2nd Hardest Challenge to My Independence

Learning to drive a modified car is the hardest task I had to master after my stroke.  The 2nd hardest is dealing with the New Jersey ban on stores providing and selling disposable plastic bags.  Reusable bags sold in stores and on-line are big.  They hold a lot so they are too heavy for me to carry up my front steps.  They also do not nestle together in the rolling cart I use to transport bags from my car to my front door.  Section 1.18 of the law allows customers to use disposable bags so I reuse bags I have saved until they rip.  Going to a long-term facility because I cannot get food in my house is a severe consequence.  Meals-on-Wheels supplies only 2 meals a day Monday to Friday.

Solution # 1.  I carry my plastic bags in a canvas bag from LL Bean.  The small canvas bag was not tall enough to let the plastic bags hang down fully.  The large canvas bag sags.  The medium canvas bag with short handles is just right (see photo below).

Solution # 2.  I pre-bag a few items like a half gallon of milk and packages of meat that tend to leak.  I bring extra bags to shake open.      I place one handle over the metal arch shown in the photo.  Then I drop the item in the open bag.  This allows me to work at my own pace before I get to the check-out line.

Solution # 3.  When thin plastic bags are nested inside each other, the friction between bags makes several bags pull out at once.  Hanging them side-by-side vertically stops them from sticking together.  However, when I strung the handles of the plastic bags over the handles of the canvas bag it created a messy pile (see left handle).  I had trouble finding a handle that paired with its mate. 

So I weigh down one handle of each plastic bag with a big key ring.  I hang these key rings over the side of the canvas bag where they are easy to grab.  This strategy lets me quickly find one handle so I can pull the bag open, fill it, and lift it out of the canvas bag.

Solution # 4.  Bulky items like a box of cereal and a pack of toilet paper are hard to put in a small plastic bag.  I put a cereal box on the belt last so I can put it in the empty canvas bag which stays open because it is stiff.  For a pack of toilet paper, I make a hole in the top with my car key after I take it off the shelf.  I stick my finger in that hole to put the toilet paper on the belt and in my cart.

P.S.  I am grateful to a kind cashier at Shoprite named Michelle.  When no one was behind me in line Michelle waited patiently while I made numerous mistakes during multiple shopping trips.    The ban begins on May 4th.  I am glad I had all of February to find the solutions listed above.  Rehearsal saved me again.  homeafterstroke.blogspot.com