Footballs to Store Plastic Grocery Bags

susiestar

Roll With It
Sorry, ladies. I don't mean the kind that involves teams, coaches, and men in tight pants. Got your attention though, didn't I? :winks:

Most people I know seem to have an over-abundance of plastic grocery bags. Storage of them is a nuisance because they take up so much room. When added to their ability to reproduce themselves faster than real bunnies and almost faster than dust bunnies, they can be a real PITA. Especially because they can be a real nuisance to keep in places where you might really need them, like your purse, glove box, diaper bag, etc... I often find myself out somewhere, in need of one, and frustrated because I have 997,000 at home and 0 with me.

I ran across a blog where someone tried folding them into footballs, the ones our kids make and flick everywhere and that we did the same thing with. The blogger was vastly more intrigued with the idea and folded her entire stash of plastic bags into footballs. I think she said she folded 97 of them in maybe 90 min. They went from filling 2 overflowing plastic grocery bags to small enough to fit into a box about the size of a 12 ct package of poptarts.

I have tried this. I won't fold all the plastic bags because I have better things to do with my time. I am folding enough of them to keep several in my purse, my stitching bags/boxes, the craft supply boxes, and a few other places. It took a few tried, esp as you have to fold them lengthwise into a thin strip so that you can then fold them up. It took five or six to get them to look halfway neat, but they have already come in handy more than a few times. I even used them to keep a table from wobbling at a restaurant the other night.

I cannot describe the entire process, but I do have a few tips. For detailed instructions, chances are that one of your kids can help or you can google them. (No, NOT joking. I am so awful at origami type folding that I needed instructions ANY Jessie to help me!!) You can start with any bag, but it is far easier to learn on a bag that has not been opened for use. Our WM has a few cashiers who don't pay attention as they are taking the full bag off of the stand. They often wind up givng you 2-3+ unused bags stuck to your bag of stuff. These unopened bags were far easier to learn on than the others. If you are using a bag that has been opened, lay it out as flat as you can, as close to the unopened bag shape as possible.

I experimented with different widths as I folded the bag into a skinny strip. It was easier to fold the bag into thirds and then in half length wise before I started to fold it into triangles. When I folded it into half and then half again it wasn't as thin as I wanted it. Folding the bag in half and then in thirds made it harder to handle as I folded it.
 
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