- [Speaker] You recycle what you can,
but it's hard to toss away something as useful
as a grocery bag.
However, you can end up with way too many of 'em.
That's why we've put together a list of ways
to fully utilize your grocery bags.
Our only question?
Paper or plastic?
First up, let's make a grocery bag container.
Stuff a plastic bag inside an empty and open
baby wipe container.
Take another empty plastic bag and loop it through
the handles of the first bag,
and then stuff the bottom of the second bag
and the handles of the first bag into the container.
Just leave the handles of the second bag out
so you can repeat the process and stuff in
as many bags as you can fit.
When you're ready for a bag,
all you do is lightly tug on the handle.
The next bag will pop out and be ready for action.
Now, if you don't have any empty baby wipe containers,
perhaps you have an empty tissue box or a cereal box
or even cardboard soda case instead.
Now that first main hole that dispenses soda cans
is great for both loading your plastic grocery bags
and removing them.
These up-cycled containers of bags can be stored
in any room with a small trash can for easy re-bagging.
They're also perfect to keep in your car
for road trips.
No matter how you reuse bags,
you can pack more into the dispenser or box,
and they look much better organized in the container
than stuffed in an overflowing drawer.
Maybe you're one of the many people in the world
that gets car sick.
Or you're just picking up your buddy
that had a bit too much to drink.
Either way, having an improvised car sick bag
can save you from a disaster.
Get a small brown bag to conceal any contents,
and a plastic bag to catch any nefarious waste.
Place the plastic inside and simply fold
the paper over and roll that plastic right under it
to secure it in place.
Now just snap it into the back or front seat
and drive your ride with confidence.
Now if you don't have help unloading or loading
your groceries or if you're just one of those people
who refuses to make more than one trip from the car,
we have a great solution.
Before you go grocery shopping,
put a laundry basket in your trunk.
It'll make it easy to bring in all your stuff
in one pain-free trip.
Also keep in mind,
if you want to avoid collecting even more plastic bags,
just throw some reusable bags in your basket as well.
Ice cream is full of fat.
Even when frozen, fat has a way of absorbing flavors
from the air around it.
This includes those in your freezer.
To keep your ice cream from taking on the odor
of that fish or last week's chili,
wrap a plastic bag between your ice cream and the lid.
Now tie it off at the bottom.
The plastic prevents the surface of the ice cream
from drying out and crystallizing once opened,
so it never gets that leathery layer on top.
Science!
To avoid having your groceries shift around
your vehicle on your ride home, causing a mess,
feed a bungee cord through the handles of each bag
and keep them in their full and upright locked position.
It only takes a few seconds,
and you'll prevent junk in the trunk.
Sometimes it's hard to get rid of all those old socks,
leaving you with an overabundance of 'em.
But you can just hang a grocery bag from a hangar
with strap slots.
Now just stuff as many socks, belts, ties,
or whatever you want,
and never struggle with drawer space again.
Hey, it's not pretty,
but we all have skeletons in our closet.
Do you want to see a magic trick?
Or how about a little craft tacking?
Check this old one out.
You can swap an item from side to side with
minimal effort using just a paper bag and some tape.
It's known as the magic wallet.
Pull off the handles of the bag.
Most grocery stores have these now, and if they don't,
just cut out more paper to make up for it.
Slice a couple four by seven inch sheets
from a bag or 10 by 17 centimeters if
you're on the more enlightened system.
If you want to get extra crafty, slice 'em bigger.
It's your choice, but these measurements work.
Wrap them in beautiful mustache duct tape
or any duct tape for that matter.
That'll make it last and also a bit more fashionable.
But most importantly, more durable.
Take the straps and cut them to be
about an inch longer on each side of the cards.
Again, that's 2.45 centimeters for the rest of the world.
Tuck both ends around the back and tape 'em down.
Then run them to the other card and tape them
on the back as well.
Okay, now we're gettin' somewhere.
When that's done, cut two more strips from the handles
and tape 'em on the back.
Flip it and run 'em between the two so you can
tape on the back of the first card.
Think of it like a weave.
Now it's done.
Place something, anything.
I chose an old iPhone 5.
Put it in there and fold it over.
Boom!
It shifts to the other side completely.
This is nothing short of literal magic.
Or just being hacky craft.
How fun!
But let's move on to bugs.
If yellow jackets or wasps are invading your space,
there's a great way to get rid of them
without harming them.
Now, we covered this a couple of years ago,
but it bears repeating.
Take a brown paper bag and flip it inside-out
so the print isn't showing.
In most cases this'll be enough,
but you can go ahead and stuff it with some
extra baggage to make sure that it doesn't
lose its shape.
You see, a crumpled paper bag looks a lot
like a nest, and these critters don't like to have
any territorial battles.
Once flipped, tie it off at the top and take it
outside and hang it away from where you hang out.
The bugs will see it and move on,
keeping you pest free without an unnecessary extermination.
Now here's the thing.
If you're just overflowing with grocery bags,
go ahead and return them to the grocery store
or put 'em in your paper recycling bin.
Natural resources are used to make those bags,
so the more returned, the better.
Obviously, you want to keep what you think you'll need,
but keep in mind there's more where they came from.
All right, see you next time, friends.
(light, playful music)