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10 Ways to (re)Use Shopping Bags

: Image by publicenergy via Flickr

When I go shopping, I don’t bring my own grocery bags…mostly because I’m not a hippy. I do tend to double-bag my groceries just so I can bring more shiny plastic bags home to play with. What do I do with them, you ask? I’m glad you asked, because that is why I am writing this post. Thank you for cooperating.

Here are my favorite 10 things to do with shopping bags:

Garbage bag. When I’m cooking, I hang a shopping bag on the drawer handle where I’m working, so all the scraps can go straight into the trash. I just slide the onion skins or pepper cores off the counter right into the bag.
Garbage bag II. Why buy small garbage bags for that tiny can in the bathroom? A plastic shopping bag works just as well.
Pooper scooper. Instead of buying some gadget or even a little roll of bags, just tuck one of these into your pocket when you take the dog for a walk. Instant poop removal.
Paint brush saver. When you are painting, if you have to stop for the night, wrap your brush in a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator. It will be ready to use in the morning, without have to clean it or pick out dried paint flakes.
Halloween mask. Draw a lipstick mouth on the bag, pull it down and you are an instant “bag lady”. Seriously, this is bad advice. Don’t put a plastic bag over your face, no matter what some jerk on the internet says.
Power-strip water-resistor. I go a bit crazy decorating for Halloween. Right now, there is a lighted path, 2 coffins, a few full-sized monsters, 30-40 tombstones, and over 100 skulls in my yard. Some of that is animated. I wraps power strips and extension cord connections in plastic bags, then duct-tape the bag-seams. I’m not an electrician, or a code-compliance officer, so don’t take this as advice, but it has worked well for me.
Recycling bin. This requires paper bags, not plastic, and it makes me a bit of a hippy. I keep a paper bag next to the garbage can just for the recycling. I keep another handy just to use to collect junk-mail for my primitive alternative to a paper shredder.
Dirty laundry. I’ve got 2 kids in different stages of potty-training. When fit hits the shan, so to speak, the dirty/wet clothes go into a bag that I conveniently keep in the diaper bag. I knot that sucker tight and the scents and stains don’t get all over the stroller or the car.
Dandelion torture chamber. If you’re the kind of person who likes to roam around your yard with a scissors, cutting the heads off of dandelions while they are still pretty, there is no better place to store the mutilated remains of your victims than a shopping bag from Target. Show those other weeds what happens to trespassers! I wish I was making this up.
Car kits for kids. Before we go on a trip, we have the kids fill up a small bag with books and toys to keep themselves occupied for the drive. This isn’t recommended if your kids have to taste everything they touch, but it’s been a simple-yet-elegant solution for us.

Do you use shopping bags for more than just a way to transport clutter from the store to your house?

Hunting Trip Stress

Life, Relationships

Vegans and hippies won’t enjoy this post.

Friday, I went to a cabin in the woods for a weekend hunting trip with my dad, my brother, and a few other people.

My wife didn’t think it’s a good idea. In fact, she was terrified that I’d walk into the woods and come out in a body bag.

Statistically, it’s safe. Out of 12.5 million hunters, there are only around 100 fatal hunting accidents every year. I think I went hunting for the first time when I was 12, and continued to do so until I was 17, then life started interfering.

That doesn’t matter. By definition phobias aren’t rational. She’s worried and stressing hard.

If she’s had such a hard time with it, why did I go?

First, I asked her six months ago if she’d be all right with the trip. I knew she had some phobias, and have–in fact–tried to make the trip before. Six months ago, she said yes. It was a bit late to back out after I’ve committed to a share of the cabin, bought the bright orange gear, and agreed to drive my brother.

The second reason was more important.

This is one of the few things my dad and I both enjoy. I’m a geek, he’s not. I dig horror and sci-fi, he’s into westerns.

But we both enjoy hunting. The first time he treated me like an adult was the first year we went hunting together, 15 years ago.

My dad taught me to be the man I am. Without him, I have no idea who I’d be or what I’d be doing. My integrity, my work ethic, and my moral code can all be traced to the things he taught me.

This is my chance to spend time with him and have a good time with no TV or whiny kids interfering.

Trading this for a few days of stress at home is something I’m willing to do.

Delayed Gratification, Take II

Finance, Life

English: Zach Galifianakis as Alan from "... — English: Zach Galifianakis as Alan from "The Hangover" (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How much would you pay for a kiss from the world’s sexiest celebrity?

That was the focus of a recent study that I can’t find today. There is no celebrity waiting in the wings to deliver the drool, and the study doesn’t name which celebrity it is. That’s an exercise for the reader.

This was a study into how we value nice things.

The fascinating part of the study is that people would be willing to pay more to get the kiss in 3 days than they would to get the tongue slipped immediately.

Anticipation adds value.

Instant gratification actually causes us to devalue the object of our desire.

This goes well beyond “Will you respect me in the morning?”

The last time I talked about delayed gratification, it was in the context of my kids. That still holds true. Kids don’t value the things that are handed to them.

The surprising–and disturbing–bit is that adults don’t, either. If I run out to the store to buy an iPad the first day I see one, I won’t care about it nearly as much as if I spend a week or two agonizing over the decision.

The delay alone adds to the perceived value. The agony turns the perceived value into gold.

If I spend a month searching for the perfect car, the thrill of the successful hunt adds less value than the time it took to do the hunting.

Here’s my frugal tip for today: Delay your purchases. While it may not actually save you any money, you will feel like you got a much better deal if you wait a few days for something you really want.

Net Worth Update

Misc

Welcome to the New Year. 2013 is the year we all get flying cars, right?

Here is my net worth update, along with the progress we made over the course of 2012.

As you can see, our net worth contracted by about $11,000. Part of that difference is due to selling our spare cars and–against my better judgement–taking payments with a lien on one of them. That is supposed to be paid off within a couple of months. If not, I’ll play repo man again.

The other part of the difference is in the final preparations for our rental property. The only things left to do are sanding and polishing the hardwood floors and cleaning the living room carpet. The final push to get to this point cost some money. All told, we’re nearly $30,000 into getting the house ready to rent. For the naysayers who think we should have sold it, we would have spent more getting it ready to sell.

Other than that, we’re not doing poorly. Our credit card is still being paid off every month and our mortgage is shrinking. If things continue to go well, we’ll have our truck paid off in a couple of months and the mortgage by mid summer.

The Lord Will Provide

Finance, Life

Debtors like to make excuses.

When I used to work collections, I’d try to work out a payment plan to get people out of debt, and I often heard “The Lord will provide” as their only excuse for not paying the money they owed.

That’s crap. It’s not a financial plan. It’s not a life plan.

It’s a crappy excuse to make you feel better about why your life sucks, has always sucked, and will–most likely–continue to suck.

Over the weekend, I got to spend quite a bit of time with family, including some that we don’t get to see often. One couple in particular really stands out. Neither of them are employed. She’s got some medical problems and has several major surgeries recently. I’d give her a pass for that, but she was unemployed for many years prior to that. He used to have a job, but lost it a couple of years ago, and is now milking welfare with his wife and daughter. They recently lost their house and had to move in with his mother.

Neither one is looking for work. Between the two of them, they smoke 4-5 packs of cigarettes a day. They want to buy a house soon, or rent an apartment, or something. They aren’t very clear in their planning because, “It’s in God’s hands.”

No plan, no ambition, no goals. I don’t understand how anybody can go through life with no intention of improving it. How can you try to hide behind platitudes instead of making things better?

Here’s the bumper sticker that can actually improve your life: “Good things come to those who bust their asses and make good decisions.”

It’s not the easy path, but in the long run, it’s a better path and one of the few paths that doesn’t lead to royal life-suckitude.

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