There's a huge variety of reusable shopping bags now since they came out on the market a few years ago. I have purchased several different kinds, so this post is going to explain the various kinds and include my review of each.
First, I'll discuss the most common type of reusable shopping bag out there. These are found mostly at grocery stores, but also some large chain stores.
The bags I have from Albertson's feature a loop at the top of the bag and a black piece of heavy duty plastic-like material inside for the bottom. I do not recommend getting bags for groceries without a heavy duty bottom. However, I think it's more rare to find grocery bags with the heavy duty bottoms, so you can make your own with cardboard or the thickest lining available at a fabric store. The loop is really handy for self-checkout because it holds the bag open for you when you place the loop over the plastic bag holder. I always use these for grocery shopping and never have problems with them. We've been using these for two+ years now.
The second type of bag is one made from a thicker plastic-like material. I got some from Costco, Trader Joe's, and Fresh and Easy.
The ones from Costco (at least when I bought them about a year ago) came in a pack of four with two square bags and two long rectangle bags. They are the largest (of course) reusable shopping bags I've found. With this type of bag, a heavy duty bottom isn't needed because the material is heavier duty than the standard grocery reusable bag above. Lots of heavy items may cause sagging though. I put a game next to the Costco bag because it's the perfect size for carrying board games to a friend's house. We've also taken hot meals to people's homes in the Costco bags. They can carry A LOT! Be creative with their use and you'll find you never need another plastic grocery bag!
The third type of bag is the hot/cold bag. Lots of grocery stores sell these now, but compare prices before you buy one. I ended up getting one at Sprouts because Sprouts is the furthest grocery store from my house and I needed it at the moment.
It's about the size of the standard grocery bag, and it does a great job of keeping food at a good temperature. If you have a family, you can pack a lunch or snacks in it for a day trip or picnic. Throw a couple of ice packs in even to help keep the food cooler. This bag has never leaked either.
Fourth is the reusable shopping bag for non-food items.
This is a special baby registry edition of a Target shopping bag, but they do sell similar fold-up wallet bags that are red (and I love red!) The fold-up wallet bag is a great size to put in your purse, and just be sure to not use it for food items so you can always use it for clothes or other items at your favorite non-food store. Target even gives you a five or ten cent discount for every bag you bring! This particular one even has a pocket on the front, so it could double nicely as a book bag. You could slip your phone and keys in the pocket, books in the big pocket, reusable coffee cup in hand, and head to the coffee shop.
Fifth is the reusable produce shopping bag, which I recently purchased on Amazon.
For $9.46 I got ten Bring It! Valencia produce bags with a bonus small bag that they can all fit in.
On the left are the bags inside their holding bag, and on the right is a produce bag in use. They're just as light as a plastic bag from the store, so you don't have to worry about it costing you more to use these versus the plastic bag. They'll also be great for taking to a farmer's market, once I get around to that, maybe this week. When we went camping recently, we stashed all of our little snacks in them for the week, like bags of pretzels and nuts, bars, etc. These seem like they'll hold up well. I ran them through the wash, but not the dryer because they don't need to be dried.
Do you have other favorite reusable shopping bags? Do you want to know more about any of these? Leave a comment or send me an email!
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