Collapsible crates
I’ve lost track how often I complained about the fact that people don’t have to pay for plastic/paper bags at grocery stores here. I left Germany about 15 years ago and when I left we had already paid 10-25c per plastic bag for years and years. People actually looked funny at you when you asked for a (pay-for) plastic bag. You could literally see their brains going: “What’s wrong with this guy? Too stupid to bring his own bag?”
I’ve adopted the same “bring your own bag” mentality when I became solely responsible for the grocery shopping here. However I always thought it was a nuisance having to remember that you have to bring your bags and, especially having a stash in the car “just in case”. Weeks ago I suddenly remembered that during my visits to Germany, my mom had a collapsible crate in the car. I did a quick search and actually found a number of suitable items. Here’s the one I ended up ordering: Collapsible Crate - Multi Colored.
I have two of them sitting in the trunk of my car. Whenever I go food shopping I bring at least one of them into the store. They fit perfectly under the shopping cart. At the check-out, instead of putting things into paper/plastic/reusable bags, I unfold the crate, sort my items and put them into the crate. Everything is neatly packed and pre-sorted. I drop the crate into the trunk and nothing can shift during the drive back home.
Back at home I take the crate from the car and put everything away. As things are pre-sorted, I’m not wasting energy by leaving the fridge/freezer open longer than necessary. Once the thing is empty, I fold it back down and return it to the car’s trunk for re-use.
I hear those of you from Europe laughing out loud about this, but, please don’t forget, we have a lot to learn here: my trashcan is still three times as big as my parents’ one back in Germany and it gets emptied once a week instead of every other week.
If only one of you readers follows in my footsteps the time to write this entry was not wasted at all …
Fabulous idea!
I love re- usable bags , but this is even better!
On another matter -
Yikes! on those shipping charges.
Happened to us 8 yrs. ago at Christmas.
Never again.
C.
Turns out that they are not only environment-friendly, no they are also a conversation piece! Whenever I open a crate at the check-out at least one person starts talking to me about it. All you singles out there, you may want to consider getting one for yourself
Yep - those shipping charges were really outrageous. Never again!
As I am the lucky one who will introduce the new hotel brands of Starwood Aloft and Element into the EMEA market, I am currently on a trip to Can and the US to check out the first opened hotels here.
Yes on one hand things which are introduced here as the latest in saving energy and resources (i.g. sopa dispensers in the shower; which we have in Europe since 20 years). On the other hand I do have the impression that more and more people are getting concerned here now.
Amazing: Here in Lexington you still have one trash can but everything will be sperated later on by machines. We in Germany still believe we can do it better by pre-sorting things by hand and washing out the plastic cups before throwing them away - proven by independent studies (done during the time of the “Green” goverment in Germany)that machines can do it more efficiantly…
In Boston at the airport you can order a hybrid taxi if you wish to (this is the only place in the world I know).
Element Hotels are the first LED complied hotel chaine world wide - I do not know any European country which has something in place like LED in the US.
On the other hand you still build single split ac units in hotels and you do not have an automated energy cut off if you leave the room which means if a guest is not switching off the Ac or the light it keeps on working….
So all in all what I do see over here is very contradictive but it seems you are on the right way….
Can’t agree more, George. There’s definitely the smell of change in the air. I also find it rather interesting that $4/gallon gas prices have achieved something that 10 years of international pressure and criticism have not achieved: a mind-shift. Suddenly people are talking conservation and saving of resources a bit more serious. I’d say keep the gas prices at this level, even if crude oil goes down again. Use the extra tax-dollars to start making the tiniest dent in our national debt.