Eco-Outfitting Your Purse or Bag: On-the-go Items that Are Good for the Environment

Living in an eco-friendly way in this on-the-go world we call America can seem daunting. Reading the frightening, doomsday-esque articles on climate change can be frustrating - it's hard to know where to begin when faced with so many options and so much to do.

The answer's in the bag: with some simple planning, your purse or backpack can become an eco-haven and you can dramatically reduce your impact on the environment. By outfitting your everyday bag with these four small, eco-friendly items, you will lessen your eco-impact in the big picture.

The great thing about being eco-friendly is that a lot of things you can do for the environment are free, because they're not consumer-based. Four of the five items here you likely already own - or if you don't, you can buy it used! Why? Because all of them are reusable - a major tenet in the environmental philosophy. These tips are cheap and easy!

The first step in outfitting your purse for an eco-friendly life of errand running, is to get a big purse. You'll be needing a good size purse; not one of those rinky-dink handbags. A big, honkin bag, be it hobo or Berkin, it doesn't matter. Preferably, you'll rifle through your closet to use a bag you already own instead of going out and buying a new bag.

Got it? Good. Let's get started.

Eco-Bag Item Number One: One of the most important things to include in your new eco-friendly purse is a reusable shopping bag. We've heard the nightmares about the 100 billion plastic bags Americans throw away each year and the 1,000 years it takes for them to break down. Avoid being part of the plastic bag problem by carrying a reusable tote. You don't need to go to Whole Foods and buy a fancy, fashionable reusable tote; go back to your rifled-through closet and drag out a tote that was a free gift with purchase at the makeup counter, or that you got when you bought six books at Barnes and Noble's big sale. Use that!