Frugal/Thrifty Contest!!!
I dumped out the oranges from this sturdy bag with cute little draw string (which I cut so it would tie in a bow 
and held it, pondering a good use for it.
And then it dawned on me–”Ask my readers!”
And even better than that, give a prize to the best suggestion!
So here are the simple rules:
- Leave a comment in this post with your best suggested use for this bag.
- Tomorrow, I’ll put up a “Voting Post”.
- Readers will vote on the best suggestion (it’s just too much pressure for me to choose!)
- The winner will get her choice of the ebooks: “Finding Financial Freedom”, or the new one, “Easy Homemade Gifts“.
I meant to add that the bag is 17 x 12 inches.
Is that not a fun idea?
So, let’s get creative!
Related posts:
frugal living/saving money | Word Warrior | 
October 30, 2008 9:14 am
These bags are great for storing sand/beach toys like shovels, frisbees, etc. They can be dunked/rinsed off and hung up to dry quickly!
Why not make a bird feeder/nest builder? You just fill it with your favorite bird treats, and they feed right through the holes. Also, add pieces of feathers, hair, ribbon, string etc. through the holes for birds to make nests out of. To complete the fun later, have a hike in your woods to find the nesting material and identify the bird!
You could cut it up, gather the pieces with rubber bands and make scrubbies out of it. I’m trying to think of more ways!
And I’m trying to be more frugal in our home, too!
Another one – use it to store tub toys in – with the drawstring opening, it should be easier for your littles to open.
Ok, I have 3 ideas
1.You could use one in the bathtub for all of the bath toys.
2.Buy a bunch of bar towels at Sam’s and stuff them in this bag, hang it from a door handle or knob, and use these instead of paper towels (another frugal idea) Use another one in the laundry room to put the soiled bar towels into.
3. Use one in the bedroom just for dirty socks. Just imagine how many socks could be saved by doing this! (Sock heaven is getting pretty full, just from my family!)
I use them to store garlic and onions in the garage when I buy in bulk every fall to last me through the year. They dont go bad if they have air flowing through!
Take it on a camping trip to use as a “dunk bag” to wash your dishes. Put a huge pot of water over your campfire and heat it. Put in a little dish soap. Put your dirty dishes in this “dunk bag” and dunk it up and down in the hot, soapy water until dishes are clean. Have another huge pot of water for rinsing, and dunk your dishes up and down again in the rinse water. Then, hang the “dunk bag” with the clean dishes in it from a tree to air dry.
We used to do this in the Girl Scouts, only we made “dunk bags” out of two open-weave dish cloths, and put a drawstring around the top.
Like Angel, I use bags like that to store garlic and onions… but I have no idea how big that bag really is.
How about placing dried flowers and pine cones in it to make a sort of potpourri… it would be flexible, so you can place it in a not-so-obvious nook. The lovely fragrance would unexpected, but welcome.
Still thinking….
I have a couple of ideas too:
1.The first thing that popped into my head was to paint over that band in the middle with matching colors and turn it into a gift bag.
2. Or you could paint the whole thing and make it into a duffel bag of sorts…. look at this for ideas:
http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/shared/sharedFlowController.goToBrowseController.do?&requestURI=viewEndecaCategory&categoryId=382868&sp=true&cm_re=PS-_-Bags-_-F2L1&tabId=PartySupplies
Cut it up in sections, secure into a ball with rubber bands, and let your kids use it to paint texturized pictures?
I find whenever we get in the van there are toys scattered everywhere!!! You could use it to store small toys or paper and crayons in the vehicle to keep the kids occupied during travel and stash them away neatly when you arrive at your destination!!
Take toys to the beach in it, then you can easily rinse it out after.
To add on to the scrubbie idea, you can easily cut these up and make scrubbers out of them, then you can use these on pots and pans. Or you can use it on the grill and toss it easily after a use and not feel guilty since it was free. Or you can keep one in your car and scrub your windshield to get bugs off, just wet with water from a bottle, or windshield wiper fluid.
You can spray paint it gold; draw it up over a gold Legs pantyhose container and tie and trim at the top. Add a head (which can be made from pantyhose and stuffing), hair and wings to make a Christmas Angel. You can also add a used copper scrubber for the hair on the angel.
You can take the bag, add several used soap pieces, close and hang close to your outddoor water spigot. Great to wash yours, or kids, dirty hands before coming in the house.
You can place small items in it and place on the top rack of the dishwasher. That way the items don’t fly around while the washer is running.
You can use it to hold wet swim suits, dirty gym clothes, or sneakers.
Shannon
Oh Kelly, now that I see the dimensions, you may want to cut the bag in half for the bird feeder/nester that I mentioned earlier.
I have another idea. You could make it into a plastic grocery bag holder. Stuff bags in the top where you have the tie. You could use the tie to hang it on a nail in your pantry. At the bottom, make an opening so that the bags can pull through!
You could cut it into strips about an inch wide and crochet them together (plus a couple more bags) to make your own cheap door mat. Spray paint it whatever color you want. My grandmother does this with regular grocery bags and they last FOREVER! The one I helped her maked when I was 10 still looks almost new. (12 years later)
My daughter, Anna who is 12, would like to add an idea to be considered. She said that you could cut the bag into squares so that they form small little bags. Lace up the sides with yarn or ribbon and do a running stitch across the top. Before closing, fill with items that would be pleasing to smell like pine needles, cinnamon sticks, flower petals etc. Hang it in your car as an air freshener!
Okay, I am going to resist the urge to read everyone else’s comments first… If it is the plastic-y fabric that I am thinking of then it would make nice scouring pads for the kitchen or the bathtubs. You could cut squares and then pull the corners up and rubberband them together and then tuck the banded edges back into the square. Does that make sense? ;0)
Mrs. Klause
My kids run around with them over their heads.
Maybe not helpful-but lots of fun!
My daughter Hannah who is 10 would like to add 3 ideas.
One is to use it to store fire starters in it.
Two is use it to store books in it while going on a road trip.
Three – use it as a swim bag with goggles, sunscreen, swim cap (she is on the swim team so she needs the cap), flip flops, etc.
Thank you.
Store car wash supplies (i.e. sponge, towels, window squeegy, etc).
Okay, I’m not looking at anyone else’s answers so this may be a repeat but…
1.Secure the opening and use it to wash bras in the washing machine. (Don’t know if it will hold up though)
2.Make your own potpourri and put it in there so the good smells can get out.
You ought to use that bag to bring home library books or for a grocery bag. A grocery bag would help when carrying out apples and the like, but a library bag would be useful for hauling 5 books per kid home.
Thanks, Anne
I like Mrs. Klause’s idea! “…If it is the plastic-y fabric that I am thinking of then it would make nice scouring pads for the kitchen…”
Those store bought scour sponges are expensive (for what they are). Did you know you can buy Scotchbrite pads in larger sheets from the painting department of hardware and home improvement stores and cut them into several smaller squares for dishwashing pads? Much cheaper than what you find in the grocery store.
My idea for this produce bag-
These make great stencils for painting interesting textures. Remove the label, cut the bag open up the side, lay it on a surface and spray water based spray paint through it.
Kelly, this was an awesome idea! Thanks to all the clever ladies!
Brenda – WOOHOO! That’s all I have to say about that.
I’m sure someone has said this already, but I didn’t read all the comments. I would use it for bath toys. I need one of these right now!