How many reusable bags is too many?

[MissDollyMix]

(lighthearted) DH and I have had a major disagreement this morning as to how many carrier bags we should be keeping in the house. He’s got into my carrier bag drawer and started declaring that I don’t need all the bags I have. He reckons (and I personally think this is an over-exaggeration) that I must have 100 bags. I disagree. Anyway, there are different categories and hierarchies of bags. For example bags for the kids to put their muddy shoes in or carry their food tech items to school in. Or nice bags which aren’t gift bags but are nice if you’re dropping something off for a friend, or supermarket bags which I like to keep a few of in the car for emergencies or cotton tote bags which are good to use in lieu of a handbag or to fold up and keep in your handbag for shopping trips…. And so on and so forth. He thinks I’m being utterly unreasonable ! So come on mumsnet! Am I being unreasonable?!

Way too many 😬

We only have a couple - but do generally do online grocery shopping. I always carry one of those fold up totes that go into a little pouch in my bag for anything I buy in an actual shop. DP takes a Sainsbury’s bag for life if he goes to the shops.

The amount of fancy gift bags in this house, however, is a different matter. I have a gay male friend who will always bring a gift (chocolates, a plant which I kill pretty much straight off) in a gift bag, and a bottle in another gift bag when he comes round. I’ve told him not to bring anything or just shove a bottle of wine in a tote, but he loves a gift bag.

I'm with you OP! No such thing as too many reusable bags.
I choose different ones according to what I'm buying, what shop I'm going to, what transport I'm using (walking or driving), whether I have a handbag that day or if I have to carry the bags by hand, plus what I feel like that day, and my outfit!
I don't just hoard them all needlessly either, the ones I don't like will get donated to charity when clearing out wardrobes etc.
My kids use them a lot too, and they also pick through them to find their favourites.

I love collecting bags, so much that I never bother to take one to thd shops and just get another. I've got bags from 20 years ago. My dh despairs. We do donate loads though every time we take anything to charity or give gifts, so the number in our kitchen is probably around 20 currently. Team dh as I think 2 drawers is too many. But I do love the inclusion of his pov in your thread!

I'm with OP.
But then my bag collection is organised into size categories (small, medium, large), with each category stored in a reusable bag!
Some, especially the small ones, are from shops long gone, so it's like a little memory when one gets used!

A number approaching 100 feels like it is probably too many to me. We have about 8 in the kitchen- then I have a tiny foldaway one in my handbag.

Made me think of this article from a couple of weeks ago.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/30/reusable-tote-bags

Team DH.

Need a handful scattered in handbags and coat pockets, so always have one on hand for, err, impromptu shopping.
And a bag with just more than sufficient bags in for a weekly shop.

Cotton and jute bags get passed on a quickly as possible. They are useless. Pathetic sized, and crazy handle lengths on the cotton ones.

you can get a bag holder, but then you wont know what is coming out until you pull it

I probably have around 15 fabric bags. Handy for storing stuff (say gloves/scarves)

Then plastic bags maybe 20. Stored/prized -used mainly for a charity shop drop off,as you need to tag the bag first gift aid.

Then gift/bottle bags I may have 20 or so stored as they pack flat and I haven't decluttered them. Just put them away when received.

Plus 4-5 of those silly Amazon gift bags!

So maybe 50 bags but they don't take much space. We re off to Iceland later so will have to try and find plastic bags to put inside the fabric ones.

I get the different uses but personally I would give a large chunk to the food bank and just keep what will realistically be used

We've got 3 or 4 fabric bags (2 are kept in the car) and then a few plastic 'bags for life' which clearly won't last that long! But that's enough, I wouldn't want 2 drawers full of them! So I'm with your DH on this OP!

Personal,y I think there’s no such thing as too many cotton shoppers…..

I went with my mum to a wool shop last weekend and she got offered a free fabric bag with her purchases.

Was the highlight of our day!!

Gurdrun Sjorden used to give a free cotton bag with every purchase. Different patterns every season, it was GREAT!

@MissDollyMix If you literally have 100, you’ve lost the plot. If it’s more like 40, that makes perfect sense with your hierarchy.

I have cotton shoppers rolled up small (like a pair of thick socks) and stored in each handbag, rucksack, glove compartment, , motorbike, pocket of big coats etc so we always have a reusable bag when out.

Plus the big bags for life in the car, the tatty ones for going to the bottle bank, fancy ones for putting gifts in, drawstring for keeping mucky stuff etc etc

Your DH would hate my house! Our entire cupboard under the stairs is full of reusable bags!! Literally stuffed into every crevice. Bags within bags.

At least yours is ordered and neat 😂

Edit - just to say cupboard is about 3ft by 3ft - not a ‘harry potter’ style one!!

I think around 20 would be enough.

I keep a jute bag in the utility and it has around a dozen bags for life and half a dozen cotton totes.

I always carry a foldable nylon shopper with me for impulse buys.

But if I'm doing a supermarket shop or other shopping trip, I take a bag of bags with me.

The reasons they all don't live in the car permanently is because (a) the car boot is already full of DH's crap golf clubs, and (b) I sometimes walk to the shops for fresh bread / salad / veg / fruit during the week.

The question should be why do you have so many? Do you not understand the point of bags for life is to reuse them, meaning they shouldn't be building up like this.

Resolve to get no more bags. Any that are grubby or scruffy get reused as bin bags. Put any that are torn in the recycling.

Make whatever changes needed to make sure you take bags to the shops with you. You take your phone, means of payment and keys don't you? If you can remember these things, you can remember bags. And if you don't, get a box in the supermarket.

For any that are in decent condition, food banks often need bags, so offer some to them.

Again, why aren't you reusing them?

Oh I get the hierarchy system. And some bags are smaller than others so each have different uses

100 is bonkers though feel like we have 50ish and that's plenty

Different bags have different purposes! Also I give a lot away so need to keep a plentiful stock for that… plus and this is my fault- I like to keep a stash in both cars so I always have some to hand but I tend to then bring them into the house once I’ve used them and not remember to take them back out to the car!

I’m a middle-aged perimenopausal woman with teenagers. There is every chance I have lost the plot but I'm not sure the bag situation is symptomatic of that. I haven’t counted them but I’d say there’s definitely less than 50

Problem is, I feel I will realistically use all of them (at some point!)

Ooh bag lucky dip!! I’d end up pulling them all out looking for the ‘right’ bag for the occasion… no doubt the dog would run off with several in the process… it’s a nice idea in theory but in reality it would probably be carnage!

I think we’d get on 😊

The only sensible way to reply to this post is by you displaying your bags (in category order), count them and then send us a pic with how many you have in each category.
(Also wondering if this method will help with your bag hoarding so you can 'see' them all).