For those making shopping bags
 

Most of us have cloth shopping bags. I do. Here is something we should all read. It's short, very concise, just takes a minute or two.

http://www.utexas.edu/law/colloquium...%20Illness.pdf

Thanks for the link. Wash those cloth bags and also putting the meat into a zip lock bag before putting it into the cloth bag might also help. Zip lock bags can be washed and reused many times. Recycle when they are worn out.

I guess this would be an argument for homemade cloth bags rather than the ones you can get at the stores for $.99. I don't know how those wash. Has anyone tried?

My daughter sent me a set of 5 made from a fabric that seems very close to parachute nylon. They roll up into a carrying case the size of my wallet. Very handy and they wash just fine. They can carry about 30 pounds or more each. I know she bought them from a gift catalog.

i don't buy those anymore as they kept tearing out with heavy things like cans and bottles of detergent. i buy the vinyl insulated bags for dairy and meat..washable. and scored a bunch of huge plastic totebags at GNC few years ago for .75 cents each...they were clearancing them out and switching to the smaller cloth bags. they are heavy reinforced plastic like ripstop nylon. fabric bias binding and i just put them in the washer on gentle, hang outside to drip dry if i get anything spilled in them. great info on the link...i had never even thought about these issues. but meat juices were an issue & i would throw damaged bags away. was glad to find vinyl insulated bags to use instead. my old, & clean, cloth bags are great for sorting projects into and i take them with me to the fabric shops. great for fabric shopping binges :)) !!

Turn your fabric, reusable, (homemade) grocery bags inside out; wash in hot water; add a bit of clorox or alcohol-based mouthwash for disinfecting power. Still the best idea.

Jan in VA

I'd heard of the problem of veggies and meat contaminating the bags. I don't know how the bags for 99cents wash, but saw a report that ones from China had LEAD in the printing/design. You don't want lead near your food, either.

Ya can't win! I stopped taking bags from the store because I had such a huge collection. I really like carrying my own. Europeans have been doing it for years. I wonder what their illness rates have been because of that? Never really heard, but maybe it isn't reported. I use the Cheops they sell and I haven't washed them, but I'll re-think that now. I like the idea of making your own and just washing them on a regular basis.

I have washed the cheap ones. They come out softer but not a problem. Haven't gotten around to making any when you can buy them $1.

I use Lysol Concentrate on some items I wash. I think it would do a great job on cloth grocery bags and not bleach out the fabric. You use so little, it would be much more economical than using mouth wash.

These are the ones I made for my mom.
http://kalamaquilts.blogspot.com/200...and-tears.html
I made these with the left overs.
http://kalamaquilts.blogspot.com/200...ack-sacks.html

I have a couple more of this type of tablecloth, ultra sturdy and will make some more when my cheapie sacks wear out.

I wash my bags that are washable. If I can't wash the bag, I don't use it for groceries. I have two insulated ones for cold stuff and I use Clorox wipes to clean them. Meat goes in a grocery store plastic bag, and depending on how fast I can get home, may or may not go in the insulated bag. Grocery store employees have told me how nasty some of the re-usable bags are.

Very enlightening - thanks for sharing I wouldn't have thought about some of this.

I'd suggest washing the cloth ones after use and wiping out the plastic ones with a disinfecting wipe at the very least. Taking it further, I'd designate one or two plastic ones for meat only and whenever possible, putting the meat into a plastic bag that the store provides when you put it into your cart. Thanks for an informative article.

Oh, and I'd keep that travel sized hand sanitizer in your purse and car at all times. In light of the bad flu season alone, I use it as soon as I get back into my car and I use it after touching the packages of meat. Also take advantage of the disinfecting wipes the stores offer to wipe your cart handles down. I have been doing this for the last 2 years and I haven't been sick since I adopted this practice. Stay healthy!!

Here in Wales, UK, there has been a charge for plastic bags for a year or two so all us quilters have been busy making totes for our family and friends and they are fast becoming a fashion statement!

Here are just a few, I also have a Purse organizer, bought them as Christmas pressies this year as well for those who had a tote from me last year. It makes changing bags so easy, and keeps everything organised when loading the bag with shopping, and of course they are fully washable, win win :)

Yup==and generally the bag disintegrates in the wash, which is why I make my own. Also, I have designated bags that I only put meet in, and ones that I only put produce in, both of which are washed regularly.

I have 2 insulated ones I got at thrift store. I use one for meat one for all other cold items. I made several totes from the plastic grocery bags and they are very strong. I found heavy duty material at a yard sale and made 2 bags for my daughter. We love the reusable bags. I was the insulated and my crocheted bags (the grocery store plastic bags)with vinegar , all others in washer. They are holding up well.

After each weekly grocery trip-my DD washes hers; hangs them to dry in the summer and in the winter runs them through the dryer. She also takes a couple of plastic bags to put her meat into; then puts them into the cloth bags. DD uses Lysol/clorox (depending on what she has available) to wash her bags and only her bags are in that wash cycle, she also runs an empty cycle after the washing of the bags; again with the Lysol or Clorox. Seems like alot but it does keep her family from getting ill.

The bags from the stores that are not plastic lined do not wash well

Years ago I had a set of four white canvas shopping bags that I used. I washed them regularly and it was amazing how often the grocery store clerks would remark on how clean my bags were. Evidently, they were used to seeing some really nasty ones. :D Those bags are long gone and I do have some plastic reusables - I clean the insides with those Clorox wipes.

Remember if you use ziplock bags and wash them, wash them very well in very hot water and they have to air dry completely to be safer for reuse. I had to take a class course one time and we had to do several different experiments on food safety. There was a class of 22 of us and we were paired in two's. Everyone had different ones to do, then we had to do bacteria tests on each one. The reuse of the ziplock bag was not good.

I saw a couple at the store once that had bags made of a sheer material for their produce. I thought that was so smart. Very easy to throw them in the wash when you get home. I am becoming convinced that everyone will be getting handmade cloth bags for gifts this year:)

i bought shopping bags when i was working in England and in Germany. Not sure what they are made out of but i've tossed them in the washer many times. i do air dry them since they have a nylon or rubberized inside lining.

I saw a news report several years ago (might have been Sixty Minutes but I am not sure) regarding womens purses. It showed that the bottom of the purses were highly contaminated with bacteria, inluding E-coli. One of the places, were a lot of the women were getting the germs, was in public restrooms. Apparently many women set their purses on the floor when they are using the restrooms. Yuck! Also, remember that when you set your purse, or bags, in a shopping cart seat that you pick up whatever germs the last person left when they set theirs purse or bags in there. Don't forget to wipe the seat, along with the handle, with the wipes that most stores provide these days.

Usually the dirtiest things in the grocery stores are the little hand carry baskets. I lift out several looking for the cleaner one. The shopping carts may not look dirty but I always clean the handle if wipes are available and never put my groceries in the baby seat. Think who was sitting there (in diapers). I wish stores had to clean the carts often.

My grocery store has antibacterial wipes at the door where you get your carts. I never put my purse on the floor. I also do not hang my purse on the door of the restroom stall. People can reach over and grab your purse and be gone in a flash.

If there is no hook or shelf in the restroom stall, where do you put your purse? Is it small enough to balance on your lap? What do you ladies do who are yourselves too unsteady to hold your purse on your lap?

This is exactly what I do for the meat and the produce...and of course bags go in the wash with the towels, which get a little bleach added!

That's what I was wondering too.

I hang mine around my neck if there is no hook. Also, I read one time that if there is a double hook on the door (one lower that the other) to always hang it on the lower one. It is harder for someone to reach over the door the grab your purse. Terrible how we can't even use the restroom without worring about someone taking your purse.

Well that only works for a shoulder strap purse and a stall with a hook. What about the other circumstances?

Back of the toilet, if there is one, or guess you have to shop with a friend that will hold it.

LOL!!! Don't think I've gone shopping with a friend since I was a giggling teenage girl.

Same here. Would much rather shop by myself! But, it does become a problem if you need to have someone hold your purse.

Mine are plastic, but I keep them wiped inside & out. I would not want to touch yucky bags, I'm sure the workers wouldn't either.