Wait, Don’t Toss Your Old Plastic Shopping Bags! 7 Ways to Reuse Them Around the House

Key Points

• Reuse plastic bags for tasks like lining trash cans, wrapping shoes, or carrying wet swimsuits to save money and reduce waste.

• Plastic bags are versatile and can help protect items like groceries, clothing, or suitcases from spills, dirt, and moisture.

• Repurposing plastic bags reduces single-use waste and keeps them out of landfills, making them more environmentally friendly.

If you think that there isn’t all that much you can do with that big pile of plastic shopping bags that’s started to accumulate under the kitchen sink, think again. There are actually plenty of practical ways to reuse plastic grocery bags all throughout the day, both inside and outside of the house.

Here, professional organizers highlight seven of their favorite ways to give plastic bags a new life. You’ll be surprised you haven’t thought of some of these solutions on your own already.

Meet the Experts

Reuse Them At the Grocery Store

There’s no reason you should view plastic bags as being single-use. Shantae Duckworth, the founder of Shantae-ize Your Space, will often bring hers on additional grocery trips.

“I always leave a couple within my big reusable bag so that way if I have meats or liquids or things that nature, I can wrap it in the plastic bag,” she says, noting that she has discovered this is a great way to prevent nicer totes from being affected by spills.

Line Small Trashcans

Plastic grocery bags make for great trash can liners in places like the bathroom, where trash cans are a bit smaller. This is a nice way to keep the base of your actual trash can from getting dirty, Duckworth explains.

Wrap Shoes for Travel

Many people do not like their shoes to touch the other items in their suitcase when packing for a trip—and for good reason.

“Traveling can be dirty,” Jill Moore, the founder of Organized Jill, says. “Walking around airports, bathrooms, and amusement parks, your shoes pick up a lot of dirt and debris that you don’t want to get on your clothes and souvenirs.”

As a result, Moore recommends wrapping pairs of shoes in plastic bags and then placing them inside of a suitcase. The plastic bags provide a barrier that will help ensure clothing and other gear stays sanitary,

Recycle Them at the Grocery Store

You can bring your plastic bags to the grocery store to shop, as Duckworth pointed out, but if you have so many that you’re just looking to dispose of a few for good, you can take care of that at the supermarket as well.

“Many local grocery stores have easy-to-recycle bins right at their entryway doors,” Moore says.

She recommends keeping plastic bags in your car once you’re done with them so that you can dispose of them after loading your newest set of groceries into the trunk.

Store Wet Swimsuits

When heading to the pool, it’s always a smart idea to toss a plastic bag into your beach tote. That way, when you change out of your wet swimsuit later on, you’ll have somewhere to put it so that it doesn’t totally soak your bag, Moore explains.

This is a more budget-friendly alternative to purchasing a pouch specifically for this purchase. Plus, in the event the bag starts to smell or experience breakage by the end of the day, you won’t have to worry too much—you can throw it out as soon as you return home.

Collect Trash in the Car

If you’re shuttling around a car full of kids, trash is sure to accumulate in the backseat, unless you come up with some sort of system. Placing a plastic bag in the car is a smart solution, Moore says. Everyone can access it to throw their wrappers and juice boxes inside, making for easy cleanup at the end of the week.

Use Them for Pack Lunches

Sending your kids off to camp or school with a homemade lunch? Pack it inside of a plastic bag, Moore suggests. This makes it easy for your child to carry around their food throughout the day if needed, and they won’t have to remember to bring home their empty lunchbox each afternoon, either.

Plus, older kids and teens may prefer the simple look of a plastic bag to a more juvenile-looking lunch tote.

Read the original article on The Spruce