So how does one get by without plastic? I lost a bit of sleep, I’ll confess, when faced with the conundrum of how to bring my produce and bulk food home without plastic sacks. That the bags offered at our local health food stores were supposedly biodegradable did not comfort me. I wanted to get to the next level. Without having my broccoli wilt a day after bringing it home.
The answer, it seems, is cloth. For under ten dollars I made two dozen drawstring muslin bags of all sizes, for everything from huge heads of kale to poppyseeds. I empty the bulk foods into jars once home from the store. Flours get to stay in their sacks because they are stored in the fridge. So far all durable produce like kale and carrots and broccoli is staying fresh. If I notice something drying out a bit, I spray the bag with a little water. And I do use everything within a week.
Did you know you get bag credit for every bag you bring, not just the grocery sacks that cart everything home? Or that it makes you feel like a million bucks to get home from the store without a single plastic bag to worry about an albatross eating? That keeping food in cloth and glass feels, well, nicer to the food? And that many stores sell muslin bags readymade for your shopping pleasure?
Now we both do.
Kyce Bello 
ahh… beautiful!
I am inspired to craft my own cloth bags for groceries!
I made some for our snacks, we too empty everything into glass jars. I agree it is so nice to eat food in this way.
Kyce could you please send an email about how to subscribe so that this comes to my daily email instead of having to go to the wordpress site. I can not figure it out. Thanks.
A tip: Carrots, celery, and hardy greens like chard do well in containers of water. Carrots stay really crisp when they are immersed.
BTW, the Berkeley Ecology Center has created a great hand-out about how to keep produce of all kinds fresh without plastic. I have it posted up on Fake Plastic Fish:
Click to access Berkeley%20Farmers%20Market%20Tips%20for%20Storing%20Produce.pdf
Thanks for the water soaking tip. I found the Berkeley handout on Fake Plastic Fish, but don’t recall this being on it. Thanks for all your great work, Beth, and for dropping by.