Works for Me Wednesday: Repurposing Series

Today's "Works for Me" Wednesday marks the beginning of a new series: Repurposing. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the three R's. No, not "reading, writing, and arithmetic" but "reduce, reuse, and recycle." As we try to become more earth-friendly around our house, I've been trying to find ways we can cut down on buying more "stuff" while also finding ways to repurpose items we already have in our home. Over the next four weeks, we're going to be looking at ways we can use everyday items in our homes and repurpose them, or assign them a new function, in order to help streamline and organize our lives and our messes.

Bags...we all have them. "Bags" is a broad category...shopping bags, grocery bags, tote bags, shoe bags, bookbags, and purses. Indeed, we might say that "bags" are the most widely used item in our homes. Or are they? How many different ways can we use bags in our homes? Here are a few ideas that you can use to repurpose bags in your home:

Shopping Bags

By shopping bags, I am referring to the paper shopping bags with handles that are similar to gift bags. If you shop at Bath & Body Works, Cracker Barrel, Yankee Candle, or Old Navy, you probably have quite a few of these at your house!

• Sorting: I use handled shopping bags to sort items around the house. I saved all our small gift bags from gift shops and stores to use in my "scrapbooking sort". Since I haven't seriously scrapbooked in a couple of years, I had a lot of momentoes to sort through! I cut up small pieces of scrap paper and wrote the name of the event or occasion on the paper, stapled those to the paper shopping bags, and sorted accordingly! Now, when I get ready to do a scrapbook, I can just pull that little shopping bag, and everything is together in one place. I don't have to go hunting for photos, programs, and menus...they're all in a convenient bag waiting for me!
• Totes: I use larger handled shopping bags to tote things back and forth between our upstairs and downstairs. I keep one at the top of the stairs and one in the home office to collect things that need to be toted up and down the stairs. Then, when I go up at night, or come down in the morning, I take the bag with me to unload. It really helps keep the clutter down!

Plastic Grocery Bags

• Trash bags: I use our Wal-Mart & CVS bags in the bedrooms and bathrooms as small trash bags. We have so many that I can go through daily or every other day to collect our trash.
• Purses: Have you ever considered using your plastic shopping bags as material? Yes, I said be crafty with them! Check out Hakucho's big bag or this bag at MyRecycled Bags.com for some cute ideas...you can use all those CVS & Walgreens bags as plastic yarn! I'm so excited about this...I've got two huge bags of bags in our guest room that I'm thinking about using to knit some cute bags!

Tote Bags

• Canvas bags: We've got lots and lots of canvas tote bags! I used to buy them, but I've found that you can get them as free promotional items. After attending a business fair a couple of years ago, I brought home three free canvas bags. If you have a lot of canvas totes accumulated, they make great reusable shopping bags!
• Pretty tote bags: You can use pretty tote bags as gift bags . . . use some of your accumulated CVS stockpiles and make themed gift bags for friends, or to donate! When a family loses a home in a fire, a pretty tote bag filled with shampoos, toothpaste & toothbrushes, shower gel, and other items or a bag filled with cleaning supplies for their new home is a great gift!

Shoe Bags

• Shoe bags aren't just for shoes anymore! "Huh?", you said. You can use those over-the-door shoe bags to store anything! We have them on the back of every door upstairs, including closet and bedroom doors! In the bathroom and my room, I use them to store toiletries, hairbrushes & combs, air freshener, even to stash magazines in the bathroom. In the guest room, they stash our CVS stockpile & first aid items, as well as cleaning supplies. In kids' rooms, shoe bags would be great to store small toys, Barbies, and matchbox cars. In a home office, use them to store extra office supplies or craft supplies. Make sure you get the clear ones...that way you can see what you have, and they're easy to clean!

Sheet Bags

• Do you ever see those sets of sheets that come in a bag? We've bought two or three sets of sheets like this. So what do you do with the bag? They're very versatile, as most of them come with a drawstring! Instead of buying one of those bags that hold your plastic grocery bags, use a sheet bag. I filled a sheet bag with our Wal-Mart and CVS bags, pulled the drawstring (but leave enough space for your hand to pull out the bags), and hung the cord on a over the door hook.

Purses and Backpacks:

• Kid kits: My foster sister didn't like to carry a purse. Although several friends bought her cute little girl purses, she just doesn't like to carry one in the traditional sense. I took three of her small purses and filled them with little toys...beads, a koosh ball, and a small toy of some kind, either from a Happy Meal or the Dollar Tree. Now, each vehicle has a "kid kit" in them. If we have to sit in the vehicle while mom or dad run in somewhere, she has something to keep her occupied. She loves them! In fact, on our mini-vacation last week, I told her that her little purse matched "sissy's" (mine). After that, everywhere she went, she carried her purse! She likes to be my "mini-me"....I'm so proud!
• Old purses: You can use old purses for so many things! Cut the straps off, and you can use a small or even a larger purse as a toiletry or cosmetic bag for travel. Give old purses to your little girls for dress up, or donate to charity, especially to battered women's shelters.
• Old backpacks: Like old purses, old backpacks have many uses. You can make larger "kid kits" out of small backpacks. We keep one of my sister's old backpacks filled with snacks, toys, and a little Bible for her to carry to church on Sundays. Keep a child's old backpack filled with a pair of pjs, an extra set of clothes, toiletries, and toys for a quick overnight to grandma's. An old backpack with lots of pockets would be great to stash your scrapbooking or crafting supplies for you to take to friends' houses & work together!

How do you repurpose bags in your home? Please share your ideas in the comments below! Be sure to join us next week as we continue our "Repurposing" series and look take a look at boxes!