Why Use Cloth Shopping Bags

Yes, there is the obvious reason, better for the environment. I would love to say this is my motivation for slowly but surely building a stockpile of cloth shopping bags. Yes, it does play a role. I would love to be a greener family than we are.

Here are a few reasons besides the obvious to switch to cloth:

1. Easier to carry. The longer handles are so much easier to lug up to the third floor.
2. They don’t rip. There’s nothing worse than getting halfway up the stairs and watching something (praying it’s not breakable) go tumbling to the ground because the plastic or paper bag ripped.
3. They’re surprisingly roomy. The groceries I bought the other day probably would have used three or four plastic bags, but everything fit in the two bags I purchased.
4. Save money, in time. One of the stores I shop at gives you a ten cent discount for every cloth bag or recycled paper bag you bring in. Yes, I have to use each bag 20 times to make my money back, but eventually, I’ll save money.
5. No plastic bags floating around. I swear, we have a bag demon that releases bags nightly. There’s always at least one plastic bag on the floor somewhere.
6. Stuff gets put away quicker.  I come home, put everything away, pack the bags away, and take them back to the van the next time I go down.

I do feel good that we are doing some good for the earth. At the same time, I want to let those who are on the fence know that there are other benefits!

Mr. Phelps, It’s Time to Stop

It seems to be a morning for me to be annoyed by the news.  Fred Phelps and his “church” apparently decided to picket at UW-Stout after three students died in a fire this past week.  They were “praising” God for the deaths, saying that God hates Wisconsin and Minnesota.  Apparently, I was raised in an “unholy” state.

I’m sick and tired of them thinking that going to funerals and saying the death was justified is a good way to spread the Word.  If he had read the bible, he would know that God, at least the God I was taught about in Wisconsin, does NOT hate.  He may not condone certain actions, but He does not hate.  The God I was taught about is compassionate and would not celebrate a tragic accident by telling those who are mourning how they deserved to die.  I believe it also says something that their “church” homepage (which I will not link to) is filled with their hateful words from the URL to the bottom of the screen.  If you want to see, you can do a Google search for Fred Phelps or Westboro Baptist Church.

The bad news is that it keeps giving them publicity.  They are getting their message out.  Every time they pull this, the news picks it up.  I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who agree with Mr. Phelps and his followers.  I truly hope that as their time comes to an end, they will realize how misguided they are and ask His forgiveness.

How Sad!

This story popped off the page at me today.

I can remember when parents couldn’t agree on which religion to raise a child.  I can’t believe there are parents out there who WANT their child to be part of a gang.  And to be worried about this when the child is four, that’s just sick!