Up with totes!
Nah. This is not a new movement but regardless it has been on my mind a lot lately. I want to write to you today about how much I love totes and how important they are in this world of waste that we’re living in.
Sit for a moment. Think about how many bags you get each day (especially during this busy holiday season).
Take any given day — you run to the store and there’s 2 bags right there. You run to get a bottle of wine and there’s 1 bag right there. And maybe you need a gift for a friend and there’s 1 bag right there. That’s 4 bags all in one day!
Tuck 2 totes in your purse/carryall and 2 totes in your car (or your bike basket) and that number turns to 0.
Up with totes!
Here are some of my favorite totes right now … On top: my old Bean tote. I have had this bag for 7 years. It’s only getting better. I use it for long weekends away, farmers market trips and my cat Scotch likes to sit inside when it’s lingering on the floor after it has been unloaded. Love this tote!
This Nigel Peake is new in my rotation. I’ve been folding this one up in my purse. It’s on the small size but is very sturdy so it makes a perfect day-to-day tote for little but hefty jobs. Lately I’ve been bringing my digital camera along swaddled up in this baby. I got it on a recent trip to London at the very best bookshop — Magma Books. I love this tote!
This is the newest of all of my totes and it’s one I made myself (get yours here)! Well, I didn’t sew it but I did do the dying and drawing. I love how the process has made it feel really wonderfully worked in. This is going to be the kind of tote I use when I want to walk out and about in town but don’t want to bring a big purse. It’s perfect to fit a newspaper, a wallet, sunglasses, a phone and maybe a notebook and still leave room for anything else small you might want to pick up. There are only 40 of these babies in existence … another reason why I love this tote!
I got this tote in London as well at a shop called Goodhood. Best little shop with the nicest people working there! And I thought it totally rocked that when you made a purchase you got a cloth tote instead of a paper or plastic bag. That just makes good sense! This is one of those very light totes that folds up super small and tucks into the pocket of your carryall. You won’t even know it’s there until you need it. Love this tote!
And yeah, I’m totally partial but I love our new 3191 tote. This is the perfect grocery tote! It doesn’t go over your shoulder and that’s what I like about it. It’s the kind of tote you carry down at your side and there is something really nice about that. I have two of these (lucky me) and I am using one for exercise bits and bobs (fits a yoga mat nicely with it sort of popping out the side/top) and one for grocery trips.
I’ll say it again — up with totes! Let’s grow our tote collections and cut down on waste, shall we? Up with totes!