Ten Uses for Plastic Grocery Bags

Cheap Rules for the 21st Century: Plastic Grocery Bags Part 1

I just read that there will be no more white plastic bags allowed in China as of June 1. They are being banned to eliminate what they call 'white pollution', as these plastic bags litter the streets. Shoppers will instead have to purchase sturdier plastic bags or bring their own bags (preferably cloth) and baskets to shop with.

As far as pollution is concerned, this is a real idea, but eliminating plastic bags would be a nightmare for a cheapskate like me. Here are all of the things you can do with grocery store plastic bags, until the supply runs out for you too.

Car garbage disposal: I like to keep a couple of plastic bags in my car so that when I find myself waiting for my kids, I can do a quick car cleanup. I grab bag, jump out and fill it with as much garbage as possible from the floor of the car and the backseat that the kids tend to trash. When we get home, I just toss the full bag into the garbage bin.

Chest freezer: So that I don't have to dig through my chest freezer to find a particular item, I like to keep like things in grocery bags within the chest freezer. If I have all of the ground beef is in the same bag, I won't have to spend 10 minutes digging under the 20 pounds of chicken breasts I just purchased.

Diaper disposal: While I do not worry about diapers anymore, I know many people who do. I have found that wrapping a soiled diaper in two plastic bags and disposing of it immediately is much more effective than a diaper genie. Even if you cannot take the dirty diaper outside, wrap it in two plastic bags and placing it in the regular garbage. (If you are expecting, instead of requesting a diaper genie that will cost you a fortune in specialized bags, you can just let a few people know you will take their excess grocery store bags and it will not cost anyone a cent!

Disposable protective gloves: While you cannot use plastic bags on your hands while you are washing dishes, you can protect your hand while you are picking up things you would rather not touch. For me, those gross things would be fur balls and dog poop.