Ten Reasons to have more than One Tote Bag

This is an item that everyone has in their home. They can be fashionable, functional, fun, utilitarian and pretty. I recommend having more than one. At the present time I have more than 15 tote bags scattered throughout my environment. And, believe it or not, there are times when I'm looking for an unused one. OK, that's prolly an exaggeration after I added the last two to the collection.

They're just so darn useful and for a lot more than carrying groceries into the house. And here's the top ten reasons why I think so;

1. Reusable

Did you know that it's estimated that 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used and discarded annually worldwide. To make this a more understandable number, that is more than a million per minute.To make it a more personal number, at 500 billion bags, that's 74 plastic bags a year for every person on the planet. And that's 74 plastic bags EVERY year.

Plastic bags aren’t biodegradable. They actually go through a process called photodegradation—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic particles that contaminate both soil and water, and end up entering the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them. Hundreds of thousands of birds, whales, dolphins, sea turtles and other marine mammals die every year after eating discarded plastic bags they mistake for food. Two large dead areas have already been identified in the Pacific and Atlantic where the currents push the plastic debris to form a giant plastic trash pile in the middle of the ocean. The only way to make this go away is to stop using plastic or recycle it more ingeniously. I have seen the quote "ONE cloth bag will replace at least 1000 plastic bags over its life." but I've not been able to identify who said it. If you use cloth bags on a regular basis, I'm pretty sure you'll replace more than 1000 plastic bags over the bag's lifetime.

2. You need more than one size for all the things you use them for. And pocket placement.

There is no one size fits all in the tote bag department. I use a different tote bag to go to the grocery store than I do to go to the Post Office. The groceries I carry home are heavy, the packages I ship out are light so I can use a larger bag for my packages and not feel as through my arms are being pulled out of their sockets. Most tote bags are just one big bag but the ones with pockets can make packing them with necessary items a lot easier. And you need different sized pockets for the different things that you want to contain. I always take more than one bag into the store with me. If I don't need it, fine, if I do need it then I've got it and not another plastic bag.

3. Packing things into for errands

I've already mentioned the Post Office for packages and letters. I also pack returns to stores with the receipts, library books, odd items to drop off at friends houses, bottles or containers to be returned for the deposit, etc. When I leave the house it's all contained into one tote bag for me to carry and usually sorted to coincide with the order of the errands that I'm planning. When I leave the house carrying two packed tote bags I know it's going to be a busy day.

4. Throwing things in for the weekend get away or going to the gym.

A friend knocked on the door one day and wanted to know if I wanted to go to a concert in the next town over. We'd get a motel room for the night, go to the concert and be back the next day. For that I didn't pack a suitcase, I just threw a change of clothes, pjs and toiletries into a tote and we were out the door. And, if you carry your gym stuff in an open cloth bag, it doesn't collect odors as much as one that is zipped close. And, if it does collect odors, it's totally washable.

5. Have an activity on a regular basis that you need the same things for over and over again? Pack the tote bag and leave it in a convenient place to grab on the way out of the door. I have a tote bag always packed with light snacks, clean wipes, a book to read, my camera, paper and pens, a flashlight, a multi-tool and a tape measure. I do mystery shopping and when I go on assignment that bag goes with me. I've used all of the items in there at one time or another and have usually packed them after I've wished I had them with me during a long assignment. I've also started taking it with me to sporting events where it comes in handy.

6. Stuff all the accumulated trash and aggregation from the vehicle into one

I'm sure I'm not the only one that has looked at their vehicle and wondered 'where did all this come from?' Bits of paper, receipts, drink containers, books, napkins, business cards, food debris (yes, I eat in my truck), sweaters that I decided I didn't need that day, junk mail....well, I could go on but you get the idea. Take five minutes and stuff it all into a tote to be sorted out in the house. If you sort it while standing over the trash can and recycling bin it'll only take another five minutes to take care of 95% of it.

7. Put one in each room to collect all the items that need to travel to another room in the house.

I think these things sneak into the other rooms at night when we're sleeping or when everyone is gone from the house. How is it they're never where they're supposed to be? Hang a tote bag on the back handle of the entry door for each room and toss things in there that need to be moved. Then, once a day or when you think of it (usually when you need something) take a tote from the room and distribute the items to where they are supposed to live and replace the tote in the room. Added bonus; if you find the same things traveling to the same rooms again and again, maybe you should change where they're supposed to live or get another one to ease the demands.

8. Put everything that you're using for the project you're trying to complete in one tote bag, ready to grab whenever you think you'll have time for it.

I have knitting projects, crochet projects, letter writing, organizing a convention paperwork and advertising flyers all in separate tote bags. All the things I need to work on the project are in each bag so when I sit down to work on the project I know I'm not going to lose 20 minutes getting organized and collecting items from different places. When my time on the project is done, it all gets put back in the bag so I know where it all is the next time I sit down to work on it.

9. Let your bag make a statement.

A few of my bags have advertising on them to show what businesses and charities I support. For the most part, however, I choose not to buy store bags. When they pay me for doing their advertising for them, then I'll carry their bag. I also am not fond of the GREEN color that a lot of stores use. I've been carrying groceries in tote bags long before it became fashionable and trendy. I don't need other people to know that I'm doing it and that's all that color does is announce 'Hey! I'm recycling Here!'

10. Stuffed with clothes they make a handy pillow or cushion

The title pretty much covers the description for this section.

For being just a square double-handled bag with one main compartment, tote bags really rock! They may not have much in the way of organization but that’s the main beauty of their design. Because they don't have a lot of pockets and dividers, you can carry just about anything in your bag. One bag, many uses.

When you decide to expand your tote bag collection, consider shopping at thrift stores first. I've picked up some very nice bags at those stores for not a large price tag, yet another form of recycling. If you have to have something fashionable for when you’re out shopping, designer totes are out there for you. But it'll have limited uses, you won't want to stuff your dirty gym clothes or a wet bathing suit into a designer bag. For the most part you'll want a tote bag that can be used for work or errands that doubles as a travel bag or beach bag. Look for something that is large and durable and that you like the looks of. You're the one that will be using it, make it something you like.