Uses For Grocery Bags

Matthew Gates http://notetoservices.com 6m 1,426 #grocerybags

The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.

The Ongoing Uses of Grocery Bags

There has been a presence in all of our lives since we were children. Going to any supermarket or convenience store would always yield a carrying bag, a grocery bag, in order to transport multiple items. In almost all cases, this grocery bag, made out of plastic, has been free. The question is: After it serves its purpose of carrying your products, foodstuffs, items, etc. from the store into your home, what exactly do you do with the grocery bags?

Plastic bags are said to be no good for the environment because they are oil and petroleum-based materials that take anywhere from 15 to 1000 years to decompose. Unfortunately, plastic bags are in-demand at stores, and therefore, millions to billions of plastic bags are made each year. Instead of just throwing them out or tossing them into the environment, where they sit in landfills, end up in the oceans, or in the fish and other foods we eat, it is best to find other uses for plastic bags and use them until they cannot be used anymore, or at least, make sure they somehow get recycled in one way or another.

For me personally, and it has been passed down from me from my mother, a grocery bag has many other uses, and there was never a shortage of them in the house, as my siblings and I always knew where they were located. Just underneath the sink was a heap ton of grocery bags within grocery bags on top of grocery bags and under more grocery bags. However, these grocery bags were not always sitting there, unused, piling up, and just there for decoration or storage.

They were there for everyone to use, for convenience, and to make life easier. They were never thrown out or considered a waste. My mother passed this trait on to me, and while many people might consider grocery bags a particular plastic evil, when they are put to good use instead of just being thrown out like trash, their use goes beyond just carrying groceries and products from where they were bought to the home.

This thinking stuck with me into my adulthood and when I used them for everything, including the time I was living Israel. The place I was staying at had this sewer container connected to the place and needed to manually be opened and cleaned out – a whole nasty mess in itself – I would take about four or five bags, wrap them around my hand, and clean it out, which was filled with things I will not mention, but it was my job to do, and no one else would do it. With my hands completely protected, the bags served the purposes of protecting and cleaning, and it was probably the easiest job in the household, and all I had to do was clean it out once or twice a month.

Throwing out a perfectly good grocery bag and being caught by my mother would have gotten any of us in big trouble. Finding a use for grocery bags made my mom happy. This is a list of over one hundred uses for grocery bags, many of which I have used them for, and there are probably at least a thousand more uses for grocery bags.

1. Carrying just about anything
2. Bring back to the grocery store and reuse
3. Emergency rain gear
4. Keeping food protected
5. Extra protection for cleaning up gross messes
6. Trash bags
7. Save money by using as main garbage bags
8. Use as trash bag can liner
9. Use for dirty diapers
10. Defrosting meat and prevention of juices leaking all over the place
11. Protect plants from frost
12. Protect windshield wipers or side mirrors from snow
13. Lunch sack
14. Separate wet clothes from dry clothes
15. Separate dirty clothes from clean clothes
16. Keep things dry outside that have potential to get wet
17. Scoop dirty cat litter
18. Hold clean cat litter
19. Line kitty litter box
20. If you have a cast, keeps it dry and protected
21. Wrap painters and rollers in plastic bag to prevent messes and keep the wet longer
22. Seal a paint can
23. Use in combination with tape around edges and surfaces where you don’t want paint
24. Use as gloves to protect hands from bacteria to open doors if you have OCD
25. Store old rags
26. Use for non-stick surface to roll dough and other flour products
27. Temporary storage holder
28. Long-term storage holder for decorations and other items
29. Use to make art and other decorations
30. Use as emergency toilet paper if traveling or far from nearest toilet
31. Use them to protect shoes when in muddy areas
32. Use them to protect shoes from getting wet during rainy or snowy seasons
33. Use for marinating meat overnight in spices
34. Helps keep loaves of bread fresher for longer
35. Use to crush crackers and other things without making a mess
36. Wrap around knees and other surfaces when working in dirt and mud areas to keep clean
37. Line car floor to try and keep clean
38. Line the seats of the car after a long day on the beach
39. Use for perfumes, toiletries, and liquid foods to prevent leakage (double and triple bags)
40. Makes for cheap sturdy wrapping paper
41. Use them for gift bows on gift packages
42. Loop plastic bags together to make rope
43. Loop plastic bags together to make a belt if finances are temporary unavailable
44. Fill in gaps where leakage may be occurring
45. Protect fruit and other foods
46. Put open blocks of cheese inside and tie it to extend cheese life in refrigerator
47. Use to transport perishable foods
48. Use to transport canned foods
49. Wash dishes without getting your hands soaked
50. Apply wax and creams without getting it on your hands
51. Use for holding tools or protecting automobile from dirty tools
52. Takes up less room than boxes when moving
53. Make a fun parachute toy for kids (caution: choking hazard, supervision required)
54. Can be cut up to make decorations
55. Filler for pots
56. Donate plastic bags back to the store, food kitchens, shelters, or other places
57. Keep a stash of trash bags in car for multi-purpose uses
58. Wrap for protection of souvenirs and other fragile antiques
59. Use as liner in boxes to protect fragile objects
60. Shove inside shoes to keep shape of shoes while air drying
61. Store winter or summer clothes
62. Use for storing ice bags in the freezer
63. Use as a drainer for wet toys and other objects by puncturing holes into it
64. Use as fillers inside deflated or stuffed toys and then sewing up toys
65. If having a garage sale, have bags available for people who purchase bulk items
66. Use to accumulate and carry recycled items
67. Use to throw out chicken bones, rib bones, and other items that may stink up the main garbage can.
68. Use for organizing a variety of items by labeling each bag with a sharpie
69. Use for small garbage bags in bathrooms
70. Use for sandbags to prevent leakage or barricade areas
71. Use as water bags for carrying extra water
72. Use as fillers or padding to prevent items from getting damaged when mailing things
73. Use to pick up dog poop
74. Use to pick up litter
75. Use for cleaning up vomit from humans or animals
76. Line a cracked bucket to extend bucket use
77. Use to capture leaks from faucets and reuse the water
78. Use to capture water from gutters for later reuse
79. Use for cleaning gutters
80. Use as a cape to protect shoulder when dying hair
81. Shower cap to wrap hair for protection against getting wet
82. Use as a costume
83. Use as a makeshift
84. Temporary underwear
85. Barf bag
86. Use as a garbage when sick for germ tissues
87. Recycle them
88. Use as a rain hat or umbrella
89. Make a kite
90. Practice juggling
91. Put plants in bags for miniature greenhouse and hydration effects
92. Make coasters
93. No-slip clothes hangars for clothes
94. Use with bag-less vacuum cleaners
95. Use for containment after putting the plumber to use, which may come with its own bacteria
96. Use as insulation for drafty windows
97. Use as a book cover
98. Containing anything with a foul odor and sealing it before putting it into your main trash can
99. Picking up and storing leaves
100. Use and seal bags when needing to contain more moisture
101. Containing anything that is difficult to contain
102. Hand puppets
103. Shake and Bake ingredients
104. Covering up a box for privacy
105. Hide away valuable possessions
106. Cleaning faucets by filling bag with cleaner and running the water
107. Use one plastic bag to store all other plastic bags
108. Use in mini-trash bins
109. Use for storing and containing food at work
110. Use as a protective cover for clothing when doing anything

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