Trader Joe's Employees Are Begging You: Please Do This One Thing

They're trying to avoid some smelly encounters.

Mike Mozart/Flickr/Allrecipes

With the move to end plastic bag use, many are switching to reusable bags. In fact, back in January, my home state of Colorado decided to start charging people if they use plastic bags in hopes of pushing individuals to use reusable ones. And some reusable bags are stylish enough to be a fashion statement. Take, for instance, the ones at Aldi and Trader Joe’s, which have some of my favorite designs. But many employees at your favorite grocery store are starting to get fed up with these reusable bags—and not for the reasons you think.

Look, I get it. When I use my reusable bags, I throw them in my car without a care in the world and completely forget about them until it’s time to go grocery shopping again. What most of us forget is that these reusable bags get pretty dirty in between shopping trips and unfortunately, retail employees are starting to take notice.

In one Reddit thread, one Trader Joe’s employee pleaded with customers to clean their reusable bags. “As a crew member that can vouch for every single Trader Joe’s employee here, please for the love of god clean your disgusting bags,” they wrote. “The other week, I found a live cockroach in a ladie's bag. I was absolutely disgusted on the verge of throwing up and crying. Thankfully, my brave coworker got a produce bag and killed it. I've [also] encountered many smelly bags. If you are gonna make us bag your items, at least do us the favor of clearing and cleaning your bags.”

Others quickly chimed in with other equally gross stories. Some have found more insects, a dead rat, and even soiled clothing items.

“A customer continuously kept bringing in bags that smelled like cat pee and there were visible pee stains,” one user explained. “So, we offered him new ones so we wouldn’t have to touch it. He denied. Then, we slipped in some new bags for him to take home. He still refuses to bring the new ones in and throw the old ones out.”

There’s no need to put your grocery store workers through these awkward encounters! Here’s how you can properly clean your reusable grocery bags: