Bag Lady

I am a bag lady. 

Last summer, a colleague from work began selling Thirty-One bags. Until then, I was able to suppress my addiction. Now, however, I fear that the monster has been unleashed.

It's not Heather's fault. Over the years I have accumulated enough canvas bags in varying sizes, shapes and depths to carry home at least a month's worth of groceries. Most of these I have not purchased. I've received them as gifts or laden with materials at conferences I've attended. I've tried to weed through them and thin the supply, but so many of them bear logos that I don't know where to recycle them. I keep a supply in the back of my car, and a stash in the closet at work, and still, I have a surplus.

As I typed this blog, it occurred to me that someone must be able to use these treasures - that a web search could yield someone somewhere who could use what I could not. So, I duly typed in the question: "where can I recycle canvas tote bags?" I hit "search," awaiting my solution with bated breath, but alas, a solution did not appear. Instead, I got a list of web sites selling tote bags made from recycled materials. Not. Helpful.

The weekend before last, I attended another Thirty-one party. I knew I should stay away, yet I didn't. Unlike the freebies filling my drawer at home, these bags are pretty and functional. And I can choose not only the style that suits me, but also the fabric my bags come in so that I'm not only organized, but coordinated as well. 

But I'd really love to live by the "one in, one out" principle of organizing, so if you know
anyone who could use a few good canvas bags, let me know. They're free to a good home.