5 Easy Ways to Never Forget Your Reusable Shopping Bags Again

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Introduction

If you’re like me, then remembering to grab your reusable grocery bags before a shopping haul is a never-ending battle. No one’s perfect, and true to this blog’s outlook, we all have things to learn or areas we can improve. Sustainability is an ongoing journey and I have 5 simple tips you can use to remember your bags next time you go shopping

The purpose of these 5 tips is to get your bags into your car! Even if you don’t use a personal vehicle, don’t worry, these hacks still work for you.

If you can get your reusable shopping bags back to your car, then even if you forget about them until you’re walking in the store you can easily run back and grab them from your trunk. But if they’re sitting at home, then there’s no way they’re getting used this trip. That’s what we want to avoid.

It might not be Instagram aesthetic but I keep my reusable bags corralled in a trunk bin. Messy but functional.

Tips

Tip #1 -Leave them on the door handle!

You bring your reusable bags in full of groceries, unpack them, and immediately put them on the door handle. You have to put them somewhere, so while they’re already in your hand put them right on the door.Doing this means you have to literally touch them on your way to the car the next time you leave.

It will be difficult to forget them when they’re physically in your hand as you walk out the front door. It may be a little unsightly, that’s some added motivation to get them where they need to be. Once the reusable bags are in your car you’re in the clear.

If you don’t use a personal vehicle to get to the store, you can still try this tip. But if the idea of leaving them there for longer than a day or two sounds unpleasant, the next tips will be for you.

Tip #2 - Put your keys in the bags!

You could also use your wallet, your grocery list, or anything else you’ll have to have in order to leave the house.

Just like the door handle hack, you’ll want to do this as soon as you finish unpacking your items before you have time to forget.

When it comes time to leave your place, you’ll have to touch the bags in order to leave and that will make it a thousand times less likely you’ll leave them behind.

This works well with or without a car. I put my keys on a small stand near the door and I typically will put the reusable shopping bags right under my keys for the next time I go out.

Tip #3 - Use a visual cue

If the idea of having reusable shopping bags visible at your home entrance is a turn-off, then try another cue to remember them on your way out. Put a sign on your door or somewhere you will see it each time you leave, like the stand I mentioned in Tip #2.

That might be right next to your grocery list, it might be right where you hang your keys. It could be as simple as a flip sign, a switch, or even a magnet you move over a line. You just need a visual cue to remember to grab them before you leave.

It can be as aesthetic or DIY-simple as you’d like for the space. As long as it works for you.

Tip #4 - Set a reminder on your phone

Some days the only thing keeping me on track is my phone. Reminders are an absolute life saver. If you’ve got your stuff together and your shopping routine is regular then you could easily set a recurring reminder in your phone.

If you’re like me and your grocery runs are irregular, then the reminder could just be reminding you to make sure you’re following one of the other tips or just bringing the bags back to your car.

Let’s say you shop every Monday immediately after work. Then you would want to set a reminder to go off maybe 10 minutes before you leave for work. You just want to be reminded before you leave home and go about your errands.

With recurring reminders, you simply check it off to clear the notification and it will show back up at the same time next week. It’s very easy to set it and forget it, let the technology do the remembering for you!

This is also a great trick if you want your bags out of sight. The reminder will keep you from forgetting about them at the back of the pantry.

Tip#5 - Switch it up

My final tip is to consider the kind of bag you’re using. Everytime I go to the store I see the typical reusable bag near checkout. But rarely do I see the kind you can fold up and store within itself. Yes, you read that right. There are bags that easily fold up, into even smaller bags.

I’ve only seen them in stores once but I defintiely recommend the concept. They are extremely easy to carry and store! Chico is a popular brand when it comes to these kinds of bags. You could also checkout Amazon. Online, you’ll find that you have no shortage of options.

Small bags like these might be easier for you to keep in a purse, diaper bag, backpack, or whatever else you carry with you.

This is what the bag looks like folded up, it’s about the size of small fist.

This is what it looks like unfolded. Again, looks a little messy here but it’s functional

Conclusion

If you can implement any of these tips, you’ll likely never forget to bring your bags again. I’m sure we’ve all had an “I forgot my mask” moment. Just like in those moments, You save yourself a lot of trouble and guilt if you’ve got what you need stashed in the car.

If you do forget them at home, don’t worry. Sometimes I even don’t bring enough and have to use plastic. I hate it, but I just work at bringing more the next time.

If you try one tip and find that you’re still forgetting, just figure out where you’re being forgetful and work on it one step at a time. All we can do is take one day at a time!

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In case you didn’t catch my post about Stasher bags, you can check it out here.