Like a lot of folks, for years I’d been housing a crazy number of plastic grocery bags. Kept my collection in the cabinet under my kitchen sink. Figured I would use them for trash, and did. Problem was I always seemed to have more bags than trash. Even sent away for a nifty plastic bag holder from Home Trends, one of my favorite catalogues.  But that device only prompted me to collect more bags.

The solution to my bag clutter came to me, oddly enough, while I was on vacation in Paris a few years back. One day I found myself carrying a bunch of little purchases in various bags and I wanted to consolidate them. I went into a cool home wares store and bought a blue, expandable nylon bag that came in a little pouch, in which I placed all of the things I’d bought.  I put that bag to good use throughout the remainder of my stay.
 
When I returned home I continued to use my bag, and acquired a few more. They accompanied me on trips to the grocery store, farmers market, the drugstore and other places where I thought they’d come in handy. The baggers at my neighborhood supermarket used to look confused when I’d hand over my sacks for them to fill. I think they thought it would affect their tip, which it didn’t.  And I still get funny looks from cashiers when I reject the plastic.
 
“You sure?” asked an incredulous drugstore clerk as I filled one expandable bag with the same amount of purchases that would have required two or three plastic bags. “Yep,” I replied.

Now you’d be hard pressed to find any more than two plastic bags in my home at any given time, and those two are lining wastebaskets.

Looking to kick the plastic bag habit? Here are some eco chic alternatives:

1. Folks I pass on the street get a kick out of the message on my nylon Method Reusable Market Tote ($15 at www.methodhome.com).  I like the bright colors, and groovy ‘70s-style lettering. Bonus point: It can be stuffed inside it’s own interior pocket, which makes it easy to pop into a purse or store.

2. When my designing friend Berton Ridley showed me this soft cotton Ticking Stripe Tote ($35; bertongoods@fastmail.fm), I had to have one!  The cluster of buttons shaped into a star is absolutely charming.

3. I found this funky Touch Your Groove Shopper ($11.99; www.blueq.com), made of woven polypropylene, in Toronto, but you don’t have to cross the border to get one. The smiling lady and DJ images on the front are dead ringers for Lauryn Hill and the great Jam Master Jay.

4. Leave it to NYC designer Montgomery Harris to make African American nostalgia fashionable. THE Tote ($15 at Montgomery Boutique, (212) 690-2166 http://montgomeryboutique.com/accessories.htm), featuring a smiling brown dolly and made of coated pack cloth, is roomy enough to accommodate lots of stuff.