Reuse Your Plastic Sandwich Bags

Reusable shopping bags are getting used more and more, but what about the other plastic bags we use.  I used zip lock bag the other day to hold some popcorn.  When I was done with the popcorn the bag was virtually brand new and it seemed silly to throw it away.  I just put the bag back in my bag drawer crumbs intact, but even if I had put something messy in the bag I could just wash it out.  That’s where this cool plastic bag drying rack comes in handy.  The one on the left is available from GAIAM for $20.  The one on the right I made with with stuff I found around my house in less than three minutes and the one on the bottom I made with stuff from my kitchen in less than 20 seconds.  

As I was writing this post I thought about how easy it would be to make my own version of what the one for sale on GAIAM so I set my stopwatch and went to work.  In exactly 2 minutes and 43 seconds I was able to find the materials and fashion this bag dryer without spending a dime.  I used a tennis ball that was sitting in my hallway (don’t ask), and some bamboo skewers that have been sitting in my drawer since a barbeque two years ago.  I used a wine cork screw to poke holes in the ball and just a paring knife to cut off the bottom.  I wouldn’t recommend using a tennis ball, there are probably much easier things to use but I was going for speed on this project. 

Once I was done it occurred to me that there was an even easier way to do this without creating another fixture on my counter.  First I took a glass our of my drying rack and threw the skewers in there but the bags weight too much and they kept falling out so I put another glass on top to keep em in.  When all is said and done I like this option the best because it is easily assembled and easily disassembled and doesn’t require any special materials.  What do you think?