4 Uses for Paper Bags

Gifts bags, grocery bags or any other kind of paper bag with a flat bottom can do one thing that a plastic grocery sack will never be able to do – stand upright and open on it’s own accord. That’s makes for a perfect hands-free container that is portable and can be recycled when you are finished with it. If you’re not already recycling your paper bags into other uses around the house, give these 3 uses for paper bags a try.

Vegetable Scrap Bag

When preparing a meal that will produce vegetable peels and other compost-able food items, use a paper bag to collect the scraps instead of a bowl. Open up the paper bag nearby and just toss in all the organic food items while you’re prepping for the meal. After the meal, scrap the plates off in the paper bag, roll down the top and toss bag and all on the compost pile.

Ripen Fruit

Pears, apples, peaches, avocados and other fresh fruit and vegetables often reach the produce section of the supermarket a little under-ripe. Buy them anyway and ripen them to perfection at home inside a paper bag. Place the slightly under-ripe, hard fruit or veggie inside a paper bag, roll down the top and place the bag on the countertop for a day or two until the fruit ripens to the desired state.

Collect Recyclable Paper

Open up a brown paper grocery bag and sit it in a convenient place to collect recyclable paper items. Toss in junk mail, sales fliers, newspapers and store circulars and when the bag is full, just put the whole thing in the recycle bin or haul away to the recycling venue in your area. The paper bag will make recycling easier and help keep your home free of cluttering junk mail and papers.

All-Natural Product

Made from trees, an all-natural paper bag is less likely to trigger allergies than a petroleum-based plastic bag, so the paper can be recycled safely around the home for various different uses including kid’s crafts.

Cut off the bottom of a paper bag and cut down the side seam to create a large coloring and drawing surface for kids.

Cut out arm holes on each side and a hole in the bottom of the bag and create a paper vest for kids to wear over their clothing while painting or doing other messy crafts. A cowboy-style vest is easy to fashion from a brown paper bag also for a afternoon of playing cowboys and Indians.