Rachel & Michael, the kindly folks at Maptote sent me this link to their cute cotton shopping bags. I’m a map and a bag hound, so I’m instantly big fan. I have quite a few bags, but they’re a great alternative to plastic bags so I keep lots around the house and in my car. Maptotes are a fun souvenir gift idea too. Delirious from too much shopping, you can simply refer to your handy Maptote to navigate your way back home!

On a side note, we all take our own shopping bags to the grocery store now, but I’ve been wondering what the policy is, say, in a department store or a drugstore if you’d rather use your own bags when leaving the register. Does anyone have any experience with this? I’m always worried they’d think I’m shopping lifting and I’d wind up with the Winona treatment (could it be possible she was ahead of the curve and just had an environmental conscience, even back then?). This policy shouldn’t just apply to groceries, right? Think of the number of plastic Gap bags out there!