My laundry closet is slowly but surely getting in to tip-top shape. This project felt like a doozy and is one I put off for far too long. But finally, I am making it manageable by breaking the big project into smaller chunks. I started with purging, painting, and rearranging my white rolling cart which holds cleaning supplies (you can read more about that step here).
Next up, getting things off the floor, namely plastic bags. The first thing to consider before organizing any number of one type of item, is how many of that item you really need?
Even though I try to use canvas bags as much as possible, I still need a place to store my plastic bags. They come in handy for various jobs around the house and since I occasionally forget my canvas bags at home, they tend to collect. In fact, they tend to multiply, hence the collection on the laundry closet floor.
I am keeping it real here with the above picture. I know I am not the only one who stuffs bags in crevasses, right? I definitely try to get creative with my plastic bag reuse, but not even I need this many!
This is a perfect example of needing a container that sets a specific limit and determines how many to keep. After the container is full, the rest get recycled.
Plastic bags don’t need anything fancy. It can be as simple as a brown bag holding the plastic bags in your pantry. You can repurpose an old baby wipes box, or a coffee tin like House of Grace,
or even use an empty tissue box mounted on a cabinet door like The Family Handyman.
Because I am short on counter and floor space, I needed something that would be up out of the way. A paper towel roll became my simple plastic bag container when organizing on a budget.
I moved my homemade container to the laundry area since that is where they were collecting. As I sorted the types of bags and realized all the various tasks I use them for, I decided to make 2 more tubes to store them in. The trio of containers completed my plastic bag storage system and after stuffing them full, the leftovers were recycled at the grocery store.
Yep, that large pile on the ground was what I recycled, I definitely had more than I needed!
After containing my plastic bags, I also wanted to make a space for my canvas bags. They were previously kept in the hall closet, but following the organizing principle of ‘keeping like with like’, I wanted to move them to the laundry area with the plastic bags.
Simple hooks keep them up out of the way yet still accessible.
With my bags all in the same place, I can now slip any extra plastic bags straight into my canvas bag as I’m heading out to the grocery store. The extra plastic bags travel with me to the store to be recycled; no more plastic bag pile up!
Okay, it may seem a little silly to write a 500+ word post about organizing plastic bags, but the point is to look at your space with new eyes and decide what works (or what isn’t working) for you.
How many bags, cups, gift bags, etc, do you really need? If you don’t have much counter or floor space, go vertical. Can you mount things on the wall? Can you add shelves above?
In the name of 10 Minute Tuesday, take the next 10 minutes and reassess an area that is bursting at the seams. Or reassess some area that seems to bug you every time you walk by it. It could be anything from plastic bags to art supplies, just set the timer and get moving!
Check out the other post in this series as I make small changes to get my laundry closet in tip-top shape:
I’m with you on the plastic bags! I try to use my reusable bags but sometimes it just doesn’t happen. Sometimes I ask for paper (I put my recyclable paper right into the paper bag so all I have to do is pick it and and throw it in the recycle dumpster).
I use the dreaded plastic grocery bags for poo duty (both dog and baby). I hang one on the back of the bedroom door rather than use a trash can (when it’s full, I grab the whole thing and toss it.) I use them for packing material when shipping or wrapping presents. All my christmas ornaments get wrapped in plastic grocery bags when it’s time to put them away too.
You really put those plastic bags to good use! I going to have to try them for packing material. What a great idea.