contest - you've been bagged!

UPDATE Contest closed!

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Did I mention how much I love Baggu Bags? I mean, we're already heading off to the store to pick up our lustful method green cleaning products. Shouldn't we, at the checkout lines, slip our purchases into just as green a bag? Yes we should! Down with plastic bags! Chant ten times! Now! I said, now! Ok, sorry. I can be a bit demanding at times. I promise, no more yelling. Well, alright, I doubt I can keep that promise, but I'll try.

So, check out this really great video showing you all about how the Baggu Bag works, and even where it's made! So simple, so neat, such a great product! And being SO sweet (and reading method lust! Who knew?!) - Baggu treated me to a couple bags (thank you, Baggu!) and now I'm going to pay it forward, and treat one of you to a Baggu!

Contest time! One lucky winner will receive a cool regular sized (the color is sage, I believe - perfect for a guy or a gal!) Baggu bag! All you have to do is give your name in the comment section, and tell me what you'd put in YOUR Baggu! Contest ends March 15th! (And just cause I'm all sorts of nice, I'll throw in a nifty method goodie, too!)

danny's discovery

Danny, Danny, Danny. Admit it. You don't really read method lust, do you? Oh, you might skim a post here or there, but really, really read it, no I don't think you do. Because if you did, you'd know I've been screaming the wonders of Baggu Bags for well, 2 years now! (Psst - I'm just giving method's Green Co-Conspirator, Danny Seo, some humorous jabbing. Why?)

Cause over on his personal blog, Daily Danny (full up on lots of grand green stuff!), he's finally discovered the greatness that is Baggu Bags! Danny writes:

"Twice a year in NYC is the New York International Gift Fair. It’s when designers/vendors and buyers collide and when decisions are made what home, beauty, and anything else you can pick up in a department store, catalog or gift store will be made. There is literally hundreds of thousands of items, some beautiful, some inventive, some eco-friendly and some outright what-are-they-thinking? worthy. This post is dedicated to the greener and better products I found this week.

Reusable tote bags have become like building a better mousetrap. Sure, everyone has as reusable bag and every store is selling all different types. There are plenty of terrible bags: the ones that barely hold anything or they rip after a few uses or have the giant SAFEWAY SUPERMARKETS logo emblazoned on the side. Not cool. So, the hunt for a pack of reusable tote bags that are sturdy, colorful, lightweight and can hold a whole cart’s worth of food may be over with these Baggu Bags.

All five of them fit into a tiny little bag. Because the nylon bags “memorize” the crease marks, they are very easy to fold right back up into tiny little squares. Each bag can actually hold up to 50 pounds each, meaning you can haul 250 pounds worth of groceries to and from your car to the house. The biggest question is: why on Earth are you buying 250 pounds of groceries?!? That question for another day…"

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You'd think Baggu Bags were paying me for all the endorsements I seem to give them here on method lust! But no! (But uhm, Baggu, if you're reading this and just wanna send me free bags for spreading the word, I'm always open to that option! Ha ha!) Just like my ridiculously unhealthy love for method products, Baggus also hold a special place in my heart (which could be why there's no room for a boyfriend! Between method and Baggu, and maybe comic books (hey, I went to college to be a comic book illustrator, ok, so stop making fun of me!), there's no more room! Sorry guys! Yeah, yeah, that's what I'm gonna tell myself when I'm all alone this Valentine's day! That'll do the trick...oh, I'm so off topic here!) They're just really, really, really (one more time) really awesome bags! Of course everyone has their favorite brand, and I know there are lots of nifty styles and types out there; but for me, it's gotta be Baggu!

Be sure to read all about the other discoveries Danny found at the NY Gift Fair (man, I bet it would rock to go to something like that!); and be sure to give Baggu Bags a try! I bet you'll lust them as much as I do!

And if you've got a favorite reusable bag/tote you use all the time, drop a comment and give us the name and website/where they can be purchased! Let's spread the resuable bag love!

it all adds up!

As much as I preach, beg, and scream about using reusable bags whenever you go shopping, to the grocery store, anywhere you might be subjected to the "paper or plastic (or SHUDDER, just plastic!)" question; it hasn't been the easiest thing to get people to convert. I mean, what do THEY get out of this deal? Saving the planet, ending global warming, helping Mother Nature? Bah! Who's got time for that! Show me the money!

And so, places are starting to do just that! Ok, so you won't get rich from it, but hey it's a start! And Target has joined the bandwagon! Starting recently, every time you use your reusable bag/tote, they'll take off five cents from your total purchase! I know, I know, five cents?!? Come on! But I'll bet you it's the cost of that plastic bag you're about to walk out with. So it's sorta a little bonus, you know? You save them five cents, and they give it to you! AND, just imagine, if you're as much of a Target shopaholic as I am; and you start counting up just how many times you head off to Target, adding that up over a year, the five cents could turn into something more substantial! A new house? Eh, no! But who knows!

Right now it's hit or miss, I was officially told it's their new policy, but I've had some cashiers do it, others not so much. I think it's like the reusable tote thing in general, at first you have to beat it over their heads every time you bring one with you. "NO! Take that out of the plastic bag! I have a reusable tote!" and after a while, you have them trained, and they're just standing there holding your items, waiting on you to open that magical bag of wonderment for them to fill full; to which you can then go home, unload, fold up, and prep it for the next trip! And the next, and the next, and... so right now, if they don't make mention of it, bring it up to them! "Oh, did you give me my Target reusable bag discount?" It NEVER hurts to ask!

Well, it might if you don't. You might be five cents poorer. So next time, give it a try! (Oh, and if you aren't already, USE reusable bags! method has some wonderful plastic rehab bags; and I'll be a total salesman and let you know my favorites are Baggu bags! They come in a zillion colors, are strong, and just rock (and now they even come in canvas!) So you have no excuses! None, nada, zip, zilch! (That'd be a big zero, good buddy!)

no thanks

Ok, are you ready? Cause this post is gonna go ALL the way around the block, down the street for an ice cream sandwich, over to Mary Jo's house for a quick visit, and then back around in a taxi cab to get to it's point. ok? You've been warned.

So today I was roaming Old Navy (and as an aside, I used to work for Banana Republic, so I still consider myself an honorary employee, only without benefits, a paycheck, or anyone actually saying "Hey, old pal!" to me when I walk into a Gap store (Gap owns Banana Republic and Old Navy, by the way.) So ANYWAY, Old Navy has been rocking! out the candles as of late. PS - as method should know by now (and all my friends for that matter) I'm a candlewhore. HORRIBLE. SO BAD. CAN'T GET ENOUGH. GIVE IT TO ME, BABY. ONE MORE TIME.

Well, today as I usually do, I had two candles in mind I have been wanting to buy there - have been wanting to buy, but hadn't because everytime I smelled them I went "MMM! Hmm? I'm not sure..." as I'm really picky. But today I was determined, and I walked right out of that store with... two totally different candles. (This post must be about method candles, right? Uh, no.) They were Island Lime (coconut, lime, and ginger. Hint hint, method!), and Spring Lily (lily of the valley, tuberose, and pear blossom. Hint hint, method.) And they smell DIVINE. So I go up to the counter to purchase them, and the woman is all nice and such, and we chat for a bit, and she gets ready to put them in a bag, and oh my word here he goes, but no I simply said "Oh, I don't need a bag." but I had forgotten my Baggu bags and she chatted a bit more, and suddenly was like "Well I have to put them in a bag, because it's store policy." To which I simply said, nicely, "Well, I definitely don't want to take a plastic bag." It's like my mantra now, I think I chant "no plastic bags shall I take" in my sleep and during all yoga poses. No, seriously. Well, if I were to actually do yoga (that downward-facing dog pose is freakin' HARD!) And she sort of was "uh, well" and that was that. She thanked me, I told her she could watch me walk all the way out of the store if she needed to, but no problem, and on I went.

Whew, where the h#!? is he going with this? I thought this blog was called method lust. Ok, so I was patting myself on my back, mentioning out loud in my truck (cause I talk to myelf... out loud. Yes, I have troubles.) about how I was doing so great, not a single plastic bag from a retail store once this year. Then I started going "But when it comes to the dry cleaners (plastic bags on your clothes), the grocery store (only the plastic bags for tiny produce items (green beans, small potatoes, etc.) or fast food restaurant food bags (which I usually will try to remember not to take, but fail at sometimes) it's much more difficult for me. I'm 100% successful with not taking a single retail plastic bag this year at a checkout line, anywhere! For six months! I'm very proud of that fact. But what do YOU do with the other situations? How do you handle plastic bags on your dry cleaning (which I realize, dry cleaning alone is a bad method word, I know, I know. One step at a time, ok?) Or for your produce? How do you do it? Give us all some pointers and tips!

I told you, had'ta visit Mary Jo, in order to get here. But, here we are. Ok, I really didn't have'ta, I could have just went "BAGS!" and been like that. But it was way more fun, right? And yes, it's not really about method, but I'm a big advocate of no plastic bags, and so is method! (Hello, Plastic Bag Rehab!) And maybe they'll get some new candle hints out of this eh?

Hey, you know, I just realized my Old Navy candle is called Island Lime, and uh, it smells totally like coconut. That don't make no such sense... oh well! (At least I didn't take the bag.)