Reusing Plastic Bags

Around the House --

I also use the plastic grocery sacks as wastebasket liners in bedroom, office and bath.

A dozen bags rolled up tight fit into a small ziplock bag, freeing up lots of space in kitchen drawers.

Protect water and gas valves in the wintertime.

I take grocery and retail sacks back to the store for reuse while shopping.

Plastic bags keep dust away when storing off-season shoes.

Take them to the food bank where they can be used to give needy people their food.

I sort all of my craft supplies in plastic grocery sacks.

Use plastic sacks to cushion breakable items when moving them in boxes.

Store outgrown clothing to pass down to the next child in plastic bags or use them to take the clothing they grow out of to Goodwill.

Make Christmas wreaths with them.

Hide presents from the kids.

Protect gifts from rain and snow during holiday trips and visits.

To keep needles from your Christmas tree off the carpet, take the tree apart with pruning clippers and put the pieces into a plastic bag. Put a sandwich bag on your hands when handling the tree trunk to keep off pine tar.

It's the best way to store a paintbrush full of oil-base paint at the end of the day to use it again the next day without having to use a solvent to store it overnight. Just wrap the brush in the bag and put it in the refrigerator until the next morning.

Slip them under the car to catch those last few drops of oil after an oil change.

Keep leftover paint fresh by pouring it into a heavyweight, sealable plastic bag. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag. Put the bag in the original paint can and tap the lid closed.

When I need to clamp irregular shapes, I hold them together with a sand-filled plastic bag.

Keep clothes dry on canoeing trips.

Line your backpack with them. Or bicycle pack.

When packing for travel, I use plastic bags to put my shoes in.

Give them to thrift stores or garage sales for their reuse.

Garbage tray in cars.

Containers for plants to be transplanted.

Turn the big ones into ponchos.

Use as trash bags in dorm rooms

At Ferris State University in Michigan, we used plastic grocery bags to store our aluminum cans for recycling. They are handy because they can be hung on the door handles.

Put a plastic bag on a stadium seat at a band competition when it is raining.