not buying anything new (something I need a little more work at), I often attempt to buy things from Craigslist or eBay, always looking for second-hand first. In the case of the mesh brief case (as they’re called), used ones were no where to be found. This must mean, they are so durable and so handy, you just don’t ever get rid of them. Good. I’ll use them like crazy and save hundreds of plastic bags in my lifetime. I feel better already.