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Do You Reuse Paper Bags?

Tell us what you do with them!

From the lens How to Reuse Paper Bags.

And if you have any other tip we haven't mentioned here about the ways to reuse paper bags in your home, garden or for play with kids, share it with the rest of us! Thanks!

  • booklover2 Jan 24, 2012 @ 4:16 am | delete
    I try to reuse paper bags whenever I can.
  • Vallygems1 Jan 18, 2012 @ 3:14 am | delete
    Awesome Again
  • leeleon Jan 17, 2012 @ 2:15 am | delete
    great lens. I like your tips and idea. I have recycling lens . Welcome to see it.
  • damoiselle Jan 7, 2012 @ 11:00 pm | delete
    Lots of good ideas here! I never knew they were so good for compost :)
  • Janiece Dec 23, 2011 @ 3:51 pm | delete
    Thanks for all the great tips on reusing paper bags! Blessed!
  • goo2eyes Nov 11, 2011 @ 5:12 pm | delete
    eco-friendly lens
  • goo2eyes Nov 11, 2011 @ 5:11 pm | delete
    i never thought about these. very useful lens. thanks.
  • adamfrench Sep 28, 2011 @ 9:22 am | delete
    Impressive lens, thumbs up
  • Holly Mackay Sep 26, 2011 @ 5:32 am | delete
    These are great! This is what I have done with 3 1st grade classes http://thelemongrove.blogspot.com/2011/04/instructions-recycled-rainforest.html
  • catherinenbrooks Aug 12, 2011 @ 4:27 am | delete
    Useful lens buddy,you are such a great guy.Good job...
  • achraf Jun 1, 2011 @ 7:49 am | delete
    wow, really nice!! good job with this lens
  • Bella_Stella Apr 29, 2011 @ 6:19 am | delete
    The tip about the removing of wax from clothes sound very useful! It will save my life.
  • 2muchtrash Apr 6, 2011 @ 2:40 am | delete
    Wow, you have put together a ton of great ideas to reuse paper bags. I have always used them for sending parcels, just by undoing the glued seam and reversing it, so I can write the address on the non-printed side. Great Lens!
  • Don_McCyclist Mar 6, 2011 @ 12:36 pm | delete
    Paper? Plastic? Cloth! A high goal when I go shopping is to avoid bringing home new packaging if practical. If I leave with bags to reuse, it's likely I'll avoid bringing new ones home. Would I go shopping expecting to make a purchase without money? Why should I consider going shopping without also bringing bags enough to tote the expected purchase? Can't say I always stay ahead of the bag manufacturers, but I've plenty fired plenty that I wouldn't have by simply following the mainstream pattern of single use and then trash.
  • marymc Feb 25, 2011 @ 1:47 pm | delete
    Wish I'd known about the snow on the windshield a few months ago. I'll remember it for next year. Also, when I was a kid we always covered our school books with paper bags. What a great lens. This one is being bookmarked. I'm going to use some in my compost. And, may I add a link to it in my recycle-re-use and save lens? This is fantastic.
  • a_willow Feb 25, 2011 @ 1:50 pm | delete
    Glad you like it. And yes, I would love if you add a link!
  • JudyGoldsberry Nov 3, 2010 @ 12:30 pm | delete
    Great ideas, I used to wrap all my gifts with brown paper from bags and tie with string, I thought it gave them a classic sophisticated look.
  • Rajays Sep 28, 2010 @ 4:15 am | delete
    I try to reuse paper bags but know I am not doing enough. I really appreciate your tips here and will try to follow them to get more use of my paper bags. Great lens.
  • TeamSTM Sep 27, 2010 @ 12:11 pm | delete
    I think my favorite Idea was the Paper Bag Dress; it gives a new mean toward a Bag Lady, lol!!! I love this Lens and give it a Thumbs up!!!
  • MisterJeremy Sep 26, 2010 @ 6:53 am | delete
    We just covered my son's math book with a paper bag. Who knew there were SO many other creative uses?
  • Bradshaw Sep 12, 2010 @ 7:59 am | delete
    We unfortunately always seem to get plastic bags these days from the grocery stores. I rarely see paper bags anmore. I used to like them though. Thumbs up on a nice lens.
  • Ashlee Finch Sep 22, 2010 @ 5:18 pm | delete
    They actually give you those by default, but usually if you ask for them to use paper, they will.
  • WeddingZazzle Sep 11, 2010 @ 9:10 pm | delete
    Blessed by a SquidAngel :)
  • Sep 7, 2010 @ 2:23 am | delete
    I love using paper bags!
  • PrometeusOlimpicus Aug 7, 2010 @ 6:50 am | delete
    now these are some great tips&tricks. I work at a shredding company fort lauderdale and i am happy that i have a green job
  • Obscure_Treasures May 21, 2010 @ 3:28 pm | delete
    Hi I appreciate the idea of helping the environment and at the same time showing affection through a gift!
  • totalhealth Apr 13, 2010 @ 4:05 pm | delete
    love your ideas and tips. my hobby is handcrafting so i collect all sorts of paper bags and paper materials, those soft and thin ones makes a good material for mosaics and covers.
  • dorotheajames Apr 3, 2010 @ 6:01 pm | delete
    Love your suggestion for rejuvenating silk flowers. Thanks for all of the great information.
  • motorpurrr Feb 7, 2010 @ 1:34 pm | delete
    Wow! So many ideas. Love it! I use them to dry out catnip, and store them. If catnip is dried in the open it looses smell. If stored in plastic it smell sour.
    And the cats get ours of play from a paper bag.
  • Chris Vallet Feb 6, 2010 @ 4:14 pm | delete
    I took all my old saved up paper bags and toughly tore them, applied wallpaper paste and covered the walls of my small bathroom. I like it so much that I'm doing the same in a couple of rooms of my log cabin
  • a_willow Feb 7, 2010 @ 1:20 pm | delete
    That's wonderful idea for reusing paper bags! I wish you can send me some pics and a more detailed explanation about how you made wallpaper from paper bags! :)
  • Home-Interior-Designer Feb 2, 2010 @ 4:20 pm | delete
    Thoroughly enjoyable lens to read with wonderful tips and advice. Well presented too. Top notch! :-)
  • earthwormfarmer Jan 18, 2010 @ 8:21 pm | delete
    Lovely lens, favoriting it.
  • WindyWinters Jan 12, 2010 @ 11:54 am | delete
    Congrats on your Purple Star. Thanks for these great resources for using paper bags. I use paper and cloth bags for groceries. I use the paper bags for recycling my newspapers and shredded paper. Also for paper on tins, etc. We have a neighboring town on Vancouver Island that has banned plastic bags. Many stores have switched from plastic to paper bags or even banned bags altogether. Thanks again for sharing these important ways to use a paper bag. :)
  • BigGirlBlue Jan 10, 2010 @ 8:39 pm | delete
    We don't see very many here.

    Congratulations on your purple star.
  • Heather426 Jan 9, 2010 @ 12:24 pm | delete
    just dropping by to say congrats on the purple star, as it's already faved,etc!
  • CherylK Jan 8, 2010 @ 2:13 pm | delete
    Oh, I forgot...congrats on the purple star. This certainly qualified in my opinion!
  • CherylK Jan 8, 2010 @ 2:12 pm | delete
    What a terrific lens! I love the Feed Your Plants tip...had no idea how bone meal was made. A lot of these I already do but found some new tips that I'll certainly try. Good work!
  • KathyMcGraw Jan 8, 2010 @ 2:05 pm | delete
    Just Tweeted this, but I have to say that hint on removing wax with an iron won't work for the wax I just spilled on my laptop LMAO....but I have to *Bless* this lens anyway for the hint :)
  • KathyMcGraw Jan 7, 2010 @ 2:39 pm | delete
    Michelle, Congratulations on that well earned purple star.....you really do have the best recycling and reusing tips!
  • kimmanleyort Jan 7, 2010 @ 12:45 pm | delete
    Full of great ideas for paper bags. I especially liked the snow on the windshield one. Congrats on your purple star!
  • a_willow Jan 7, 2010 @ 12:48 pm | delete
    Simple things are always the best! ;) Thank you Kim!
  • prosperity66 Jan 7, 2010 @ 12:04 pm | delete
    We don't have a lot of paper bags in Belgium - most are plastic ones, lol; but this lens is really interesting - I've a garden and need ideas on how to feed the plants!
    Congratulations on your purple star, Michelle!
  • a_willow Jan 7, 2010 @ 12:48 pm | delete
    Geat that you find something helpful! Thank you Dom!
  • TheGreenerMe Jan 5, 2010 @ 6:40 pm | delete
    I hardly ever receive a paper bag at the store anymore with reusable bags. When I do get a paper bag, it's usually at Whole Foods Supermarket. Most other grocery chains have switched almost entirely to plastic since it's cheaper for them. I do reuse paper bags, I actually use them for shipping purposes as packaging material. Happy New Year, hope all is well!
  • southshoretees Nov 23, 2009 @ 10:46 am | delete
    Thanks for the tips, this will definitely come in useful!
  • charlino Sep 25, 2009 @ 7:23 pm | delete
    This is great. Love paper bag art.
  • GeothermalVids Sep 18, 2009 @ 12:26 am | delete
    Great lens. You give such a simple way to help our environment. Thanks for sharing!
  • ChapelHillFiddler Aug 21, 2009 @ 6:47 am | delete
    Paper bags are the best medium for paper mache when making big puppets.
  • SemperFidelis Jun 19, 2009 @ 6:39 pm | delete
    I wonder if the lunch inside the paper bag my son doesn't eat can be recycled. [grins]
    Blessed by a SquidAngel today! ~ Colleen :o)
  • poutine May 25, 2009 @ 11:50 am | delete
    I really like that tip about how to "Store Geraniums in Winter"and
    will be using it this coming fall.

    Thanks for all the other great tips.
  • tandemonimom Apr 13, 2009 @ 11:50 am | delete
    Incredible list, very helpful! Lots of unique ideas. One that I often do is open a paper bag and use it to wrap a small package for mailing with packing tape to hold it together. 5***** and featured on "Reduce, Reuse, REBAG!"
  • Heather426 Apr 10, 2009 @ 7:17 pm | delete
    another 5***** lens from you! Some very good ideas and resources. Lensroll too.
  • stargazer00 Apr 1, 2009 @ 7:27 pm | delete
    Welcome to the Money Saving Tips
  • Jan 23, 2009 @ 5:50 am | delete
    Thanks for creating and sharing such an informative and interesting lens.

    Definitely 5 stars!
  • kiwisoutback Dec 12, 2008 @ 12:46 pm | delete
    Incredible work! Very creative. This whole series of "how to reuse..." is outstanding.
  • dannystaple Dec 5, 2008 @ 2:03 pm | delete
    Lovely lens. In the UK, nearly every big food retailer uses plastic bags, normally only pricey clothes come in paper bags, so I don't often see them. Perhaps as opposition to plastic bags all over the place grows, we will see the paper bags return. Some small greengrocers still give you veg in them.
  • Pastiche Nov 9, 2008 @ 3:39 pm | delete
    This is wonderful info-filled lens. I got some new ideas - and here is one for you - but it's a bit "icky". Unfortunately,I sometimes must use mousetraps in my home; I do not like to use poison. I put the trap inside a paper bag to keep the mess when the mouse gets caught in the trap off the floor and walls. 5*
  • naturegirl7 Oct 25, 2008 @ 7:51 pm | delete
    Great ideas. Welcome to the Naturally Native Squids group. Don't forget to add your lens links to the appropriate plexos and vote for them.
  • ElizabethJeanAllen Sep 18, 2008 @ 6:20 pm | delete
    As a whole we are getting better at reusing and recycling. We're moving in the right direction.
    Lizzy
  • Mortira Sep 10, 2008 @ 10:57 am | delete
    Wonderful tips and ideas! The Earth must love you! 5 stars and a 'roll!
  • ArtByLinda Aug 29, 2008 @ 12:56 am | delete
    This is a great lens! I love the pictures of the kitty's in the bag...reminds of a story. My daughter was about six or seven I think at the time. Her grandma told her that, her cat loves "sacks" and asked my daughter if her cat loves them too. My daughter looked shocked and wide eyed, She thought her grandma had said "sex". Anyway bags are great for so many things, covering school books, do they do that still? Great lens, shining up those stars! Linda
  • Evelyn_Saenz Aug 28, 2008 @ 6:40 pm | delete
    I'm getting better and better at remembering my canvas bags but when I forget I love to reuse the bags for art projects. My kids know that we don't buy gift wrapping paper, we use paper bag and decorate with scraps from other projects.

    What a great lens! This lens is now featured on Unit Studies: Fun, Active, and Creative Learning .
  • kellilvn Aug 27, 2008 @ 11:08 pm | delete
    I remember making "indian vests" out of the brown paper bags we got from the grocery store growing up! Great lens! Gonna lensroll it onto my brown bagging it site! 5 stars!
  • KimGiancaterino Aug 27, 2008 @ 10:33 pm | delete
    I've been so good about bringing my canvas bags to the store that I accumulate very few paper bags these days. You've covered my favorite uses, though. I like them for a weed barrier in the garden, and as an amusement for my cats. Those cute kittens score you a Squid Angel Blessing!
  • Treasures-By-Brenda Aug 27, 2008 @ 10:11 pm | delete
    We do not receive many paper bags but I will never again be at a loss for what to do with them!

    Brenda
  • genglo Aug 27, 2008 @ 8:21 am | delete
    I use canvas bags, so I have very few paper bags around the house. However, I use a paper bag to store cardboard on the way to the recycling center, then I can recycle both when I get there. This is a wonderful lens with fantastic ideas to reuse paper bags and hopefully keep them out of the landfill.
  • Webcodes Aug 27, 2008 @ 1:14 am | delete
    Ahh.. who could forget the old paper text book cover from the High School lens. Excellent and informative lens. 5* and favorite.

by

a_willow

I always try to trash as little as possible. This lens is product of my research on ways to reuse paper bags.

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