I have spent the past 2 days looking at every possible way to store plastic bags on the Internet. Pinterest, for example, has about 10 really cool looking ways to store them that are linked to over and over again.
You know the types of bags I'm talking about. Those plastic grocery bags you have to use when you run into the grocery store without your reusable cloth bags, because you left them sitting in your trunk.
The people of Pinterest, for some reason, believe I want to iron, fold, flatten out or roll my plastic bags. I do not. I want to shove them. I don't care if they look particularly cute while sitting under my sink. I don't care if they impress people with how cleverly they're arranged. I want to shove them under my sink so they're easy to get at and don't float around the entire cupboard when I want to grab one.
Why, after bashing around the grocery store with a cart that alternates between only going right and skidding to a stop every few feet, coming home putting away the groceries, realizing I forgot the mandarin oranges and the inevitable cleaning out the fridge to make room for the peppertettes I was again compelled to buy … would I want to sit down on the floor, flatten and fold all my plastic bags into thirds, lay them on top of each other and roll them into a tube? I would not.
The intention of course was to find a brilliant way for storing plastic bags, which I would then introduce to you. I could picture it immediately. Me finding the ultimate plastic bag storage idea, implementing and photographing it under flattering light, you my adoring readers gasping and holding your hands to your hearts. This was exactly how Nobel Prizes were won.
But all of the ideas were … O.K., if I'm being my true self … they were ridiculous. If I'm being "hey I'm a blogger and every idea has at least some good in it …, they were ridiculous.
The worst thing about these storage ideas and in fact, dare I say it, Pinterest in general, is it's often based around super-cute photos. I love Pinterest for inspiration but when it comes to some of the DIYS, they excel more at highlighting the overuse of chalkboard lettering than actual usability.
The biggest problem with all of the plastic bag storage solutions was they took too much time to do and … they didn't work. One suggestion was to stuff all your plastic bags in a can with a plastic lid, cut a slit in the lid and pull the bags you've shoved into the can out. Great. Paint the can all pretty and stuff.
The problem with this solution is it's only the first bag that will pull out of the can and the rest just stay shoved in there until you pop the lid off to pull one out and 5 or 6 randomly assert their freedom at the same time.
The other big one on Pinterest was the flag fold. Laying out any garbage/plastic bag and folding it up into a triangle like a tiny flag to be presented to a family of freedom fighting mice.
I've done it before. I'll admit it. I've done the flag bag. It's the kind of thing you'd sit and do while watching television. But it isn't a solution for a quick way to stash plastic bags.
Then there's the roll er up solution. This involves laying out you plastic bags, bag by bag, flattening them out and then folding them in half. Then you place bag after bag after bag on top of each other until you've run out of room or bags or sanity and then you roll them up. This creates a neat little roll of plastic bags that you're supposed to be able to pull out from the centre with the next bag following in succession.
The first problem with this is the fact that when you come home with more plastic bags in a day or two you can't just add them to the roll. You have to save the bags up and wait until you have enough saved to make another roll. Which means you shove them under your sink like you always did and never, ever make another roll again.
The rest of the suggestions were too ridiculous to even consider. Like sewing an old shirt up and filling it with plastic bags. Huh? People are even reupholstering boxes and crates complete with trim, piping and batting. omg. I just wanna find a place to shove my grocery bags and it's looking more and more like that place is going to be up Pinterest's ass.
Don't misunderstand. I will spend an inordinate amount of time on ridiculous things. This Sparkle wipe dispenser for instance. But some things are worth my time and other things aren't. YOU may think an upholstered, piped crate specifically for your bags that will take up more room than just shoving them inside themselves in your cupboard is a great way to spend your time because you love reupholstering and you just ran out of solid white, 2,000 piece jigsaw puzzles to do. But I do not.
To each his or her own. (I'm just saying that to at least appear somewhat accommodating on the subject)
So what was my solution? How did I solve the great grocery bag dilemma?
I didn't.
You're up.
[shareaholic app="share_buttons" id="5342563"]
Julie
Really, no need to over think this. The solution is the Ikea bag holder, as many pointed out already. It's super cheap, it takes 2 minutes to hang it inside a cupboard (mine is in my tall cupboard with the vaccum, broom and cleaning products), you just shove your bags in there, then you can take one out from the top or from any of the holes around - which I like because sometimes I want that green bag or that white one and not that yellow one. It's really perfect. What I would like to find now is a way to store all the bigger shopping bags - we mainly use reusable cloth bags, but somehow we always end up with a few paper or plastic bags (how else can you bring back home that humongous 24 pack of jumbo toilet paper rolls from the drugstore). Plus those enormous and thick Ikea blue bags, which are a pain to fold and stash somewhere. That's a problem in our house.
Erin
Why do you need to put the toilet paper in a bag at the store at all. Have them slap a sticker on it and away you go.
Julie
I have to walk home, 3 long corners. While holding my 2 daughters' hands or pushing the stroller. Can't hold that huge pack (or packs, if they're on sale) in my arms all the way.
Cred
Try using the ikea blue bags- they're ginormous!
Julie
Ha ha! Yes, I will now that I have them. But I didn't a few weeks ago. :0)
Sally
Empty soft drink cardboard oblong box. The long, narrow ones that hold 12 cans. Once it is empty the hole is large enough to get your hand in, but small enough to keep them contained. It holds a lot, and whatever doesn't fit can just be recycled. Not pretty, but works like a charm.
brenda
IKEA plastic bag holder mounted on wall in pantry easy peasy
mimiindublin
I have the Ikea holder, but to be honest, I don't have many plastic bags. Our government introduced a "plastic bag tax" in 2002 (15c per bag) and it's a great incentive to not forget your Bag for Life bags when shopping!
stacy
I shove mine in an empty paper towel tube. It only hold a few so I don't end up hording them; and it's nice and compact and fits in the drawer with my aluminum foil, saran wrap, etc.
Karen
That only worked for the lightweight plastic produce bags. I tried it for regular grocery bags and I couldn't even fit one in the tube. It kept ballooning out like a hernia. ~ karen!
~JackieVB
I looked into this quite a bit myself and really wanted to do something DIY but I ended up buying a cloth bag holder that looks like a very small duffel bag. It's only open on one end and that end is elastic so the bags don't fall out. It has an adjustable strap so you can hang it anywhere. You cram the bags in and when you want one you just pull one out, usually the rest stay put. If it costs more that $3 I would be surprised, but either way much cheaper than making it myself.
Shelagh
They really aren't worth using. They often don't make it into the house without ripping open after you have paid $.05 for one. If they are drippy with meat juice they have to be thrown out anyway. Use a bin or two . You can line them with your grocery store flyer, fill them with groceries, bring them home unload and throw away the soiled flyers in the bottom leaving the bin clean. They wash easily if you don't want to line them. Then stack 'em and put them back in the car ready for next time.
Karen
Yes, but the point of this is for when you forget your bins or cloth bags in the car. ~ karen!
Shelagh
If you forget the reusable bins and bags, how will you remember to take the plastic bags from under your sink? Just sayin'
Karen
How will I remember to take them from under the sink to line the the garbage can under the sink? I'm confused. ~ karen
Erin
Then one could take a minute and walk out to the car to get them! A couple of times having to do this and I was cured of my forgetfulness. I have made some sturdy canvas and linen bags with nice strong webbing for handles and store them in my car. Whenever I go into a store I tuck one under my arm. If I am making a small purchase I put it in my pocket with the receipt, just in case. The grocery clerks are always trying to push bags on me when I show up with a bunch of apples or other loose stuff. Nope, just put it in my bag. My veggies are stored in Tupperware in the fridge, so no use for the store ones. Any bags left over immediately go into the recycling bin that I share with my neighbor(to save on 2 people driving to the depot), to be hauled to the recycling depot when full.
Karen
Again. That's not the point of this post. ~ karen!
Erin
My point was if you don't bring them home you do not have to store them!
Janice
I have no suggestions for your plastic bag dilemma. But I do want to thank you for the "up Pinterst's ass" line. I'm so glad that I didn't have a mouth full of coffee. Thanks for starting my Wednesday morning out with a good laugh!
Tigersmom
Who knew that plastic bag storage would elicit so many responses?
I used to stuff my bags into another bag and then stuff that onto a shelf in the closet with the pet supplies and rain boots. Recently I started folding them lengthwise a couple of times as I empty them, stacking that and then folding it in half to stuff it slightly more neatly onto the same already stuffed shelf in the closet. The reason for the change is because the bags are now a good bit thicker and sturdier than the glorified tissue paper they had become that would literally tear open if you gave it more than a passing glance and I wanted to be able to grab the good ones quickly when I needed one.
The reason for the change in the bags is a ban of sorts that went into place at the first of the year here. Plastic bags are 5 cents apiece to encourage people to not use them. This and my germophobic tendencies that are rubbing off on me from my husband's much more severe case are not enough of a deterrent for me. Sixty cents added to my grocery bill for twelve of the stronger bags that I will undoubtedly find another use for around the house is fine with me. Plus, then I don't get the willies over reusing a germ laden cloth or pseudo-cloth (whatever that weird stuff that most shopping bags are made of that is not quite plastic and not quite cloth but doesn't appear washable and does appear like a great place for germs to grab onto and thrive) bag that I have to find a proper method to store because they don't wad up as tiny as the plastic ones.
Eileen
I have a canvas vertical shoe holder on my closet rod and use however pockets I need for the bags. Also, get dogs. You'll use up those bags faster than you can imagine every time you walk them. Those bags went from being a giant nuisance to "wow, I really need those".
Aprl
I use one of those stackable dog food containers that's supoosed to hold a 40# bag. Always hated filling the thing so one day I started stuffing it with bags. They never fall out, the bags are easy to grab and it will hold millions of bags. My solution isn't exactly compact, but it works for me, cause it's in a closet and it's something I had..
Kathryn
I so rarely take the right number of bags in to the store that now I only take one for any tiny things and just load everything else back in the cart and put it in the bags in the trunk. Any stray plastic bags are stuffed behind the recycle bin under the sink. I use them in bathroom garbage and layer 4 or 5 in each can, so I only have to do it every couple of months (take out the inner one when it needs to be emptied). Yes, they do tumble out once in a while, but I don't really think about them in between.
DanniS
Amazon.com Stainless Steel wall mounted grocery bag dispenser 9.99. Practical and fancy :) works perfectly. Buy it, mount it, then drop the mic and walk away.
Carol Hogan
I have a long cloth tube with elastic at the top and bottom. Simple to make and could be "prettied up." Stuff them in the top. Pull them out the bottom. Holds quite a few bags and works great. It has a loop at the top and hangs on the door handle in my pantry.
Sally
I leave mine in my blue recycling bin. Since I'm a stay at home mom , I'm the only person who bothers to put anything in the bin -so everything goes in rinsed (so its clean) and then I pull them out of the bin (Directly besides my door in the garage, it's an open the door and toss setup) . By the end of them month when my MONTLY recycling pickup happens ( you can't imagine the cardboard I collect, and I am big on homemade things so this still befuddles me) then I start all over. I might take a couple bags out to keep a small stash but other than that no more bags floating around all over the place. Plus the fact that those re-usable bags are sturdier and only cost 99 cents I will often just send people away with the ones I like the least :)
I am surprised you have never seen the dispensers they all at dollarama, they also do well hung on a hook in the back of your closet. My grandmother always had a lady with a dress and you stuffed the bags up her dress, very similar to your mothers system, just a prettier package on the outside.
Jack Ledger
Without having read all the brilliant suggestions offered in the 43 comments made prior to mine I offer my 2 cents worth, which, by the way, is the cost of a plastic grocery bag. My gene pool left me abandon off to the side of the road when it comes to innovative artistic ideas relating to creating many of the ideas submitted by your readers. And so, I rely on the entrepreneurs out there who came up this ingenious product. Appropriately, this is a long plastic tube with a number of 2 inch holes stamped into it. The bags are stuffed into the top of it and removed through any one of the many holes situated down the length of the tube. It works well and fits nicely on the inside of the cabinet door under one's sink. For those of you out there who were blessed with the creative artistry of Martha Stewart or Karen I am sure you could probably build your own.
Karen
That sounds like one of those Ikea things everyone is suggesting. ~ karen!
Emma
It is, I have one in our laundry room. Works great. For my hall closet shelf upstairs I have a wonderful Umbra tall stainless container that has a large oval cut-out in front. It sits, is compact, I can stuff many bags in it and one comes out at a time. You stuff them in from the top hole. Umbra and IKEA make the best products for us OCD people...you too Karen, lol! Oxo too. So check online and let us know what you decide to go with! The $2 Ikea thingy is still my vote for cheap and cheerful.
Susan
I've got an antique french baguette holder - it's beautiful - and it is stuffed full of plastic bags.
Jenny W
Alas, I am one of "those" people, with a big 'ol plastic bag, full of plastic bags. :/
Lisa Kemper
That’s exactly what I do! Put the regular sized bags into a big old Kohl’s bag and loop it on the back of my laundry room door knob. Then no one sees it but it’s easy to get one. I use them for cleaning out the cat litter boxes.
Laurie
You so crack me up! Mine are stuffed under the kitchen sink and they are quite happy there. I have enough to do than to rack my brain about grocery bags and besides, I go through them like wildfire. I would never complete a bag storage before I had to pull them apart to use them.
Grammy
I have one of those "shoe storage" things made of vinyl, with rows of pockets on it, that's supposed to hang on the back of a closet door, I guess. They were always worthless for shoes, but I got one about 30 years ago and hung it on a nail on the side wall of a closet. Whenever I get a plastic bag of any size from any store (grocery, drug, hardware, clothing, toy, etc.) I jam them into the pickets of the shoe holder. You'd be amazed how many you can stuff into each pocket. When I need a bag, I just reach in the closet and pull one out. If it's not the size I want, it gets stuffed back in and I choose another. I always have the right size and strength bag for whatever it is because they come from all kinds of stores.
Do they still make those shoe holders? Maybe for dorm rooms? It was cheap when I bought it and has never torn or failed in any way, no matter how much I cram into each pocket.
Gary S
LOL...I have one of those hanging in my closet. It was very handy for shoes when I lived on a boat. Now it is in the closet with one shoe in it. Has anybody seen a size 9.5, Sperry Deck shoe on the road between LaConner Washington and Priest River ID.?