I haven’t brought a plastic shopping bag home in a very long time now, but I’ve noticed that my garbage pail still has a lot of plastic bags in it: bags that have housed foods such as bagels, carrots, rice and milk.
Of course I try to avoid buying things that come in bags — my food delivery service is great about using paper bags for produce such as potatoes and beans — but it’s not always easy. Besides, I’ve recently realized that those bags can come in handy in a second life.
While visiting my grandma and my aunt recently, I asked if they had any tips for keeping carrots crisp. I love the sweet, crunchy snap of fresh carrots, but I’d found that after 12 hours or so in the crisper, they would always become a bit wobbly. My family-endorsed solution was simple: put carrots in a plastic bag. When I said I didn’t have any — that I’d been using reuseable bags for a long time now – they pointed out all the other sources of plastic bags I’d be likely to have. And it worked — my carrots now stay crisp for a week or more. (I can’t say how long they last, really — they get eaten too soon!)
If this reusing idea seems a little gross, know that I often rinse out my bags with a little soap and water, then turn them inside out to dry. But a good bag – perhaps one with a resealable closure – could come in handy in a few other ways.
Here are more ideas for reusing plastic food bags:
- Take them to the farmers’ market or grocery store to collect produce such as potatoes, apples, beans and more.
- Pack your lunch in them. Cleaned up milk bags are great for sandwiches; just slit open the end, then clip or tape them shut.
- Use them to pre-portion snacks for your purse, or for the kids
- Drape them over frost-sensitive plants on cold nights.
Do you have any more ideas for reusing plastic bags?
When I’m sorting through stuff at home, there are things I know I want to keep, and there are things I’m ready to let go of and donate. But then there are those things I’m not quite ready to part with, the things that still seem to have a lot of value even though I don’t need them.
A new matchmaking site for our stuff launches today. Unlike sites where you simply sell goods, like eBay, or give stuff away, like Freecycle groups, SwapSity.ca is a bartering site that matches people in the same area. Here’s how it works, according to founder Marta Nowinska: “SwapSity makes the barter process a breeze. Users simply create one list of their swappable goods and services and another for the things they want in return, while SwapSity instantly generates local matches to jumpstart swapping. It is also possible to enhance listings with YouTube videos, photos and web links. Members can communicate freely and decide whether they want to accept a swap offer, negotiate or decline it. They can also equalize uneven barter exchanges with cash. Most importantly, membership and transactions are free.”
Very interesting! To get things started, I’ve just offered a one-year subscription to Homemakers magazine and a Homemakers tote bag, which I’ll buy for someone in exchange for plant pots. Come to think of it, I have a bunch of stuff in storage that I could probably trade for the makings of an entire garden…
Have you found a good way to trade, sell or give away the things you no longer need?
I came across a beautiful example of recycling the other day. While I usually think of recycling as sending used-up stuff back for processing into new stuff, entrepreneur Laura Jennekens of Echoes in the Attic reminded me that we can actually be the recyclers ourselves. Bradford, Ont.-based Echoes in the Attic makes purses, diaper bags and pillows made from fabric that would otherwise go to landfill because it’s manufacturing waste or discarded designer samples. The bag I’ve shown here is the “Purse-nickety Hipster” ($60 to $75). Every one of these bags is unique because, of course, they’re made from salvaged fabric.
Laura explains the genesis of her business thus: “Echoes was born out of the most desperate act of recycling when, in ‘04, I cut off all my own hair before chemo took it while I was in treatment for breast cancer. I made braids that I sewed to a bandana and wore for the duration. That desperate act of recycling planted a seed that would blossom later when I met my now biz partner and sewing guru, Vicky Gerke, and we embarked on recycling of a different kind.”
Since then, Echoes has sold thousands of handbags made from recycled fabric, all sewn by “Mompreneurs” who work from home. If that’s not guilt-free fashion, I don’t know what is!
Have you found any recycled / upcycled find you’d like to share?
Artist's materials?
We’re five days away from Christmas, when many people around the world will join in the annual ritual of giving and receiving. I’m predicting that economic conditions have danced with the
crafter movement to create a surge of hand-made gifts this year.
I’m not very good at making things, aside from little songs, so I love to receive a hand-made photo scrapbook, hand-made cards, all things hand-knit… and pretty much anything made with love. But there’s one class of stuff that no one wants under the tree: upcycled handicrafts.
The definition of upcycling isn’t yet set in stone, but it strikes me as: using materials pretty much as-is to construct or adorn new materials.
Whether it’s a picture frame decorated with used dental flossers, a doll’s head making an appearance on a toilet paper cosy or an old sock repurposed into a fruit protector, some things, as documented on Regretsy, are just not meant to be reused.
Hey, I’m sure there are great ways to upcycle. All I’m saying is, in this case, it may be better to give upcycled items to a true fan: oneself.
Prove me wrong! Do you have a great idea for a gift made with reused materials?
