I don’t know about you, but I want one of these. Isn’t this neat? I never would have guessed it, but this durable bag is made from plastic shopping bags. Deborah from Simply Thrifty has put together a bunch of different links for ideas for reusing shopping bags. Too bad I don’t know how to crochet.  I should add this to my list of 10 Uses for Plastic Grocery Bags.

Picture from Etsy Garden.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

And did you know????  We chop down 100,000,000 trees and waste 28 billions gallons of water EVERY YEAR producing this stuff.

So, on behalf of today, Earth Day, I have an alternative.  For a dime-a-day, GreenDimes will reduce the marketing in your home, help you to maintain your privacy and they will plant trees on your behalf.  Here’s what they do:

We’ve researched dozens of direct mailers and literally thousands of catalog publishers. We contact them on your behalf and make sure that you STAY off of their lists. There are 4-5 direct mailers that require your signature, however. For those, we’ll send you pre-printed, pre-stamped postcards (on recycled paper, of course) that you can simply sign and drop in the mail. We’ll also register you with the Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference Service (MPS) to remove your name from hundreds more mailing lists.

So, what do you think?  Is it worth $36 a year to cut down on the number of trees and water we use, the time you spend sorting junk mail, and to help keep your privacy?  I think it is!

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

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.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy