Isaac Sinnett

They Can’t Be Serious

But…..they are. I headed out to Ikea today, at the constant beckoning for a ride. I use to love going to Ikea to walk around the store and pick up a bag full of goodies that I really had no need or use for. But, that is the fun of Ikea. However, and you had to know there was a however here, today was not the same Ikea that I remember visiting. I had a bag but it was not getting filled up with goodies. I did end up buying a few things. They are sneaky like that. They have these cool looking cheap products in the middle of the walk ways. Who doesn’t need a little round rug to go in front of their door and who doesn’t need a wisk or a milk frother. I don’t even drink milk or soy milk in any form that would even need a frother but, like a good capitalist, I still got one.

Even though I got these three great buys, it wasn’t the same Ikea. Maybe it’s my aging and my ever growing cheapness. I hadn’t figured out what was different and then I figured it out once I arrived at the checkout. (I of course used the self checkout) At the end of checking out it asked me how many bags I needed. What? Huh? What’s going on here? Why are they asking me how many bags I needed and planned on using? Well, after looking around in bewilderment for a few seconds, the answer presented itself. You have to pay $0.05 for each bag that you use! They are using the notion that it is saving the earth. Well, if you are going to save the earth than you should let people spend $0.50 for a cotton bag or some bag that is a little more friendly than plastic. I couldn’t believe it. What has the world come to that I now have to purchase the plastic bags that I take my goods home in? There are plenty of stores that allow you to purchase re-usable bags if you are environmentally conscience, but to have to pay for the little cheap plastic bags is insane.