Plastic Icky Bags

Yesterday I wrote about laundry soap and the like. By the by, I switched over from Downy ($$) to plain ordinary generic white vinegar (cheap and cheerful) as well. The only noticeable difference is that I don't have that overwhelming scent left behind in my clothes now. Anyhoo, today I am thinking about the ubiquitous plastic crappy bags they want to give you at every store. I have always loved the look of the string bags people use in Co-ops, whole foods, etc and thought I could make them. So I started looking for patterns for string bags, tote bags, shopping bags of all kinds.

What I found was millions! of different patterns out there. Whatever your hobby or inclination there is a way to make a shopping bag using that. But so far, my *favorite* is using those plastic crappy bags to turn them into a fantastic tote bag. You can google plastic bag yarn and find loads of instructions on how to do this, but this one is my favorite because of the great visuals.
http://www.marloscrochetcorner.com/bag%20cutting%20instructions.html

Once you have your "plastic yarn" made up and rolled into balls it is so easy to crochet it into the cutest bags you ever saw.
Like this: http://www.marloscrochetcorner.com/Plastic%20Bag%20tote.html

or http://www.marloscrochetcorner.com/round%20plastic%20bag%20tote.html

Now what you will notice is that these are so cute when a stripe of a different color is thrown in here and there. In order for this to happen with a minimal amount of trouble, try only rolling balls of plastic yarn of like colors. I had a big paper shopping bag (Williams Sonoma) full of the different balls. Some were all white and black, white, black and red, solid black, yellow with black, blue and white, red and white, etc. Then it is really easy to just switch off yarns whenever you want a different color stripe.

It takes about 65 bags to make a nice tote bag. And that is about what? two or three regular shopping trips worth? I actually had so many of these all folded up about the size of a credit card that when I started making the yarn balls and crocheting bags, I ended up with enough to put everyone's Christmas gifts in rather than wrapping paper.

Places like Whole Foods will give you a nickel back on each of your own bags you bring in. Nothing like a little positive reinforcement to get a habit started. If you make them about half that size they make the cutest little bag to use as a purse, too. And they are all totally washable. I tend to use these for when I buy meat or items that may leak and then I just wash them out in a sink of soapy water and hang them up to dry.

Occasionally I find a few of the plastic crappy bags have snuck back into my house and when they do, they seem to multiply in the dark. I think it might be time to start making some more yarn balls and using them up. Mr. Big Ed and I got through a huge quantity of these while watching a movie one night. It doesn't take much time or effort, really. And it is a good feeling knowing that thousands of these bags now have a new purpose, and thousands more are not coming home with me.

Do plastic bags bother you? Do you re-purpose them in some other way? I would love to see new ideas for these!

Learning to be mindful

Ok, here is the deal. I have started my 3rd year of the Compact. Please check out the Compact blog for all the information there. But in a nutshell, this is a group of people who have decided that we all have enough brand new *stuff* and have made a commitment to try and stop and think before buying. Think whether there may be a better option, is there a way to get by without said item, can it be obtained used, or borrowed, or whatever. Just to stop and think and use your money wisely.

Any of you who know me, know that this it totally opposite of my mindset. This is EXACTLY what my Papa tried to teach us and we laughed. So, who is laughing now?

I have made some major changes in my life in the last 2 years. I am using my pretty cloth napkins and have not bought a paper napkin or paper plate or disposable fork or any of that nonsense since Jan. 2007. This was the easiest change I have made. Easy-peasy. I started making my own non-toxic cleaners. This is also easy and dirt cheap to make. Think about how much $$$ you spend when you drive your shopping cart down that aisle. That is scary. I am making my own laundry soap now. So far things still seem clean and there are no set in stains and horrific odors coming from my clothes. This is also an easy and inexpensive thing to do.

Here is my question: why do we fall for the marketing ploys to sucker us in to buying all this other toxic crap that we don't need and most of us don't want in our houses??

The easy alternative is right there under our noses.

Here is the recipe for the laundry soap:

Fels-Naphtha soap (or any vegetable based soap like castile, Dr. Bronner's bar, or even the great big bars of Mexican laundry soap Zote, or Vel Rosa) Some people even use the small hotel soaps or the left over soap bars that your family won't use any more. Save them up and use them.

Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda. This is NOT baking soda. This is found in the laundry aisle at the stores next to the Calgon water softener, Biz, Clorox 2, all the laundry booster products.

Borax. This is right next to the Washing Soda.

Grate the soap. For every 1 cup of grated soap add in 1/2 cup of the Washing Soda, and 1/2 cup of the Borax.

that's it. Now, how easy was that?

Use 1 - 2 Tablespoons per load. You can start with 2 and then decrease down to 1 Tbsp. until you notice that your clothes are not as clean. Then you can see you should add a bit more in.

The reason it only takes a small amount is that unlike the Tide and Cheer people, you didn't throw in a whole boatload of fillers. Now, aren't you clever for not putting things you don't need?

Pat yourself on the back and take the money you saved and buy yourself something wonderful. Like chocolate, or shoes, or wine, or a set of cute napkins at Goodwill that someone donated because they never used them.

Tea Hoarding Challenge

I am challenging myself as of Jan. 1 to not buy any more tea for myself until I use up the tea I have. My pantry is chock-full of tea. Lots of tea. Black teas. Green teas. White teas. Red teas. Herbal teas. Medicinal teas. Bag teas and loose teas. Let's face it, I am a Tea Hoarder.

So, I have made it one month so far. No new teas for me. Got to use up the old stuff and get out of a rut. I will post periodically as to how this is going.

Getting started

I have been thinking of posting a blog for quite a while and am just going to wing it and see how it goes. Wish me luck!