The bag collection I have in my garage. And I don't even like them.

I try to live green. I don’t always do it as well as I want, or as good as my friend Amy at Crunchy Domestic Goddess, but I do work hard not to pollute the environment or have a huge carbon footprint. One of my biggest pet peeves is plastic bags.

I hate them. I was happy when Whole Foods Market made a stand and eliminated plastic bags from their stores.

I have to admit, I am guilty of occasionally leaving them in my car and not going to get them because it involves dragging the kids back out of the store and into the parking lot. But I own several reusable bags and I prefer their sturdiness and practicality over the one-use plastic bags. At the mall, I bring my reusable bags. I don’t need a bag from Target or Children’s Place or any other store in the mall that will be thrown away (or recycled) when I get home. I feel guilty using them.

That said, when I bring my reusable bags, I expect to use them. This seems so trivial, but I’ve reached the end of my understanding with why baggers at the grocery store have such a hard time using them. It’s like they are programmed to use as many plastic bags as possible on every order. Maybe this is the training they ALL receive.

I shopped at Safeway today. I usually shop at Safeway. I was busy with my 4-year-old and getting her out of the cart, etc and I didn’t watch my groceries being bagged. When I got to my car, I realized 2 of my reusable bags were full, but two were empty with plastic-bagged groceries on top of them. Now, maybe they weren’t seen at first, even though I handed them to the bagger before he started.

I’ve had to coach baggers through my grocery bagging by telling them they can put more than 3 items in my sturdy bags. Heck, if they aren’t tomatoes or bread, they can pack those bags to the brim. They can handle it and I’m capable enough to lift them. The baggers seem shocked and uncomfortable filling the bags. They look at me with disbelief as I smile and nod as they put more and more groceries in the bag.

I look away, and come home with my bread in a plastic bag inside my reusable bag. They can’t seem to help themselves. Even with my reusable bags, I almost always come home with a plastic bag.

National Geographic is on my side too. They have a post about plastic grocery bags and the over-consumption of them. If you hate plastic bags as much as I do, visit one of my favorite sites, ReusableBags.com. They have a ton of options for bags, bottles and containers. My favorites are the Wrap-N-Mat sandwich wraps. They have replaced plastic sandwich bags in lunches for us.

Does this happen to you? Are you a bag junkie or do you try to reuse? How do I get my baggers to understand that I don’t want plastic bags at all. Ever. Yes, I’m a freak of nature and don’t want the bags. But really, I DON’T WANT THEM.