BYO Utensils? Bags?

Today I'm thinking about all of the plastic utensils that get thrown away every day in the U.S. - it must be a huge number!  What got me thinking about it today is that it was the day that Rita's Water Ice gives away free ice to everyone who wants it and since it was such a beautiful weekend day, the lines were HUGE!  So I was thinking about all of those spoons.....

When we eat out, I collect things to take home and recycle or reuse and our 5 yr. old son is so used to this now that today he asked me if we should collect the spoons that we ate our Rita's with "so the birds won't feed them to their babies and get sick and die" (You gotta' love the little guys!).  And indeed we did.  But I couldn't help thinking that it would have been so much better if we had brought our own spoons to use instead.  SO...after those 5 plastic spoons were washed, I packed them into my purse for future use...so the next time I'll have them instead of always thinking what a great idea it would be.  I think I'll put some in the glove compartment, too.

That's how I kicked the plastic bag habit...I had to constantly load my car with reusable bags until it just became a habit to grab them on my way to the store.

I really applaud the restaurants that take the extra effort to not use disposable utensils and containers.  I need to start letting them know that I appreciate their efforts.  Maybe it will spur them on to do even better.

I've read that some people are now bringing their own containers to extra food home from the restaurant in - I love that idea!  Don't we all hate those styrofoam containers?  Usually the waiters just bring them to the table for you to load yourself, so why not bring your own?

What bring-your-own things do you do?  Let's talk BYO for the environment!