Back in 2016, California became the first state to ban single-use plastic bags. New York just followed their lead. And it looks like it won’t be long before other states like Delaware join the party.
States are banning plastic bags at a rapid rate because so many of them end up getting used once and then thrown out. They wind up sitting in landfills or floating in the ocean and polluting the planet.
Do you want to prevent this from happening? One easy way to do it is by making an effort to reuse plastic bags as often as you can. There are a million and one things you can do with them to prevent them from adding to the world’s pollution problem.
Here are 12 creative and crafty ways to reuse plastic bags and do your part to save the planet.
1. Use Them to Crochet a Flower Pot
Positioning plants throughout your home is a great idea. It’ll improve your indoor air quality in no time.
If you’re going to purchase plants for your home, consider buying eco-friendly options like English Ivy, African Violets, and Christmas Cactus.
Consider crocheting your own flower pot as well rather than buying one that will contribute to the demise of the planet. You can create your very own flower pots for your plants by using little more than eight plastic bags and a crochet hook.
You’ll love the way that your plants look when you set them up in your home. And you’ll love the flower pots that are holding those plants even more.
2. Turn Them Into a Jump Rope
Did you know that you can burn up to 20 calories every minute by jump roping? It’s hands down one of the best exercises you can do.
And now, you can do it even if you don’t have a jump rope at home. By using little more than plastic bags and duct tape, you can make your own jump rope that will work just as well as one that you would buy at a store.
Even if you don’t plan on using your jump rope to work out, your kids will have a lot of fun playing with it. They’ll have almost as much fun playing with it as they did putting it together.
3. Make a Pair of Sandals With Them
There are quite a few companies that are using recycled plastics to make sneakers and other footwear.
You can purchase shoes from them if you want. But you can also make a pair of sandals out of plastic bags on your own.
Rather than allowing your kids to run around barefoot all summer, sit down and show them how to make these sandals. They won’t cost you a thing, and you’ll be shocked to see how excited your kids are about wearing them.
4. Customize Your Clothes Hangers With Them
If you’ve seen one clothes hanger, you’ve seen them all, right? You and your kids probably all have the same clothes hangers hanging up in your closets.
Allow each of your kids to show off their personality by wrapping plastic bags around clothes hangers to set them apart. Your kids will have a blast picking their favorite colors from your pile of plastic bags.
You might not care about the customization aspect of this particular DIY project. But there is a bonus that comes with customizing clothes hangers for parents. Hangers with plastic bags around them won’t allow clothes to slip off as easy as those without plastic bags on them.
5. Transform Them Into Parachutes for Action Figures
Are your kids obsessed with playing with action figures?
Take a couple of their favorite action figures and use plastic bags to make parachutes for them. Go up to the highest window in your home and drop the action figures towards the ground to see how well the parachutes work.
Just be careful not to let the action figures land on your roof if you take this approach to reusing plastic bags, especially if you have solar panels. Otherwise, you’ll need one of the best solar companies to come out to your home and retrieve your action figures later.
6. Create a Rug Out of Them
You won’t want to use a rug made out of plastic bags by the front or back door in your home. Plastic rugs won’t put up much of a fight against dirt and moisture.
But you’re more than welcome to place plastic rugs inside your child’s room to add some personality to them. It’s simple enough to make a rug out of plastic bags using the same crocheting techniques that you would use to make a flower pot out of them.
7. Cut Them Up and Make Pom-Poms
Are you looking to make some creative decorations for a birthday party? Or do you want to allow your child to pretend to be a “cheerleader”?
You can do either of these things by turning old plastic bags into pom-poms. This is one of the best projects for parents who want to keep their kids busy for a while since it’ll involve them cutting up a lot of plastic bags to make them.
8. Fly a Kite With Them
There’s a good chance that your kids aren’t going to be too excited about making things like flower pots and even rugs out of plastic bags. These aren’t things that would excite them under normal circumstances.
But a kite? That’s a whole different story! What kid doesn’t love the idea of going outside to fly a kite?
If you have a heavy-duty plastic bag, break it out and tell your child to turn it into a kite. They’ll be amazed by what they were able to make once they get their kite up into the air.
9. Construct Coasters Out of Them
Are you tired of soda cans and beer bottles leaving rings on your coffee table? It’s time for you to invest in some coasters!
Or better yet, it’s time for you to construct your own coasters out of plastic bags. It’s simple enough to do and will offer up all the protection your tables need from now on when it comes to cold drinks.
10. Design Holiday Decorations With Them
Decorating your home for a holiday like Halloween can be a big expense. It’s part of the reason why a lot of people wait until Christmas to do any decorating.
If your kids insist of decorating for Halloween, though, it’s easy enough to do it without breaking your budget. You can use old plastic bags to create ghosts and hang them up all over the place outside your home.
Your home will look 100 times spookier than it does now when you have ghosts greeting your guests all throughout the month of October.
11. Fabricate a Wreath Out of Them
When most people hear the word “wreath,” they associate it with Christmas. That’s the time of year when people tend to hang wreaths on their front doors.
But it’s worth noting that you can also hang a wreath on your front door at any other time of the year. You can make a patriotic wreath for the 4th of July, a spring wreath for Easter, or a fall wreath for Thanksgiving.
All you need to do in order to do it is gather up plastic bags that are the appropriate color for the season. You can use them to create a wreath that is fun and festive for any holiday.
12. Build a Reusable Shopping Bag Out of Them
Rather than using regular old plastic bags at grocery stores, many people are choosing to use reusable bags instead. These bags can be used over and over again without needing to be replaced.
Reusable shopping bags are great because they don’t contribute to the world’s pollution problem. But instead of buying a reusable shopping bag, why not go the extra mile and make one yourself?
Take a bunch of plastic bags that are on the thicker side and cut a large square out of each of them. Stitch those squares together and fashion them into a reusable bag that you can use from now on.
Reuse Plastic Bags as Many Times as You Can
The more you can reuse plastic bags, the more you can keep them out of landfills and the ocean.
The ideas listed here are just some of the suggestions for what you can do in order to reuse plastic bags. There are hundreds of other ideas out there for you to try if you don’t like the ones that we’ve mentioned.
Find a fun DIY project that will allow you to use old plastic bags while having fun with your kids. It’ll set a great example for them and show them all the possibilities when it comes to reusing plastic bags.
Read our blog to see some of the other crafts you and your family can take part in this summer.