Time for some more recycle, reuse, repurpose and reinvent!
1) Grocery Bag Throw Rug
If you know how to crotchet, this was easy...but very time consuming. I had two-hundred million grocery sacks sitting in my mudroom waiting to be used. Well, it looked like it, anyway. I already reuse them by lining my small garbage cans with them and using them for lunch bags, but they were really just getting out of hand. I was surfing the net one day and found a recycling website which suggested cutting the bags into thin strips and using it for crotchet yarn! I have to say, it was like slapping me in the face with the white glove - I was challenged!
After a little practice I figured out it was easiest to lay the bags flat, cut off the handles and the fused bottom first. Then I just cut around the bag - like I was peeling an apple and trying to keep the peel together in one long strip. It takes patience! I then just tied the strips together by knotting them and pulling them very, very tight to make the knot as small as possible. I just did a simple chain stitch for the width I wanted and a double stitch after that. Here's the result:
I use it as a runner in front of my washer and dryer. It's not what I'd call 'pretty', but it keeps the clothes clean when I accidentally drop them on the basement floor! My basement will flood during heavy, heavy rains and when it does, this rug can be hung on the clothes line to dry and thrown back down - no mildew, no stains, no washing!!
2) Chip/Snack Clip
Since the first one is a bit time consuming, I figured this second one needed to be a quick fix. Do you have chips and snacks that you'd like to keep sealed so they stay fresh? Bring in the old, faithful clothes pin!
I know stores sell chip clips - and some of them are adorable....but a set of wooden laundry pins can be purchased for $1 - and you get about 50 in a pack. Roll your opened bag down, pushing out as much air as possible, and slap that laundry pin on it. Voila. So simple a child could do it (and should!). I keep about 20 of them hooked to a canister in my kitchen for instant access.
If they aren't classy enough for your kitchen, you can always doctor them up with some paint, plastic gemstones, wooden letters....get creative!
