What's a Girl to Do?

A small thought for today, motivated by Real Simple magazine's column that features new ways to repurpose items in your house:

What do you do with plastic bags? I mean when you are done with using them for their original purpose?

After having radically reduced the amount of plastic bags in my house by religiously carrying by canvas shopping bags with me everywhere, I find myself pondering ways to make the most out of the few plastic bags that now make their way into my house.

I have even stopped using the smaller plastic bags that the grocery store offers for produce. Instead I load hard fruits into one canvas bag that has a zipper. And for soft fruits I use an invention my mom made. She has repurposed the mesh bags that onions come in (see photo) and now I carry those with my canvas bags.

But what about the plastic bags that rice cakes come in? And what about the plastic bags that line cereal boxes? What's a girl committed to helping mother earth to do with those?

Here are some of my ideas. The rice cake bags go with me when I walk my dog. I know there are products you can buy that package a scroll of plastic bags that attach to your dogs leash, but i forego that expense and fashion convenience in favor the economy and ecology of reusing bags I have already paid for. And the cereal bags make great liners for my guinea pig's cage.

What about you? What are some of the inventive ways you are reusing plastics that come into your house?