Overflowing plastic bags 
Cut and roll into a ball 
Crochet into a bag
So, I am seriously concerned about our water creatures and how they are managing the massive amounts of plastic in our waterways. I think often about the dolphins and sea turtles and fish and birds who encounter plastic bags that end up in the ocean. I know they suffer from ingesting the plastic and from getting tangled up in them as they try to escape handles that won’t let go.
This is why I started using reusable cloth shopping bags more than 11 years ago. My friends and family know that I keep a stash of bags in my trunk, in my basement, in my closets and at work so I can easily, always, bring my own reusable bag. I hate plastic bags; I don’t want them. I will carry my groceries out in my arms before I will take a plastic bag.
But now, in the face of the Coronavirus, I am faced with a new, old dilemma. The problem of the plastic bag has invaded my consciousness again. To avoid spreading germs, stores will not allow personal cloth bags inside anymore. Shoot. I am only shopping once every two weeks, on payday. I have to wear a mask and practice social distancing when I go. And, to avoid extra time at the register, I am passively accepting the plastic bags the store gives out.
Oh how it bothers me to come home with so much waste, and dangerous waste at that. I just can’t bear the thought of the dolphins eating my bags and the turtles wrapped up in my bags just for my convenience.
I can’t throw these bags away and that’s it. I can’t. I won’t. So, I do what any good trouble shooter will do when faced with an undesireable situation. I find a way to keep the bags, and implement the KonMari method. Keeping the bags will bring me joy, but not if they are in a messy stash. So I think, think, think, until I know what to do. I can combine this mess with the newfound boredom of the quarantine and make something new and useful.
I have spent considerable time cutting the bags into strips, rolling them into balls and now I am crocheting them into reusable shopping bags! I may not be able to bring them into the stores until the CDC deems it safe, but until then I can fill them with all the things I need to carry around the house.
From throwaway shopping bag to reusable shopping bag, I’m just making the best of a covid situation.