Pop-Up Shopping Bags

I have seen a few posts in blogs on how to better store those pesky shopping bags that you save from all the big bix stores.  Especially when they give you 47 bags when you have somehow only purchased 16 items.  One of the posts that caught my eye was one on how to roll your bags so that you can put them in a container and pull them out kinda like wipes, so that the next one pops up.  This is brilliant to me as I currently store them wadded up in a ginormous plastic bag hanging in a pantry- very unsightly and cumbersome.  Here is what happened on my kitchen floor after revealing the giant bag to my 2 year old.

A little brainstorming later, and here is what was born- pop up shopping bags, with recycled containers.  Here is what you will need.

• A plethora of plastic shopping bags.
• A coffee can and lid (or similar container as you will see in un momento.)
• a utility knife
• a ruler or object with a flat side (I used what was within reach- the backside of a lettuce knife)
• a flat surface to work on- a countertop or table will work just fine
• some time- the bags are a little time consuming, but the end product is a cool payoff

And away we go.

Step one:  Wash out the coffee can, remove the label, and make sure it is dry.  Moisture in the end product of this would not be good.

Step Two: Using a utility knife, carefully cut an X shape into the center on the top of the lid. (Works best if you put it back on the can.) :)  You're probably shooting for about an inch and a half cut.  And yes, I have American flag nails.  It is Independence Day after all.

Step three: OPTIONAL- Bling it out mod-podgy and red glitter gluey.

Step four:  Here is where the time factor comes in.  I sat down at the coffee table and watched Spiderman (3 to be specific) while doing this part.  Take each bag, smooth it out, check it for holes (unless you don't care about that- in my case I do because one of the uses for these reused bags in our family is housing dooked diapers when away from home, and the last thing I want there is leaking, olfactory or otherwise.) 

So flatten each bag, and fold it in half as illustrated below.

Step five: Once you have your bags flattened and folded, you will begin the rolling. Lay the first bag handles toward you. Turn the handles to the side on this one as it will be your center bag in the roll and you will begin the pull with it. 

Lay the handles of the next bag on this one, lining up the opening edge of the next bag with the bottom of this one. The key to all of this is to keep the air out of the bags. A tiny bit is ok, but more than that and you are in trouble. I had a little trick that helped. I used the backside of a lettuce knife (you can really use any flat edge) and pulled the air out of the bag toward me. Then roll the first bag- being careful that it isn't too tight. Once I got over the handles of the next bag, I used the flat edge to pull the air out of the next bag, and so on. My best advice is to figure out the system that works best for you. My experience was that once I got it going, it went quickly. I kept rolling the bags until I had a size of roll a little smaller than the coffee can. Please note that the pictures above and below were taken on two different bag rolls. In one, the handles were on one side, and then switched for the other. It doesn't matter which way you start, but keep all your bag handles on the same side of each roll.

Step six:  Drop the roll into the coffee can and smash the bags down a bit if necessary- it won't hurt anything.  Poke the handles you stuck up in the beginning through the slits cut in the lid and then place the lid on the can.  Ta- daaaa you now have a bag dispenser to better store your bags.  I also did this with an empty yogurt container for the car.  I had enough bags left for two other big rolls (I have been saving them for a while), so I cut a couple bags that had holes in them and tied them around the rolls, so that I can just plunk them into the containers when and if they are ever empty.  For reference's sake, I think I fit about 50 bags in the coffee can, about 30 in the yogurt container and two other rolls, each.  Ok, so let me know if you have questions, and happy dispensing! 

* Also, after some experimenting, the first few bags are pretty tight and you will have to be careful pulling them- just something to keep in mind.