Do you have an overload of plastic bags at home? I know I do. Not every recycling program takes them, so many people end up throwing them out. Plastic bags are bad for the environment and often wind up sitting in landfills for years. Before you toss those totes in the trash, check out the 20 ways you can upcycle them below. From simple solutions to annoying problems, and even gorgeous artwork, one of these DIYs is sure to inspire you.
1. When shipping a package, use plastic bags to wrap up fragile items.
2. The best way to reuse plastic bags is to recycle them.
Most recycling centers have plastic bag receptacles, but if yours doesn’t, you can find a drop-off location here.
3. If you have a fruit tree in your yard, put a plastic bag around ripe fruits to keep them from falling off or getting damaged.
4. Use a little bit of glue to turn plastic bags into beads.
Read the tutorial here.
5. Keep your cereals and snacks crunchy by turning plastic bags into nifty dispensers.
Learn how to do this here.
6. Instead of buying pillows for your patio, buy pillow cases and fill them with plastic bags.
If they get wet or moldy, you can wash the cover and put new plastic bags inside!
7. You can also make a washable pet bed using this same concept.
8. When you’re painting, put a plastic bag over the paint tray. Then when you’re finished, just throw the bag away for easy cleanup.
9. Fashion a kite out of an old plastic bag.
Learn how here.
10. Make wire hangers less slippery by wrapping them in strips of plastic bags.
11. Braid them up to make a jump rope.
Get the step-by-step here.
12. Turn a plastic bag into a placemat.
Get more detailed instructions here.
13. Fashion disposable plastic bags into a reusable tote.
Read how it’s done here.
14. Make a cool hanging lamp.
You’ll also need a few dome lids and some glue.
15. Weave a basket from old plastic bags.
Read a full step-by-step here.
16. Instead of using embroidery floss, use plastic bags to braid friendship bracelets.
You can add ribbon for more color.
17. Many people who knit and crochet make eco-friendly yarn from plastic bags called “plarn.” You can make a lot of cool things with plarn, like this backpack.
18. These sandals are made from plarn.
19. And these neat hanging planters are, too.
20. These coasters are made from crocheted plarn.
Country Woman Magazine / Jobyna Carpenter
The plarn possibilities are endless!
(via Distractify)
Making a pet bed or patio pillows from plastic bags is genius! I can’t believe I’d never thought of that before. I can’t wait to start getting more use out of my collection of plastic bags. Which of these ideas spoke to your creative side?