ORGANIZING
Tips for Tuesday
Do you feel like your house is being overrun by plastic grocery bags? You are not alone!
Here are some helpful hints to keep those plastic bags under control.
- Condense
Grasping the handles with one hand and the bottom of the bag with the other, stretch the bag between your hands, flattening as you go.
Begin wrapping the bag around the hand holding the bottom.
Continue until you reach the tip of the handles.
Push the handles under the wrapped bag, directing it along your palm toward your fingers.
Your bag will be "knotted," taking up less space yet easy to open when you need it.
- Store
While you can buy special holders for plastic bags, I'm all about recycling and repurposing. I take a cube style tissue box and fill it with the "knotted" bags. Since the bags are in abundance and readily available, I only keep one box full and recycle the rest.
- Use
Beside the obvious use of carrying things in them, I use them to line my small trash cans rather than purchasing trash bags.
How do you use your plastic bags?
- Avoid
The best way to keep plastic bags under control is to avoid them in the first place. Most stores have reusable grocery bags available for about $1 each (though sometimes you can even get them for FREE!) I've had the same bags for years and they've held up fine.
Since I don't always remember to grab them on my way out of the house, I keep them in my car. (I keep my coupon binder in the car too, so I'm prepared for those spur-of-the-moment stops.)
Blessings,
Lisa
TweetLinking up with: Titus 2sdays, Teach Me Tuesdays, Courtship Connection, Winsome Wednesday, Thriving Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, Weekend Whatever, Funky Junk Interiors, Frugal Friday
I try to use reusable, too. It's easy for the grocery store but other shopping I struggle with. So I try to combine as many as possible. One store gives me a bag and I keep adding other purchases. I still end up with way too many.
Thanks for the helpful bag folding tutorial. The pics were great. I have been over at a friend's house who used this method, but felt too dumb to ask her how she transformed her messy collection of bags into nice neat packets. Now I know :) and my pride is intact. Visiting for the first time from Be Not Weary today :)
Great post. I love using the kleenex box. Very clever.
Thanks for sharing. I posted too. And I have a give a way going come by and visit me.
Blessings,
Sherry
Thanks so much for stopping by Thrifty thursday rewind! Love this idea since I have so many bags but try to be environmental w/my own bags for grocery shopping.
Lisa, these are great ideas! Especially the tissue box full of bags. When I newly got married my husband taught me how to fold the plastic bags in a triangle and that's what I've been doing ever since then. I'll try your knotting method to see which I like better. We keep bags in the the car too! I'd also like to recycle the bags by ironing and painting them, and making them into all sorts of stuff like purses and bags. Here in the Philippines, garbage strewn all around is the main cause why we always have floods and the city governments have banned the use of plastic bags. Patsy from
HeARTworks
Wow, I never thought of condensing the plastic bags for storage. I try to use cloth bags as much as possible and recycle the plastic bags that do come into our home.
Ordinary Words...I'm with you on avoiding those bags♫ If I'm in my husband's car running errands though, I find myself chagrined that I forgot to put a tote back in his car!!
I really appreciate it, these are the little little things that we can avoid wastage and maintain an eco-friendly environment.
Hi Lisa, I always do that with my plastic bags and you are so right, they take up much less space. I'm just stopping by to say how delightful your blog is. Thanks so much for sharing. I have recently found your blog and am now following you, and will visit often. Please stop by my blog and perhaps you would like to follow me also. Have a wonderful day. Hugs, Chris
http://chelencarter-retiredandlovingit.blogspot.ca/