Green DIY Projects: Reusing Plastic Bags

by Silvia Marks
(silvimarks@gmail.com)

Have you ever counted how many plastic bags you have at home? It's probably a lot. You get a couple more after every grocery shopping trip. Everyone is aware of the human impact on the environment, but all too often a busy lifestyle is the main reason for forgetting to take a reusable bag on our way to the supermarket.

Using a plastic bag to carry your stuff once and then throwing it out is a common practice. According to many surveys, it takes approximately 100 years for a single plastic bag to become biodegradable.

Why don't you give the plastic bags a second chance to serve you? All you need is to unlock your imagination and create some really interesting, enjoyable and handy items out of the numerous plastic bags you have collected over the time.

If you just want to get rid of them and clean up your house, donate them to a charity organization so that someone else can get use out of them.

Otherwise, here are some useful new ways to put those plastic bags to work for you...

When preparing for a trip, how many times have you wondered how to protect the clothes from the dirty shoes without putting them in their box that takes a lot of space? Plastic bags can be an excellent solution for packing your shoes and easily spilled cosmetic possessions.

They can be a huge help when you are moving out of a property as well. Take a couple of plastic bags and wrap your fragile items up.

Decorate your old laundry basket, make it colorful and eye catching. Cut the bags into strips and glue them or interlace them to the plastic parts of the basket.

The stripped plastic bags can also be used for party decoration. You will also need some tape in order to make long colorful chains which you can stick to the curtains.

If you have good knitting skills, you can even make a stable reusable bag out of the plastic ones. Make tiny strips and interweave them to yarn threads, which will help you make the reusable bag reliable and capable of carrying your items.

You could make a rain coat out of plastic bags. It sounds a bit weird and complicated but all you need is no more than ten plastic bags, a few free hours and basic sewing skills. Don't be skeptical; give it a try and the result will be impressive.

Make pads in order to protect your table from the unpleasant round traces the cups leave. Cut the plastic bags and create the desired shape. Take some thicker paper, (cardboard would do an excellent job) and glue the colorful plastic bags to it. For extra durability you can simply wrap up the cup pad with tape.

Another awesome eco-friendly idea that will help you clear your property of the plastic bags is making decorative flowers. Cleaning the dust that might accumulate can be tricky, but the way they change the entire look of you living room will impress you. A house cleaning service is a good option if you need a professional touch.

Making a rug is easier than you think. Make braids out of the plastic bags and sew them up.

There are literally tons of ways to reuse old plastic bags! How have you repurposed them?