Frugal Friday #1: Top 10 Uses for Plastic Grocery Bags
March 30, 2007 by Karen Weideman
Filed under frugal friday, frugal living, money saving idea
Welcome to the first Frugal Friday post. I’ve decided to start something new. Each Friday I’ll be posting a frugal tip. This post was actually supposed to be one frugal tip, but I got a bit carried away. LOL We’ll see how it goes.
Do you have an annoying amount of plastic grocery bags? Don’t know what to do with them? Well, here are some uses for them.
1. Don’t buy expensive bags to wrap up stinky diapers. Use the grocery bags.
2. Make an instant kite. Tie a string or a piece of yarn through the handles and let the kids run. I was going to do this with my preschool class this week, but it rained. Maybe another day.
3. Use them for packing material. My husband got me started on this one. They are great for packing things and they weigh less than paper.
4. Use larger ones to line trash cans. I use the big ones from Toys R Us and Sears to line my diaper champ.
5. Keep a couple of them in the car. You just never know when you’ll need to wrap up soiled clothes, a dirty diaper, pick up trash, etc.
6. Use them to clean up doggy poopy without having to touch it. Stick your hand inside the bag and use it as a glove. Pick up the poo and with your hand still inside the bag, pull the bag inside out, tie, and throw away.
7. Return them to the grocery store. Some stores have recycling bins for them and some places will give money.
8. Put a few extra ones in your beach bag to put your wet clothes from the pool or beach.
9. Put your knees on them when doing yard work. This will keep your pants from getting grass stains.
10. Donate them to a daycare or thrift store. The daycare can use them to wrap up soiled diapers or clothing. A thrift store can avoid purchasing bags for customers.
Picture from waukeshacounty.gov.
Thanks for the great ideas. I definitely use them to seal dirty diapers & I keep a few in the car for that use, too. The BEST use is for packing things, though. I have always used them to pack my very breakable things and NEVER had anything bring (not even my china)!
Looking forward to Frugal Fridays, as I’m a WAHM with 3 munchkins. : )
Hi Kelly. Thanks for visiting Thrifty Mommy.
I am looking forward to Frugal Fridays too. The problem is, I don’t know which tip to post first. lol
I can attest to the amazing packing power of plastic bags. Last summer my family went on a trip to England, where we bought a beautifull antique tea set. Wary of checking it, I packed it in plastic bags in a carry-on bag. We had a layover in NY, and the tired, jetlagged, forgetfull me dropped the stinkin bag all the way to the floor with it. From sholder height. Oh man. My mom was about to kill me, but when we got home EVERYTHING was okay- nothing broke, cracked, dented or anything!
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I love some of your ideas. But I have a problem with using plastic bags to clean up dog poop. Feces is, of course, biodegradable. But when you seal it up in a plastic grocery bag, it will stay around in the landfill for a very, very long time. I just bought some biodegradable bags; yes, it cost a bit of money, unlike the plastic bags. But I think it’s worth it in terms of reducing pollution.
I’m sorry you don’t like reusable grocery bags; I keep mine in the car and haven’t had a problem taking them into the store. Love, love, love grocery stores that recycle them, too!
I didn’t know you could buy biodegradable dog poo bags. I don’t have a dog though, so it’s not something I’ve shopped around for. Thanks for letting us know.
If someone couldn’t find the biodegradable bags, I suppose they could use the grocery bag to pick it up and then dump the poo in the potty. I usually flush the poo when I’m changing diapers anyway. It helps keep the smell down.
There is a place here in town that doesn’t bag groceries. You can take your own bags into their store or you can donate your used ones to a bin they have for customer use.
Thanks for visiting and commenting at Thrifty Mommy!
Without plastic bags, I am sure my nursery would smell to high heaven. To save space, I fold them into triangles and make them small. That way they don’t take over my storage space. Now I maintain my supply with a small bin.
I tie my bags into little triangles and throw a couple in my purse. That way I always have bags to reuse at the super market.
Looking forward to more Fridays. Will definitely be coming back for these.
Hi Kisha. Thanks for dropping by. If you’ll look in the categories section to the right, you’ll find a category for Frugal Friday. You’ll probably find 60 or more articles.