Mama's got a brand new bag

Hi! I'm Susie, SAHM to 5 wonderful kids ages 8 months - 12. We live in Seattle, WA and I thought I would share some tips with you about living a greener lifestyle. It's actually pretty easy to do, just start taking some baby steps so you and your children will grow up appreciating and helping out our planet.

I hope to make updates when I have time to post, as I have a lot of info to pass on. If you have any tips, please add them in the comment section. If you have any suggestions as well for products please let me know, I'm only one person and I'm sure there are a lot more out there that I don't know about.

For my first entry I'll make an easy one, use reusable bags for shopping, outings, etc. Not only will using a reusable bag cut down on our urban tumbleweeds, you may even get a few cents back on your next trip to the grocery store. What I've been doing with my bags is keep them in the car where I will see them when I go do my grocery shopping. Another plus is the reusable bags are much more comfortable to carry, usually they have 2 handles, one for your hands and one for your shoulders, and you can pack your items in there neater than a plastic bag that ends up rolling all over the trunk. Here are some that we use. If you're in the market for some bags with designs these are good too, and they've got some kid designs as well!

What should I do with my old plastic bags?? For starters I know preschools, churches, daycares, etc can use them for sending home kids wet clothing, I reuse them for packing my orders when locals pick up, I used a couple for my outside faucets this winter (I wrapped some towels around the faucet and then covered it up with the plastic bags). Bring them to your local farmers market, they can always use them for the produce you purchase. One use I do not recommend is using them to store used cloth diapers in, the plastic will sweat and you'll get some majorly stinky diapers, and no one wants that!

Don't forget Earth Day is coming up on April 22, please do your part in helping protect our mother earth.