Even the most green-minded people forget their reusable grocery bags sometimes.

Lora Beachy, for instance. The food buyer for The Health Food Shoppe, 3515 N. Anthony Blvd., is a devoted environmentalist and has the compact fluorescent lightbulbs to prove it.

She recycles, too, although she draws the line at peanut butter jars (everyone has their breaking point) and recently installed energy-saving windows and insulation in her home.

But it’s still hard for her to remember those dang bags.

“Why does that happen?” Beachy says. “You look for your cellphone, your keys. And then, it’s like memory overload.”

Over time, Beachy has employed various tactics to help her remember her bags. Her first try involved placing a sign on the dashboard of her car – a sticky note reminding her not to forget her bags. But after a month, she got used to seeing the sign and the reminder no longer worked, she says.

“I didn’t even notice the sign was there after a while,” she says. “I was getting so frustrated. It was like trying to remember, ‘What’s that string on my finger for? What am I supposed to remember?’ And I’d get to store, realize I’d forgotten them and I’d end up with three more paper bags.”

Now, after unloading her reusable grocery bags, Beachy places them by the door and returns them to her car. So far, it’s working, she says.

And, as a helpful reminder to both her customers – and herself – she and the other employees at The Health Food Shoppe have placed a sign on the front door of the store: Did you remember your reusable grocery bags?

“Let’s hope so,” Beachy says.

Here are a few ways to remember your bags, too.

Use the buddy system

Few of us have trouble remembering to take purses or coats to the store. So try pairing your reusable grocery bags with a hard-to-forget item. Hang them next to your coat, keep them near your coupons or plop your keys on top of them. The Health Food Shop sells a reusable grocery bag that folds down into a pouch and can be attached to your key ring, too.

Use your car

Unless you walk to the grocery store, your car is a necessary part of any shopping excursion. Keeping your reusable grocery bags in the trunk or on the front seat makes them easy to grab on your way into the store. And, even if you forget, it’s just a short walk out to the car to get them.

Here’s the tricky part: Remembering to put them back in the car after you unload them.

Try hanging them on the doorknob. It’s hard not to open the door without using a doorknob, right? And that means your hands will be close enough to grab the bags.

Scatter them

Keeping multiple sets of reusable bags reduces the risk of forgetting them. Keep a few in the car, a couple in the house or on the back porch, one in your briefcase or work bag, a small one in your purse and one in a drawer at work. Sound like overkill? Maybe. But you certainly won’t forget them.

Last-minute tricks

Signs. Big ones. Try placing a note by the front door, on the dashboard of your car or on your weekly grocery list. And don’t forget to switch it up by placing notes in different places each month. A note in the same place becomes invisible – just part of the usual clutter and scenery – after a while. Surprise yourself with a note inside the fridge or on your windshield.

Make yourself a “grocery store kit” by cramming everything grocery-related into one bag. Include your coupons, a calculator (if you use one), scissors and all your other reusable bags. When you leave for the store, just sling the bag over your shoulder.

edowns@jg.net