Enviro-Shopportunity

by Mara @ What's For Dinner? on February 19, 2010

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Many of you have asked me about my near-daily grocery shopping trips and why I don’t plan out meals a week in advance like so many other people.

I used to do the whole meal planning for the week then one big grocery shopping thing. I did it for a long time! It used to be that I did it because, living in Chicago proper, it was a pain to leave my coveted parking spot to go to the grocery store, so I’d shop once. Now that I live in the suburbs with an assigned parking spot, that’s not an issue. As a matter of fact, I pass not one, not two, but FOUR grocery stores on my way home from work, and found something interesting: as long as I keep staples in the house, it’s just as cost-effective to shop for fresh ingredients as I need them!

Another reason for the near-daily shopping trips is because I have what I like to call “food ADD”. When I meal plan on Sunday, I like to think that sure, meatloaf on Thursday sounds fabulous. However, with all the food blogs I read, by the time Thursday rolls around, meatloaf sounds boring. Instead, I might want to make tomato sauce with butter in it and have to stop at the store for the ingredients. Then what happens? The meatloaf ingredients go to waste, or get stuck in the freezer to be forgotten. If I just go with what I want to cook on a day by day basis, we have significantly less waste, and I know that I’ll like my dinners.

The one thing that these daily trips have that I wasn’t such a fan of were dozens of plastic or paper grocery bags. Sure we reuse them, but they’re still wasteful. As Adam always says, we need to start saving the plastic trees! I started using standard reusable shopping totes when my mom got me this one for Hanukkah last year:

I loved this thing. It folded up into a little pouch and I could keep it in my purse. But there was a problem: it was SO flimsy and floppy that boxed food would squish my produce, and if I had eggs, forget it! I’d end up with a couple plastic bags anyway.

When I opened my OpenSky Shop, I had a conference call with a few of the wonderful people there and they suggested a product that I should carry, and even offered to send me one to try. The EnviTote by Envicorp seemed like a perfect fit for me, and for you, my wonderful readers. What is it? A picture speaks 1000 words:

The EnviTote is a soft-sided collapsible tote bag with a sturdy bottom that slips out for easy storage. There’s a velcro adjustable handle, and the whole thing is made of natural lightweight canvas. The best part? There’s enough space for boxes to stand up straight, cans to stand up straight, and produce to sit neatly on top. Even better? There are two handles on the sides for when the bag gets too heavy to shoulder-carry. It sits flat in the trunk, car seat, or floor of my car, allowing for less random grocery spillage as well. There’s nothing like finding an old apple under my car seat…

I’m pleased to announce that I’m now selling the fantastic EnviTote in my OpenSky shop! I’m hoping that you’ll give this bag a try! Don’t just take my word for it!

If you do purchase one, please let me know what you think, or post a review on my OpenSky Shop page.