Decluttering and Organizing the Tote Bag Collection

Have you seen the Strand bookstore's tote bags? Perfection. Awesome-ness in the form of a bag. I own waaaaaaaay too many. -- Amy, on her blog Let Go and Go On

Do you have like a gazillion reusable shopping bags? -- Rita Rubin, on Twitter

There are many reasons to have a collection of reusable tote bags. Maybe you buy a lot of groceries at once. I use a bunch of them in my organizing business, to haul away things (like books) that my clients no longer want and need, as I take them to new homes.

And here's Rachel from San Diego, quoted from her e-mail to me (with her permission): "I am taking three classes right now, also in four book discussion groups, and also I am a knitter. It just makes the best sense for me to have a separate bag for each of these activities (some of the class books are very heavy) which I can just grab when I go out the door." Organizer Allison Carter does something very similar.

But do you keep buying more bags, because you forget to take yours with you? Or have you gotten more than you need because they were handed out as promotional items, as these bags have become increasingly popular give-aways? If you've got way more bags then you'll ever use, it may be time to donate or otherwise give away some of the excess bags.




If you'd like a way to corral the bags, other than just stuffing then inside another bag - you could consider using the Tote Buddy, which "neatly holds piles of reusable bags." It's another one of those products I saw at the recent organizers' conference in San Diego - and while it's a bit too fussy for me, personally, it might be just right for someone else.

Categories: green alternatives , organizing products