My war on waste!!!

Pollycat

GreyQueen wrote: »

Went shopping this morning with the shopping trolley, three separate stores, all items straight into the bag. Couple of checkout assistants nodded their approval of the tactic, too.

I've seen a veritable explosion of the use of shopping trolleys in the past few years, women and men both using them. Even *gasps in wonder* young women. Mine leads a busy life as it doubles as luggage when I go to visit family via public transport. Perhaps the shopping trolley is the ultimate answer to the plastic bag conundrum?

I've had my shopping trolley for years and I LOVE it, it's done miles & miles up & down the road to the shops.

I have to confess that sometimes I have so much stuff in it, it's too heavy to lift onto the bus so I have to walk the 3/4 mile home.

I've just inherited my Mum's one as she now needs to use a walker.

GreyQueen

Pollycat wrote: »

I've had my shopping trolley for years and I LOVE it, it's done miles & miles up & down the road to the shops.

I have to confess that sometimes I have so much stuff in it, it's too heavy to lift onto the bus so I have to walk the 3/4 mile home.

I've just inherited my Mum's one as she now needs to use a walker.

But think of the money it's probably saved you by making you walk home! Mum and Dad have two four-wheeled trollies, the original one and a second one I picked up at a bootsale for £6. The orignal finally died the death after 25 years' hard service and now they have been given Nan's four-wheeler (she is housebound now) which has been 'retired' in the back bedroom for some years. Sometimes both are being used at the same time, and one is an easy-folder, which makes it more suitable for going off to the market town where there is a longish walk between the market and the car park.

Four-wheelers are great for serious load-carrying and you can park a wire basket on the top of them when walking around the shops. They are also steadying if you're not too good on your pins.

I swithered for ages before getting my trolley as it seemed a bit old-womanish, but it is liberating. And some very stylish women no older than 30 have been seen with them, they are so popular that no one bats an eyelid at you using one.

I do think them being made in jazzy designs rather than just boring old tartan, as they were for so many years, has helped.;)

Recalling the couple I saw walking a long way with about 3 carrier bags per hand, and having to stop every 50 yards or so to change hands and shake life back into their fingers. With a trolley, or even two, what was obviously a major PITA would have been a stroll.

For those who are on very tight budgets, I do see trollies, even four-wheelers, in the chazzers, £5 seems to be the going rate for a tidy example. Or perhaps freegle might provide?

VJsmum

I am out and proud on the trolley front. At 51 i guess i might qualify as old(er) now though - but i have seen lots of students with them. My own student daughter would but doesn't like mine as she is too tall for it. Maybe i need to get her the Lland one She has wrecked 2 suitcases bringing stuff home as she overloads them. i keep saying a trolley is the answer as it has bigger wheels and a frame to carry the load.

Mine was £15 from a local shop in town and it has been going strong for years. i walk the mile to the shops and another back with it - usually i buy shampoo and conditioner from £1 land and stock up so it is fairly heavy. But think how much those things would have cost from the supermarket or if i'd had to pay to park to visit £land.

thriftwizard

I've probably mentioned this before, but I've been using a shopping trolley since I was in my mid-20s, living in a "desirable" SW1 street and working in Whitehall! I now have two, a big Sholley Marketeer acquired for £5 at the market, which I carry my main weekly food shop for 7 people home in, and a smaller old Rollser gleaned at the Tip for £2, which I keep a sack of potatoes in most of the time, but also use for my Sunday top-up of fresh fruit & veg going very cheap at the end of the 3-day market. The Rollser has a bomb-proof frame which also gets used as an impromptu sack-truck and has even carried piano accordions up Yorkshire cliff-faces before now too!

I too ran a Morsbag pod & have made & given away nearly 500; still run the odd one up from time to time when I have an offcut just the right shape & the machine is free. Agreeing with Caterina - it's amazing how many people refuse them! But saddest of all, DD1 & I joined with other prolific "baggers" once or twice to make them, and to help other people make them, at major stitching events. We'd go up to random passers-by & ask if they'd like to make one; they'd shake their head sadly and say, "Oh, I'd love to! But I'm afraid I can't sew; my teacher told me I have two left hands/am all thumbs/have no talent for sewing whatsoever!" They were mostly in their late 60/early 70s; so many wasted years, thanks to a teacher's careless remark!

We did persuade many of them to have a go, and the broad beam on their faces when they stood up 20 minutes later with a bag they'd made for themselves was a wonderful sight! I do hope at least some of them have gone on to make other things too.

fiftyeighter_2

Ive made 2 of those bags almost identical size. I just never knew they were called morse bags. Very handy. I love my trolley but I suffer with my hip and after pulling it around for a while it really gives me jip. So lm hinting at the leyland trolley. Fingers crossed.

fiftyeighter_2

Just thought my Daughter in law uses a trolley and she's only 42. But she's a very dare I say it, old fashioned kinda girl. Very MS and a lovely girl too boot. She's just been telling me about her mum who seems to be worried about dying, oh dear. She is getting all her life in order for want of a better saying. I tried to explain to her she's not being morbid just thinking of the ones she'll be leaving behind, eventually. I too have made sure my DD who is only 20. " I had her when I was almost 46 " knows my bank details, where my policy is, my passwords for various things on computer and any other details I think she might need. It's not to be morbid or indeed to worry her.
I want to live for a long time but I know I can get on with living knowing my DD and DS,s know all there is to know.
Are you too like this?

[Deleted User]

I have had and used a 'wally trolley' as my DGKs call it for many years .At the moment I have a bright pink one that my youngest DD bought for me about 9 years ago.Its great for carting shopping and it even goes on holiday with us to the IoW where we put all the picnic/beach stuff in as you can rarely get a parking spot that near to the beach..My eldest Dd used to laugh at me for using one years ago but now as she is approaching 50 she can see the benefit of them ,even with a car it saves you carrying heavy bags.Its surprising what you can pack into one of those things.Great when bringing home heavy veg or cartons of milk/orange juice etc which always weigh as I buy my OJ in packs of four cartons at a time

Pollycat

GreyQueen wrote: »

But think of the money it's probably saved you by making you walk home!

Not really as I buy a weekly bus travel ticket but I always think of the excercise that's doing me good.

Actually, since they downgraded our service from every 12 minutes to every 15 minutes, I walk up and down more often because it takes me slighly less than 15 minutes to walk anyway.

Puffinbertha

A great use for old Tshirts
http://http://www.instructables.com/id/FASTEST-RECYCLED-T-SHIRT-TOTE-BAG/?ALLSTEPS

craigywv

hi all I am answering someones question regarding putting items in yourshopping bag whilst in a shop................I work in land of pound and many many people do in fact fill their shopping bags as they go around the shop then empty them at the tills this is of no bother to us as many are of the older age bracket and find the metal baskets hard to hold or the wheelie buckets we use too deep to bend down to empty hth you wont be rugby tackled to the floor if you do this xxx ps I personally use weekly when out in town with my mum (not tescos shopping just town shopping) my sons pram it is the deep type one not flat it has big net basket underneath and can hold loads means mum does not have to carry anything nor do I we have been known to get a weeks shopping each out of Iceland and between hanging oo hooks on handles managed to fit the lot in. I keep it in boot of car .......pps son is now 12 years old and I caught him on last week trying to squeeze into it just to see if he could ............he could so you can imagine the depth of it xxx I don't care what the pram looks like I love it and wouldn't be without it, when it passes away I shall be going to a charity shop to replace it as local shop always has loads for 5 quid!!! maybe worth checking out your own charity shops if you are forward enough to push one.....................son calls me a bag lady.......................im honered to be given such a worthy title xxx