Grocery Shopping is Fun.

Today commemorates my first ever 99.9% plastic free shopping trip! It would have been 100% but I had to buy garbage bags for our kitchen's trash can. One day that won't be a necessity, but as it is, I had to buy them. The great thing about the trash bags I bought, is that they are biodegradable and will decompose in 18-24 months. That being my only plastic purchase, I feel very good about my groceries!

At the beginning of my shopping extravaganza I ran into my friend Libby, who truly inspired this epic event. When she found me I had a plastic bag of pre-shredded mozzarella in my hand. I complained to her of not liking to shred mozzarella and tried to justify making such a purchase. She put a finger to her chin and began letting her mind work out my dilemma. Within a minute she ran into the New Seasons deli (where she works) and started pulling shredded mozzarella from a bulk bag. She weighed it and gave it to me in a biodegradable paper container! The great thing about her brilliant plan was that I was able to get the exact amount of cheese I needed. The plastic bagged mozarella was short by 2 oz., meaning I would have needed to buy two packages and wasted 6 oz of cheese. Thanks Libby!

Another highlight from my shopping trip included buying barley. I know, I'm really living on the edge. But, catch this...I went to the aisle where you normally buy beans in plastic bags, but they didn't have any pearled barley. I scratched my head and pondered where to get barley, regardless of its packaging, if it wasn't in the bean aisle. I thought it might be with the flour. So, I wandered in the direction of flour. On my way I happened past the bulk aisle and there it was...with a choir of angels singing and bright lights illuminating it. I was so pleased.

In case your wondering if all my no-plastic purchases increased my grocery bill, I'll tell you it didn't. As I would make one decision that would be more pricey, the very next decision would inevitable offer me a savings. In the end I walked out of the grocery store spending at least $30 less our normal grocery bill!