Upcycled, Reusable Baggies

Yeah you read that right. Reusable Baggies. They can be wiped out and reused over and over instead of throwing away so many every month.

Josh and I try to be green when we can. We try to Reduce-Reuse-Recycle. Well, this was one way I saw that we could do just that. I especially noticed this when Josh started taking snacks to work while we were on our Daniel Fast. That is alot of baggies thrown away. We try not use them too often, we put our leftovers in containers most of the time, but we still go through the baggies. I decided to try and make a baggie that he could take snacks in to work and he would bring home and keep reusing.

So I found an apple bag that I had saved (I save all my grocery/shopping bags). It was the thickest plastic bag I had. You want to use a thick plastic. That afternoon I whipped him out a bag and Annaliese a little mini bag. They were a hit! Annaliese askes everyday almost to use hers, and Josh has taken his to work with him several times.

This is how I did it. But this bag I made using a bag that frozen strawberries came in. I cut the top and bottom off and cut up one side seam.

I then cut a piece of fabric to match the bag.

I sewed wrong sides together on 3 sides. Trim around the seam and turn the bag right side out.

Take the side that is open and turn under twice and sew down. (I used a zig-zag stich for a prettier look) This will be your top flap.

Bring the bottom up till you have the size you want. Sew both of the sides.

Stitch on your velcro. {I know the velcro's not a pretty color, but it was given to me and no one really sees it anyways.}

Add a pretty button  if you want. I just thought it looked cute.

These are all of them. The black and grey on is Josh's and the little green one is Annaliese's.

This is what the backs look like. Josh's was made out of one of his old t-shirts that was shrunk {ahem, I may be at fault for that}. Annaliese's was made out of one of her shirts that she spilled nail polish on.

By using bags that would have gone in the trash, and shirts that would have either been put in the yard sale pile or in the trash you are being extra green. I love saving old clothes to use as fabric. So these bags were really free for me, and will get lots of use and save us money in the long run. Let me know if you try it.