Folding Grocery Bags - Small enough for your pocket or purse

Here in Maryland, we're being charged $.05 for every paper or plastic shopping bag we use in a store after January 1, 2012 so reusable shopping bags are flying off the shelves. If you're anything like me (and, on a lot of levels, I hope you're not...for your own sake...), you might fill your car with reusable grocery bags with the best of intentions. Yes, I know...something about the road to hell....

Read more about the paper and plastic bag laws for each individual state: The retail bags report - list of retail bag laws in the US.

Anyway, I almost always forget to bring these reusable fabric grocery bags into a store with me! In the trunk or back seat is where these folding shopping bags remain..ostensibly forever.

If I don't change my ways, a trip to the grocery store and the Chinese market where I load up on vegetables is going to cost me approximately $1.00 a week, and that doesn't include trips to the local mall where single use bags will also be taxed. All told, I'll probably spend use around 30 paper or plastic bags a week which adds up to $1.50 per week. Now, that might not seem like much to you but, it adds up quick - I'll spend an additional $78 a year just to tote my purchases home.

And, that's why I started to research folding grocery bags small enough to fit in my pocket or purse. I've come to determine that I need to have grocery shopping bags that are attached to my person - either hanging from a wrist or, more preferable, folding grocery bags which can fit in my jeans pocket or in my purse. I know it's not the most mature of decisions but it just has to be!

I've found what I think are the best of reusable grocery bags which can be folded into a small package. One of these folding grocery totes even folds up into a strawberry. How cute is that? In fact, a strawberry folding shopping bag would be an ideal present for Valentine's Day - perhaps not the sexiest Valentine's Day gift ever but it sure would be welcome in my sorry little world...