Frugal Tip Friday

If your house if filled with those little plastic grocery bags then have I got some tips for you today!

Storage

This is the easiest and neatest way that I have found to store my bags - I shake them out, wrap my hand around the bottom & run it up the scrunched bag once I get to the top most of the air is out so I wind the bag around my fingers & stuff in a empty tissue cube. I can fit about 30 bags in each cube. I have cubes in all our cars, the bathrooms, the kitchen, the baby's room, outside in a deck box & the utility room - you never know when they will come in handy!

Grocery Uses

I mostly use reusable bags but sometimes when I hit one store after the other I run out so I take my handy tissue cube in the stores and have them use those bags instead of giving me a new one. Also I don't like the bag boy to put raw meat in my reusables so I always use my old bags or a paper bag for that. Once (and only once) I forgot to verbally tell the cashier what was in the box and what to do with it and yes he charged me for my empty tissue box full of used plastic bags - that was fun to explain to customer service! Don't forget to check your local stores policy on bringing your own bags, Albertson's here in D/FW gives you a nickle for each bag that you bring in and use - even the plastic ones!

Home Uses

I like to use my bags as trash bags in our bathroom wastebaskets (if you don't want the handles covering the outside then tuck them in) they fit perfectly and get the job done.

I don't have a place in my kitchen for a wastebasket except under the sink & #1 that is just not going to be big enough & #2 under the sink is full of FREE Softsoap but my utility door is right next to the kitchen so I hang a bag around the lever and voila! instant, disposable trash bag! Another great kitchen tip is for when you are trimming fat just cut a gallon milk jug in half then roll a bag inside - instant disposable sink-side trash can that you can tie up and take right outside! I of course recycle the top of the milk jug but I wash and reuse the bottom until another jug is empty then out with the old in with the new. In my area we have trash carts so I can toss my tied up plastic bag full of trash straight in there, no extra garbage bag needed. Since we started doing this I only buy trash bags once a year at CVS during a BOGO sale. I am not sure if this is green or not but I don't see the difference in a grocery bag and a true trash bag so until I read otherwise I am gonna keep on!

Baby Uses

This time around I didn't get a diaper pail - what for they all stink?? Plus if you get the kind with special bags then there is one more expense for the budget. I have a large wastebasket that I fill with pee-pee diapers but once a poo has landed I grab a bag (from the cube on the changing hutch) and empty the pee-pee's plus the poo inside and straight out it goes. A quick shot of Lysol in the can and a good washing once a month - no smell & cheap too!

When I still carried a diaper bag I kept a few rolled up bags in the side bottle pockets for those extra messy times! So glad those days are behind me for now!

Recycle

Most grocery stores have a bin where you can put your old bags and they recycle them to save our landfills. Also check your local food banks & needy family church stores, the ones in my area take your old bags (no holes or stinky ones, please) and reuse them. I have also heard about a charity taking your used bags to stuff them into old mattresses to give to the poor in Mexico.

Other

Scrunched up bags make great packing filler & cushions your Christmas decorations too!

Lunch Bags

Wet Laundry Bags

To keep your dirty laundry separate from your clean clothes when traveling

To keep your shoes from touching your clothes when traveling

Dog poo pickin' up duty or litter box detail

Of course sending stuff home with guests - duhhh!



Did you find this Frugal Tip Friday helpful or do you have a great tip for plastic bags? Leave a comment & share.