Guest Blog post by Claudine Niski -
ReCreate, Education Specialist
Girl Scout Leader, Mother of Triplets, Hobby Hopper, Singer
of Silly Songs
a.k.a Sparklina
As a confirmed Hobby Hopper and someone addicted to joining
groups, I try to make the most of my limited free time by combining
activities. For example, I have a job in
which I get to try new crafts, using only re-use items, and then share them
with groups of people. What does this
have to do with the Plastic Shopping Bag ban?
Well, that is a great post-Earth Day blog topic.
So, the Plastic Shopping Bag ban is slowly working its way
through the counties of California and I couldn’t be more excited! However, I
know that the idea of having to remember to bring your own bags to the store is
making a lot of people panic.
Last weekend I had the perfect opportunity to combine my
favorite activities. My mothers of multiples club, Parents of Multiples –
Sacramento, was hosting our Northern California Association of Mothers of Twins
Clubs spring convention. The Theme was “MommyCon: Embracing your
Inner Superhero”. The convention committee was looking for interesting
workshops to offer for attendees, specifically something crafty. Being elbow deep in helping to create an
eight foot tall dinosaur out of plastic for ReCreate’s Earth Day plastic
education booth, one-time use plastic was constantly on my mind. I decided to
offer an ‘Environmental Superhero’ workshop to teach ways to use what you
already have around your house as replacements for those plastic shopping bags
that are going away soon.
I brought in my sewing machine and provided a knitting loom
for each participant. They brought in an
old t-shirt and a handful of plastic shopping bags they had in their pantry. It
took about five minutes per shirt to transform them from a t-shirt to a useful,
box-bottom, tote bag. We had a really fun hour during which they learned how to
make Plarn (plastic yarn) to use on the knitting loom to make a strong reusable
plastic bag out of the flimsy one-time use shopping bags. While we crafted, I
lead a discussion about tips for making our transition to bringing our own bags
to the store easier.
Our Best Tips:
1)
You don’t need to buy all new bags, you probably have a
bunch you can gather at your house.
Think of all those totes you’ve collected at fairs, conventions, trade
shows, home shows…they don’t have to be fancy or matchy-matchy.
2)
Use one bag to hold all your others, then keep the bag
in your car. If you have two cars, keep a bag of bags in each.
3)
Create the habit of packing the bags back in your car
as the last thing you do when putting away groceries.
4)
Start creating this habit now, before you need to.
5)
As you are learning this new way of shopping, hold
yourself accountable. If you leave your
bags in your car, just load your groceries back in your cart at the check stand
and you can put them into your bags when you get to the parking lot (once you
do that one or two times, you’ll remember).
6)
Don’t forget the produce bags! There are a number of companies selling
light, mesh bags to replace those produce bags, splurge on some.
7)
Carry a few small nylon bags in your purse or glove box
for those trips to the mall or department store. Reusable bags aren’t just for grocery
shopping!
I had 15 participants attend my workshop and I was told it
had the highest attendance at convention.
Yea! Crafters, unite to change
the world!
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