Status Symbols: Shopping and Schlepping

People like to reuse shopping bags and those little gift bags from fancy stores. Its a status thing; I get it. Its free advertising for the company and, more importantly, you get to remind people where you shopped for a few extra days as you carry your tuna fish tupperware to and fro.

But when did those brown Starbucks bags become part of the pack?!

Sephora I can accept, Saks, Lord & Taylor, whatever, I'll even give you on a pass on the old school Bloomingdales "Medium Brown Bags", arguably the first status symbol shopping bag, but other than that, thats it.

A Starbucks bag does not qualify. You can throw that out after you've transported your coffee and scone to your office. Your 85% Post Consumer Recycled Paper Starbucks bag is not a status symbol. Throw it out so it can be consumed again or use it to pick up your pooches post consumer poo.

Heres a general rule: Any bag where you'd have to shake the crumbs out of before reusing should be off the list. Just because your venti pumpkin spice latte cost $6 doesn't mean its fancy.

Do you see people reusing their plastic Dunkin Donuts shopping bags? Well, follow their lead.

Ooh, maybe I'll get 50 munchinks and reuse the munchkin box as a lunch pail!