MNN - Mother Nature Network

How can stop your plastic bag collection from getting any bigger? Keri has the answer! (Mike Lindsay/MNN, Nick Scott/MNN)

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Keri: Hi. I’m Keri Greenwald from Responsible Mommy. Today, we’re gonna talk about how your family can be a little bit more green, a little less wasteful. Specifically, we’re gonna talk about smart shopping. As you all know, moms purchase 80 percent of everything that comes into the household. And sometimes it’s not just about what you purchase, but what you put your purchases in. Reusable totes make a big difference. In 2006, after I had my second child, I realized I was collecting an average of 30 plastic bags a week. And when I would get home, they’d either sit in a cluttered, overfilling drawer, or sit in the landfill, because plastic does not decompose. And when I learned that I was just average, that those of us having families out here were all collecting an average of over 1,400 plastic bags a year, I knew I had to stop the madness. Responsible Mommy reusable totes helped me and other people be green. By using our reusable totes whenever we purchase items from Target, Old Navy, Borders, the grocery store, and by not taking plastic, we can make a big difference. Because I live in a driving city, I tend to keep my totes on the floor of the front passenger seat, or stuffed in my purse or my diaper bag. They scrunch up easily. And to help me remember to bring them everywhere I go, I put my errand list and my grocery list in the zippered pocket inside the tote. Remember, you can make a big difference, and being green feels great.