We liked these step-by-step instructions by designer, Eider Corral for folding plastic bags for storage or as safely folded no-spill lunch bags: "I first saw my grandmum using this system to keep the supermarket plastic bags tidy somewhere in the kitchen. I thought she was brilliant. Later I realized it was some kind of popular knowledge, learned from grandmums or relatives. It's really useful, and it's beautiful too."
[via pan-dan]
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wow, probably save a good amount of storage space, but really folks, how many people are going to actually do this on a routine basis.
Great idea.
This is a paper football! Didn't any of you every do this during study hall in high school?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_football
I saw people doing this at home and I have to refrain not to laugh. It takes long to fold and unfold. If you really wish to save space, carry reusable shopping bags instead.
Just like folding a flag! Kind of... :)
I actually always fold my plastic bags this way for storage (and I do use reusable grocery bags--some still get into the house, anyway, and I use them for cat litter--not too defensive about it, am I?)--it really does save space.
Do those who don't buy plastic ever wonder what would happen to the waste products left over from gasoline and heating oil refining if they were not recycled into useful household products?
I wonder where the term "jumping on the band wagon" came from and got its current negative connotation...
I always try to use reuseable bags, but sometimes the clerk is faster than I am. My mother-in-law introduced me to this folding method and it really does save space (there's two of us in about 350 sq. ft. so every inch helps!). I also like how neat it looks and how easy it is to grab a bag when I do need one.
its so annoying to have all these green leaf pushers stare you down and give you nasty looks if you use plastic.
get over yourselves.
I also fold my plastic bags this way and I use reusable grocery bags, but I thik this way of folding the bags is like doing a mandala, a kind of zen work, very soothing
when I don't bring my own bags, I'll take plastic and then reuse it at home for the trash cans. The ones I keep for this purpose are all folded. I usually do it while I wait for the kettle to boil, or while I watch tv or whatever.
For all this talk about banning plastic shopping bags in NYC, I wonder what else can be used for trash. The alternative would be buying trash bags, which uses even more plastic and is wholly impractical for the typical NYC apartment.
I found a whole tin of folded football plastic bags in my new place. I thought it was so weird.
I can't wait to get home and fold my ginormous plastic bag collection into an army of footballs.
(for the "tsk tsk"ers, i re-use when possible, plastic when practical.)
trash bags, litter bags, doggie poop bags...AND they get the groceries home!
*climbs onto soapbox*
I made a rule for myself that everytime I went to the grocery store without a reusable bag I had to buy a new one. Once I had about 20 of them I got a lot better at remembering.
But then one day it finally happened, I ran out of plastic bags in my home. At first I was very proud of myself, but then I went to throw something out and there were no bags to put in the garbage can! It seems really stupid to me that I should go out and pay for plastic bags to put my garbage in that are made of plastic that is far worse for the environment that the ones I get for free when I go to the store. So now I try and keep a reasonable amount of them lying around. I use cloth bags most of the time, but I don't mind if I forget them sometimes. I don't fold them up like footballs though, I pull them into a rope shape and tie a slipnot in them. That makes them small enough for me.
I have a big paper grocery sack that I used as a catch-all for the plastic bags, and I keep it under the kitchen sink. If it gets full to over-flowing, my grocery store has a convenient "plastic bag recycling" drop-off so I just get rid of them all and start fresh.
I try to remember the cloth bags when I can, but I usually forget them or don't bring enough to hold everything. :( I figure even infrequent use is better than no use at all.
Why do you need a garbage bag? Just put your garbage in the bin and dump the bin directly into the outdoor container that is collected. You can rinse out your bin if it gets dirty.
No one should have to buy plastic liners...
I have a great dane -- she eats a lot! I will take all of your plastic grocery bags please :) They don't go to waste in our home, and I can't imagine buying paper bags or trash bags in order to pick up her recycled food.