Show-and-tell Tuesday: Plastic bag thingie

This odd, bumpy thing looks like a strange topic for a post, but it's really quite handy and very easy to make. I made it some months ago and it hangs in the stairwell headed down to the basement (a.k.a. litterbox-land). We use it to hold the plastic shopping bags that always seem to show up at home, despite our best efforts to the contrary. You just stuff the bags into the top and then pull them out of the bottom -- voila! -- as you need them for re-use.

I've seen the same sort of thing designed as a hard plastic tube that screws into the inside of a cabinet door. But why purchase that when it's so easy to make one? Just cut a strip of fabric about 18 inches long and 12 inches wide - a trimmed fat quarter works great. Sew the long edges together to form a tube, then hem both top and bottom to form a small casing. Slip enough narrow elastic into the bottom to pull the edge in a little bit, like it's a little cuff on a sleeve. On the other end, thread a cord, ribbon or old shoestring through the casing so you can open it all the way if you need to, and leave some excess for a hanging loop.

We're all trying to live green a little more these days. So when those plastic bags inevitably show up, keep them in a place where you know they'll be handy to use again!

Check out Show-and-tell Tuesday at Wisdom Has Two Parts, too -- adorable little doll quilts!