I was sent a set of Trolley Bags to review. There is an affiliate link in this post. All opinions are my own.
When I was young my town had a “mom and pop” grocery store that left boxes near the checkout area that you could use to load your groceries, instead of bags. I still sometimes wonder why more grocery stores don’t offer that, seems how they have groceries brought to the store in those cardboard boxes – why not reuse them?
To try to do my part to reuse, I try to use reusable shopping bags. Until recently, I struggled to come up with an organized way to manage all the random reusable bags that I had. When I heard about Trolley Bags, I was interested right away.
Trolley Bags sell a set of four reusable bags that are BIG. The four bags will spread out to cover the entire size of a grocery shopping cart! The bags are in four different sizes, so stores that have carts with angled edges can still accommodate these bags. The top of the bags have bars that rest on top of the cart to hold them open while you shop. The four bags all have velcro on the edges so you can connect them together. Plus, they all roll up and can be velcroed shut for easy carrying.
Each bag is a different color, so you can create an organizing system while you shop. My boyfriend has always been a fan of keeping our groceries separated. He likes frozen or refrigerated items to be near each other in the cart so that they get put close together on the belt. That way, they’ll be bagged together and can help keep each other cool on the way home. We also try to keep our fresh meat separate from cardboard boxes or other items that could be damaged if they get damp. Our “system” was to use one bag for frozen and refrigerated items, one for fresh meats, one for somewhat delicate items like rolls, chips and produce, and another for general “dry” groceries such as pasta or other pantry items.
With the bags in place in the cart, we still have the front of the cart free. Parents could use this to store their child, but we use it for bread, eggs and other super delicate items. We also still have the bottom of the cart open which is great for items you might buy in bulk such as toilet paper or paper towel, big bags of potatoes, or other large items that you don’t want to bag.
The only slight snag we’ve experienced with these bags is the checkout. The bags are VERY big so they do not fit in the bag holding area. With my smaller reusable bags, they would place the on the rack and still bag for me, but with these I’ve had cashiers refuse to do that. Instead, she wanted to toss groceries loose on top of the bag spinner and have me bag everything. This was fine because my boyfriend was there with me, but it would be pretty chaotic to try to do my own bagging while also loading groceries onto the belt if I were by myself. As a result, I’ll probably only use these when I have someone with me who can load the groceries while I bag.
It’s really nice to just have four bags, plus any bulk items that were un-bagged, to carry in once we get home. Here in Michigan it’s bitter cold outside so making just one or two trips to and from the car is really nice.
Buy it: You can find Trolley Bags on Trolleybags.com or Amazon.com.
Win it: A set of Trolley bags! Giveaway is open to the continental US only. Giveaway will end 2/26/2017.
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
This post currently has 9 responses.
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Deborah D
I remember a store that used to have boxes out front by the register where you could take them and use them for your purchases. These bags seem nice I love that they stay upright in the cart.
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Jeanine Carlson
My fave is the Trolley Bags Original Vibe colors. I like the bright colors and would probably use this size the most.
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DONNALYNN LAPOINTE
i would LOVE TO WIN THIS!!!!!
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Patricia Raugust
Love this product. I would be a walking advertisement in the store for them!!!!
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Ashley
I have used these bags at many stores. I love them! My only issue with them is they don’t fit in all of the carts. The newer carts now have built in child seats that don’t fold back and they don’t fit in those carts as well. I find that with those carts I can only fit 3 bags. They also don’t work well for large shopping trips. If your cart if overflowing they won’t fit in the bags. I haven’t really shopped like that with them, but I could see that not working because I have filled them up before with less. They work great for the shopping I do and I like how easy they are to remember all of the bags.
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Phyl.
Just hoping they can hold groceries
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Tanya Hawkins-Johnson
I love organization and simplicity and this surely SCREAMS both!
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rochelle haynes
Loving these bags great to shop with plastic bags are 7 cents
These would be much better than the odd assortment of bags I have. I like the bright colors.
Thanks for the contest.