Reddit reviews Reusable Produce Bags, Washable Mesh Bags for Fruits and Vegetables, Set of 5 - Flip and Tumble

My mother made mine. I can't stand the plasticy fabric so mine are made from thin linen and grocery bags from thick linen.

But you can get them from supermarkets usually and online

I use these too. Amazon link for those interested. They're washable and don't add much weight to your produce at checkout. I'm not really concerned about the weight, but a cashier at my local grocery store wanted to make sure I wasn't getting over charged, so she weighed each of my bags and wrote the weight on each of the tags so it can be subtracted at checkout. Pretty cool of her.

If you want to cut down on your plastic use, try these!

You could also buy or make produce bags - which are just thin reusable bags that you can fill up with your fruits and veggies if you don't want others touching them. You could sew something like this out of old fabric.

With the deli - you can try to ask them if they will put it in your tupperware but be aware they may say no due to health restrictions.

And it definitely is a lot!! Just try to remember that every small step you take to reduce waste is an improvement :)

My fiance and I have a set of these from Norwex, his sister is a consultant and we got some at a party she had last year, among some other products (which are really nice). But looking on Amazon I found some that have a lot of reviews and have a high overall star rating:

https://www.amazon.com/flip-tumble-Reusable-Produce-Bags/dp/B002UXQ7QQ

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XSHEJ90/ref=psdc_1252210011_t1_B002UXQ7QQ

Which reminds me that I'd like to pick up some more. Thanks!

I have these and I really like them. It's fairly easy to see what is in the bag and they are machine washable!

FLIP AND TUMBLE - Reusable Produce Bags - Washable Mesh Bags for Fruits and Vegetables, Tough and Tear Proof, Eco-friendly Cloth fabric, Set of 5 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002UXQ7QQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_tA30DbZVVYYXD

There are also some reusable bags you can buy if you never want to use plastic again.

Example

Or yes, 1/2 the time I just use nothing. The produce might get a little dirty along on the way and on the checkout counter but I wash it all at home anyway.

I'm in a similar spot as you - trying to reduce my waste within the constraints of being a uni student. One of the first changes I made was buying these. You could make produce bags yourself if you're crafty, but I'm not and didn't have time to figure out how to do it. Also, relying on freezer bags is a lot harder if you just don't have them in the house. We stopped buying them, and although tupperware does take up more space in the fridge, I think it's worth it. You also save money that would have gone towards freezer bags.

For cheap cleaning rags I just cut up old clothes/sheets that are at the end of their life, and keep them in a bucket under the sink. It's easy to just grab those instead of paper towel for spills/wiping the table/counter tops/cleaning the bathroom, etc. We throw them in the wash when we have a lot of dirty ones. For napkins, I went to a local thrift shop and bought a bunch of plain cloth napkins. They're nothing fancy so I really don't mind them getting dirty (although they always come clean in the wash).

As for bathroom supplies, you can find relatively cheap shampoo bars, and I've found that they last me much longer than bottled shampoo. I get mine from Lush, but you can definitely get cheaper - I'd recommend checking Etsy for some homemade options.

I'm still working on bathroom products, especially face wash and moisturizer, but I know there are a lot of diy tutorials online. Good luck! I've learned that even baby steps are important steps :)

Y'all need to get yourselves some reusable produce bags and cut down on that carbon footprint!

Note I just selected the first amazon result - there are many available

I would actually recommend you build this composter as the type you linked to can be difficult in my opinion. Especially if you are in an apartment, lifting and sorting trays while trying to harvest worms from one bin to another is going to be a messy process. If you don't want to build a wooden framed one, I just used a tall plastic laundry basket instead.

With the composter I linked to you will just harvest finished castings from the bottom. To make tea you will just take those castings and put them in a big fine mesh bag (check out your local grocery store for reusable produce bags) and them let that bag soak in a bin of water. You can experiment to see how concentrated you'll want to make you tea.

How long you wait and how much you get depends on how much and how often you feed the worms. Your colony size will adjust to how you feed them. Expect to wait at least a month though.

I really like these ones

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UXQ7QQ/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c_x_1_w

I purchased a couple sets of these if you're into making a minor investment.

https://www.amazon.com/MyLifeUNIT-Microwave-Potato-Baked-Baking/dp/B016MC5IVK

U use this one on a regular basis and it works.

and

https://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Produce-Bags-Fruits-Veggies/dp/B002UXQ7QQ/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1538730913&sr=1-4&keywords=Veggie+Bag

I got tired of all those flimsly useless bags and bought something like this.

Lick your fingers sensually, then rub the wrong end of the bag for 5 minutes before having to re-lick your fingers and try the wrong end again before you realize it. Make sure you make unbroken eye contact with the stocker the whole time. Hopefully don't get kicked out before buying fruit.

Or don't use a store bag and bring your own.

> We can’t even buy vegetables without putting them in plastic.

https://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Produce-Bags-Fruits-Veggies/dp/B002UXQ7QQ

Great job, but maybe cut back on the plastic?? There's no need to put produce in plastic bags. You could just not use them, or grab some reusable produce bags :)

I have these reuseable mesh produce bags. I put all the greens into the mesh bag, put a folded paper towel in the bottom of the container and put the mesh bag of green back on top. The mesh bag keeps the greens from touching the plastic and allows better airflow around the greens, and the paper towel absorbs the excess moisture.

I use a similar method for all my other produce too. A head of lettuce will stay crisp this way for months (no joke!), same with chard and kale, carrots, zuchs, etc.

I'm with you! I cannot stand waste in most forms but especially when cooking. I use these to buy produce: find here. Also, of course, tote bags are always helpful. Etsy has a lot of reusable cooking equipment for sale (e.g., coffee filters, reusable Saran Wrap).

For produce, just buy some reusable bags. These are cheap on Amazon right now, though delivery is like a month+:
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B002UXQ7QQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_DstnDbRFYWTS4

Then bulk Barn allows you to bring your own containers.

Most meat departments will wrap your stuff in paper versus plastic, so while not zero waste, it's still better.

I agree though with the sentiment; would love zero waste options to be more prevalent.

Get some of these for your fruit and vege. We also got a few of the reusable bags from Alosra for our main groceries. Very sturdy and reliable. Just got to make sure you remember them :D

Reusable produce bags. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002UXQ7QQ/ref=asc_df_B002UXQ7QQ5273462/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B002UXQ7QQ&linkCode=df0&hvadid=194842526382&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7169199487477543823&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9011698&hvtargid=pla-312440656941

Plasti-mesh,take the Hydrapak seeker cap that you'll never use again, bore out a nice hole in the top, screw over mesh on Befree bag. These bags weigh less than half an ounce for the whole bag. If you cut it down to a small section, that + the Hyrapak cap might weigh in under a quarter ounce.