It seems like we collect plastic bags everywhere we go! Reusable shopping bags can help reduce the number of plastic bags you bring into your home. Life Sew Savory has a tutorial showing how you can sew your own reusable shopping bags. They’re easy to sew and so useful to have on hand. Use them for groceries or anywhere else you shop!
These reusable shopping bags are made from a polypropolene fabric which has the benefit of being sturdy but also lightweight. The nonwoven fabric doesn’t fray so you won’t even have to hem it! The polypropolene will also fold up small so they’re easy to carry along with you to the store. This kind of fabric also happens to be very inexpensive, which always a plus! Go to Life Sew Savory for the free sewing pattern.
[photo credit: Life Sew Savory]
If you’re making a reusable shopping bag for your groceries, you’ll also probably want to make some reusable produce bags. That way you can skip the plastic bags in the produce section when selecting fruits & veggies. My Poppet has a tutorial showing how to make DIY reusable mesh produce bags. The mesh is lightweight (important when you buy produce by weight!) and they have easy drawstring closures.
You can also turn old t-shirts into reusable shopping bags. This tutorial by Paper & Stitch shows how to upcycle t-shirts into shopping totes. Most of us have plenty of old t-shirts that we don’t wear any more so this is an easy way to turn them into something more useful.
And for the plastic bags that still make their way into your home, a simple hanging organizer can help keep them tamed. Hello Sewing has an easy sewing tutorial showing how to make one. The simple design is easy to use – just put the bags in the top, and then when you need one you can pull one out from a hole in the bottom.
