9 Clever Ways to Reuse Bread Bags

Once upon a time, I tried to keep a journal of everything I threw away. However, it quickly became apparent that most of what I tossed was plastic packaging: cereal bags, granola bar wrappers, coffee bags. Most of what I was throwing was tied to my food. 

It was at this point that I started consistently saving bread bags (bagels, tortillas) for the dog daycare center to which we brought our dogs. At least then they could be reused once more before being discarded/recycled. I alone — even with two dogs — couldn’t keep up with the amount of waste I was creating with poop.

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And then we moved. And we stopped taking our dogs to daycare. And I had a mountain of plastic that I couldn’t bear to throw away. 

Yes, bread (bagels, torilla, bulk goods) bags can be recycled. But they can also be reused.

Here are nine simple ways to reuse them before they hit the trash or recycling bin (and PLEASE rinse and recycle, if possible). 

1. Poop bags

Got a dog? Know someone who does? Bread bags are far more durable than your average shopping bag and don’t cost a dime. Please don’t buy plastic poop bags.

2. Bulk goods bag

As someone with good intentions, I can honestly say that I will never remember to bring a jar into a store to fill it with bulk quinoa. Fold up a bag and toss it in with your totes, so you have it when you need it.

3. Seed starting

This seems like a no-brainer, but it’s a built in greenhouse. Toss in some dirt, throw in some seeds, and watch it grow. Just be sure to give it a little air from time to time in order to prevent mold.

When it’s time to transplant, just cut open the bag, rinse, and recycle. 

Prefer to use a pot or tray? Same principle.  Just toss the tray in a bag and watch it grow!

4. Bouquet bundler

If you’re giving someone a bouquet of flowers without a vase, you’ll probably want to wrap the bottoms. Please don’t use a Ziploc bag.

5. Rehoming split plants

I don’t know about you, but I hate to see plants go to waste. Even though I generally don’t care for hostas, I’d rather give them away than see them wilt and die, land in the compost, or worse yet, go in the trash. If you need somewhere to keep the roots alive and well at the end of your driveway until someone comes to pick them up, just put them in one of these bags with a little water. They’re fairly sturdy if you roll the tops. 

6. Topsy-Turvy for pole climbers

Remember the Topsy-Turvy for tomatoes? I bought one once and spent way more than I care to admit to get fewer than half a dozen tomatoes. The great thing about peas and beans is that they don’t use nearly as much soil or water to grow.  All you need is small a plastic container, some hot glue, and rope or string. Do this twice (double bag it) and fold the top edge over a few times before puncturing a hole to hang it by in order to strengthen it (’cause it still gets heavy!). Hang it from a tree, a clothes line, or a hook over your sink, and watch the produce come in. 

Don’t have the desire to craft it upside down? You can also hang them right side up, they just won’t be as aesthetically pleasing.

7. Landscaping plastic

We’re all trying to stop weeds from taking over our garden without killing the Earth or spending a dime. Use these plastic bags as landscaping plastic. Just pull it up at the end of the season, rinse, and recycle. 

8. Bag balloons

This might be a stretch for some of you, but I am trying SO HARD to avoid buying balloons for my littles. But balloons are fun! They’re also short-lived. If I can just make it a few more years without indulging in them, they’ll have outgrown them…. In the meantime, if i just blow some air in a bag and tie it off, it bounces similarly to a dying balloon and seems to be just as entertaining (they’re little!). They’ll understand someday… I hope. 

9. DIY waterproof fabric

This isn’t specific to bread bags, but did you know that you can use an iron and some parchment paper to melt plastic bags together, making a super durable product? When I first tried it, I thought that maybe I’d be able to fuse it to fabric, but no go. Nonetheless, your options with this are really only limited to your imagination. I’m thinking pillows for my porch. Keep your eyes peeled for a potential blog post. 🙂

Side note: if you’re looking to decrease the amount of plastic bread bags you consume without having to knead your own daily, buy frozen loaves. Not only is there less waste, but they’re also surprisingly less expensive than pre-baked bread.

So that’s my list! 

What do you reuse bread bags for? Any fun, innovative ideas that I can adopt? If so, please share them in the comments below! Together, we can do this!

— Funky Crunchy Mama