How many ways do you know to reuse plastic shopping bags?

Budget101 Discussion List Archives Budget101 Discussion List How many ways do you know to reuse plastic shopping bags?

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    • #316975
      jrodgers

      Lately I’ve been wondering how other people use those light weight plastic shopping bags around the house and garden.

      We use them to line trash cans, as part of our pooper scooper kit while walking the dog, for baby diapers, as padding in shipping boxes…

      One of the best ideas I’ve heard is to pull a bag over each each shoe up to the knee on pant leg and use a large rubber band to hold it in place. Now use your weed whacker to cut grass and 99% of the clean up is done when you pull them off and throw them away.No tracking grass into the house.

      What are your best ideas for reusing these bags?

    • #438662
      bethaliz6894

      I reuse the plastic shopping bags for lunch bags. and trash bags in my car.

      I am a member of paperbackswap.com and when I mail books, I will wrap a plastic bag around it to keep the book from getting wet.

    • #438668
      Urallee

      I do a lot of craft work and use a bag for each project I am working on.

    • #438673
      MrsPaws

      Like others, I use them for trash can liners, to line my “garbage bowl” when prepping/cooking dinner, for carrying/transporting items, covering/protecting, packing items, cushioning things, quick trash throw a ways, separating things, and to store with…I’m sure there’s other things I do with them, just can’t remember right off hand.
      but, hadn’t thought of covering my shoes with them…love the idea!!!

    • #438679
      maggalue

      If you crochet you can make nice carry all bags like beach stuff or whatever they are very strong and wont rip different colored bags from different stores. From Pittsburgh so black and gold bags for the Steelers work well.

    • #438680
      bethaliz6894

      I agree, great idea using them to cover shoes.

    • #438683
      bethaliz6894

      Here is a project I want to do with plastic bags. however, you have to fuse them together so I imagine it is going to stink. I am waiting for a warm say, when I am alone, I can go outside with my iron and do this.

      I have also herd of people making diaper covers with fused plastic bags.

      I guess once you get 6-8 fused together them become workable like cloth.

    • #438684
      bethaliz6894

      Here is another craft project I want to do with plastic bags. plastic bags to reusable tote – Imgur making a plastic bag out of plastic bags but not having to make plarn.

    • #438686
      jrodgers

      So many good ideas, I would love to hear more about fusing the bags together. It seems that about ten years ago I saw a picture where a woman had crocheted them into beach bags. I’d bet if you could fuse them into a long enough strand you could make just about anything, Has anyone seen the uses when they are crocheted together?

    • #438687
      bethaliz6894

      if you go to pinterest, type in plastic bag, you will find a lot tutorials on how to fuse plastic bags together. I recommend you read many different ways to fuse bags. So many people have different helpful hints that if all come together will make a great project.

    • #438688
      CulArtStudent

      I use them to tie my veggie plants to the stakes…

      I will also cut them in strips and then tie them to AOL cd’s and hang them around my garden — they blow easily in the wind, and scare away birds

    • #438691
      Urallee

      I have seen totes crocheted from bread wrappers. Cute for summer use. Also Christmas wreaths made from plastic bags.

    • #438712
      Melissa Burnell

      I put them over my hands like Mittens when cleaning critter houses/cages and then just scoop them closed with the mess inside. It works great when cleaning chewy’s house.

      I love the idea of putting them over your knees when weedwacking/gardening. We don’t usually have very many plastic bags though, we usually use our cloth aldi bags for groceries. I don’t buy much at walmart or other big box stores. It’s usually cheaper for us to order directly on [URL=”https://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&path=%2Fexec%2Fobidos%2Fgc-ecard-purchase&tag=budget10100-20&useRedirectOnSuccess=1″%5DAmazon%5B/URL%5D.

    • #438891
      jrodgers

      Thanks so much for the info on where to find fusing instructions, I was afraid that I might end up with a bunch of melted plastic on my iron and ruin it. I never thought of Pinterest, but I don’t know a whole lot about it. Obviously it is about more than just favorite collections.

      How do you find what you want on Pinterest?

    • #438892
      jrodgers

      I love the idea for Christmas wreaths. Does anyone remember the wreaths that were covered in peppermints or butterscotch drops that people used to make at Christmas. Under the bow was a pair of scissors and you just cut off candy when you wanted a piece.

      I’ll bet crocheted plastic bags would make a great base for this type of wreath!

    • #438893
      jrodgers

      That’s a great idea I have a parrotlet in the kitchen that likes to spread seeds all over the bottom of his cage if he doesn’t get enough attention. I never thought of using bags to clean cages. Biju will just have to get used to the sound of the bags as I quickly clean up his mess.

      I thought about the bags when I returned to my Dad’s house to find a cupboard full of plastic grocery bags, and he hates to send them to the dump, so I found another large trash bag full of them in the garage. We started thinking there must be some good uses for these things so that are a resource rather than a burden. That’s why I decided to ask others what they did with them.

    • #438894
      jrodgers

      @CulArtStudent 285257 wrote:

      I use them to tie my veggie plants to the stakes…

      I will also cut them in strips and then tie them to aol cd’s and hang them around my garden — they blow easily in the wind, and scare away birds

      i will have use the plastic bags and cd’s as soon as i get back to california – our cherry tree is loaded this year!

      do you ever have trouble with sunlight weakening the plastic and then it falls apart. i was wondering if exposure to sunlight helps them degrade more quickly. do you need to re-tie the plants later or do the plastic bags stay strong enough to support the plants for a whole season?

    • #438895
      CulArtStudent

      I add more bag strips as they do degrade/weaken slightly in the sunlight…but… as my plants grow, I cut off the bags and put in more strips to keep them straight. My tomato plants are more like GIANT bushes (I use organic compost soil and organic miracle gro), so I have to use a lot of push broom poles (they are the only ones tall enough) and lots of bags.

      Three summers ago, I didn’t use plastic bags or anything to stake my tomatoes and they literally spread all over the yard (like an ivy)…it was a nightmare trying to harvest them… I never made that mistake again. 🙂

    • #438898
      bethaliz6894

      @jrodgers 286455 wrote:

      Thanks so much for the info on where to find fusing instructions, I was afraid that I might end up with a bunch of melted plastic on my iron and ruin it. I never thought of Pinterest, but I don’t know a whole lot about it. Obviously it is about more than just favorite collections.

      How do you find what you want on Pinterest?

      if I am looking for a certain topic, I will just type that into the search. otherwise I will choose a topic and scroll through those pins. You can also just go to like a home page and it shows all the new pins from the people you are following.

      I love Pinterest. my name on Pinterest is the same as here. look me up and start following, I will follow you back.

    • #438954
      Vampixen

      I Use them to clean My Cat’s Litter Box..and I also use them to Pick up My Dogs poop when walking her..Or packing stuff up like Christmas decoration’s etc….

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