Sunday, January 29, 2012

Reusable Sandwich Bags

My kids prefer a bag lunch. Waiting in line at the school cafeteria just eats up too much of their short lunch break. So everyday, I pack them a lunch. And everyday I use at least SIX plastic bags total for my two kids’ lunches. It really adds up. This summer I made the decision to switch to a reusable sandwich bag, prompted by a GROUPON offer that made it enticing to give it a try.

I’ve been using these bags for about 5 months now and I have noticed a BIG difference. On the occasional day that I haven’t had a clean reusable bag to use, I cringe at the thought of going back to the plastic bags.

There are a few companies that offer the bags. You can check Amazon.com or etsy. Plus you are likely to be supporting a small business when you purchase these bags. If you decide you like them, I recommend ordering enough to get you through the week, however many that may be for you and then you can wash them all at once at the end of the week. I seem to use the smaller snack bag size more often, finding that they hold plenty.

I use the REUSIES brand (www.reusies.com). The kids loved being able to pick out a style they liked. They are lined, but not waterproof. They are dishwasher and washing machine safe, or for a quick clean up, I just wipe them with a soapy towel, rinse and let them air dry. I like that there is Velcro in two places on the bag, depending on how much is in the bag, you can get a tighter closure.

Just a warning though, as I mentioned above, the bags are not waterproof and there is not a tight seal like you get on a disposable zipper bag. For something a little more airtight, check out Laptop Lunches (www.laptoplunches.com). They offer adorable bento box style lunch boxes.

Still not sure? Here’s something to think about (info is from the Reusies website):

Plastic bags make up over 10% of debris found on US Coastlines. Each plastic bag takes over 1,000 years to break down. Plastic bags do not biodegrade, they photodegrade whereby over time they breakdown into smaller, more toxic petropolymers. Less than 1% of plastic bags are recycled. It costs more to recycle a plastic bag than to produce a new one.

So what do you think? Do you have a particular reusable bag you really like? Please share!

2 comments:

  1. Hi Carissa! How fun that you are now blogging! Makes me think I should probably get back to mine...lol! Anyway, I too snagged the Groupon deal for the reusies and I loooooove them. I feel bad every time I have to use a ziploc now, although I do reuse those as well. Keep up the good work! :)

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    1. Thanks for the encouragement, and I loved your blog & would love to see you get back to it!

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