When I rinse out a ziploc or other such bag, I let it drip dry over an empty 1 liter plastic beverage bottle. However the bottle was so light it tipped over with any little bump, which was annoying. To make it more stable and more eye appealing on my counter, I took the label off and filled it half way with marbles. I don't use many ziplocs so one bottle is enough for my counter.
By Dorothy Myers from New York
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I have been doing this for years. My husband made me a bag dryer, a piece of wood, with 3 holes drilled in it, then 3 dowels put in the holes. Hang the bags over one or two of the dowels. Works very well.
I really think about the environment so much. I feel that plastic bag should not even be made. We should not use them. They destroy the environment and animal habitats. Not everyone puts things in the garbage they are called litterers. The people who do put them in garbage just fill the landfills with these non-biodegradable bags. I use to use them and now I wonder how many I have polluting the earth. How much I have paid these companies to pollute to make things easier for me.
Really how much harder is it to use a storage container over a plastic bag sure you have to wash it when you are done but lots of you are already washing your bags? It also helps to keep food costs down. It seems that you really don't store as much or make as much food because the containers take up more room in the fridge. So you are more likely to eat up your leftovers before making anymore. Eating organic has really made me step back and take a look at so many different things and this is just one of them.
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Have you really checked the price of those plastic bags you are buying, like 20 cents for 1 quart bag. Most of us wash them and reuse them but then you have to dry them or hang them somewhere.
This is what I do. I have a cupboard over my sink and the front edge is over the sink. I glued clothespins to the inside edge of the bottom of the cupboard over the sinks. When I wash a bag I just clip a corner in a clothespin and let it drip into the sink.
It sure saves on washing the towels to dry those bags and I find I am more likely to save more bags this way. I also have cup hooks across the back for more bags. They don't show because they are small gold ones and blend with the color of the wood.
By Ann Winberg from Loup City, NE
How Creative! For those who rent, you can use a pringles can, an empty quart milk jug, or a cup rack to put the bags over, too.
I get all mine from the Dollar Tree, and sometimes, I can also get real ZipLock with the zipper at the store, too. They are amazing prices either way. If you have small things to put in them, you can get them in snack size, as well. Great way of saving money and the local landfill! PBP (01/23/2010)
When I repackage large packages of meat I separate the meat into smaller storage bags that I get at Dollar Tree. Then I place all the individual bags in a freezer ziploc bag before putting in the freezer. That way I can reuse the ziploc bag and trash the smaller cheaper bags that the meat was in. (01/23/2010)
By Betty
I can't throw away a perfectly good zip lock bag and have been washing them and reusing them for years. Lately, I have started writing the date and contents on the bag so I can tell how long I have been using it, how many times and for what. Most of what I put in them is wrapped in plastic wrap anyway but I feel eventually it needs to go in the trash. (01/23/2010)
By littergitter
I reuse my bags too. Just be sure to use really clean bags, and never put fresh veggies into a bag that has contained meat. As long as the food will be cooked you should be safe. Any bag that looks dirty, or smells i toss. I also put a paper towel in the bag to absorb water, then i hang it on the line. Later i take the paper towel, put it in an empty tissue box for later cleaning cores. (01/25/2010)
By Sandi
I wash mine and put a magnet inside and slap them upside down on the fridge till dry. I use those for non-food items. I'm considering trying wax paper or something to place between pieces of meat so a few pieces can be removed from a large bag instead of wasting so many small bags. Do any of you do that? (01/30/2010)
By Darween
I have been doing this for years. My husband made me a bag dryer, a piece of wood, with 3 holes drilled in it, then 3 dowels put in the holes. Hang the bags over one or two of the dowels. Works very well. (02/05/2010)
By eileen
I reuse plastic food storage bags. I just wash them out when I do my dishes and hang them on the line to dry. The better grade bags really last the longest.
By Treva from Chico, Ca
I do this all of the time also. I also like the Wrap N Mats for lunch boxes. This saves a lot plastic bags to begin with. I'm sure anyone with a sewing machine and the inclination could make these with scraps of fabric. (04/24/2008)
I am so glad I am not the only one! My husband was starting to think I was getting a little neurotic about trying to save a buck! (04/24/2008)
I would clarify your tips to reusing resealable plastic bags. You should never reuse a bag that has had meat, chicken or fish in them before! (09/08/2008)
By Hearts1
I wash and reuse all re-sealable plastic bags except the ones that contained meat. A big savings!
By Robin from Washington, IA
I do this too Robin--it is a big money saver and I am like you also do not keep the ones that had meat in them. (08/09/2006)
By Peg Ward
Glad I'm not the only one! Plastic bags are very handy, but why throw them out when they have lots of use still left in them!
Bravo for the extra effort! (08/09/2006)
By melinda
While it does seem wasteful to toss the plastic bags, just be sure that the process you use to clean them isn't even more wasteful, particularly with the water consumed to rinse the bags. Water is a precious, non-renewable resource. While we could survive without plastic bags, we couldn't survive without water. And, of course, there is the soap and the energy used to heat the water. I'm not saying to stop washing your bags, just try to be conscious of how you do it. (08/10/2006)
By Mari
