|
Post by ohblondie on Jan 26, 2015 12:13:15 GMT -5
cyn oh no - you had to mention the pretty plastic bags.......... toomuchstuph When we moved dear daughter into her college apartment we did just that. We moved her, unpacked her, collapsed the boxes and stuck them under a bed. When she graduated, I pulled them out, brought them back to school and repacked.
|
|
|
Post by cyn on Jan 26, 2015 12:42:26 GMT -5
Reeeeeelly pretty bags! A translucent red one, a metalic gold one, a nice thick green one, and more....mmmm mm they were nice! I could've put all sorts of unopened mail in them, or unmatched socks, or donations - the choices are limitless - I have tons of stuff that I could be bagging. But since I *already* have a bunch of filled pretty bags, all piled up in a closet, I'm doing myself the hugest favour by not encouraging my bagging habit.
|
|
|
Post by toomuchstuph on Jan 26, 2015 13:49:17 GMT -5
You guys inspired me. Thank you!
An older neighbor passed away last year. His kids have been working on cleaning out the house preparing it for sale. I noticed this morning that they were bringing large empty boxes into the house. I just went over and offered them a surplus of boxes for their use. They gratefully accepted! Win-win for all concerned. I get some big boxes gone...and they don't have to purchase/scrouge for large boxes.
|
|
|
Post by Unswamping on Jan 26, 2015 14:47:16 GMT -5
No recycle pickup today. Probably not tomorrow either. Oh well. Cyn, really.proud you got rid of those bags. Yes, its hard i know. I wonder how much of my hoard is stuff like empty boxes, bags of bags and other easy stuff like that. Yikes, and empty plastic totes! Those take up so much room. Yes, this easy stuff needs to go.
|
|
|
Post by aquamarine on Jan 27, 2015 3:40:40 GMT -5
The title of this thread really triggered me. Hoarding bags and boxes is one thing; using them for storage is something else.
In the bad old days I used plastic bags and cardboard boxes for storage. This looked dreadful. I now have several 3-drawer plastic storage units on wheels with smaller plastic cabinets with drawers sitting on top, all in attractive colours. This is a huge improvement. I also found some very cheap big storage bags with zips and handles with lovely designs and colours. I am not sure what they are made of: it looks like woven, plasticised material. I use them for Christmas and picnic stuff. I bought some lovely collapsible plastic boxes with zips, and some big rigid plastic storage chests.
The few plastic bags that come in get slipped in with charity shop donations. Cardboard boxes get recycled. Someone gave me some presents in a pretty plastic bag and I photographed it before donating it! There does not seem much point in hoarding empty bags and boxes now, just in case they are ever needed.
|
|
|
Post by needmorecoffee on Jan 27, 2015 7:33:09 GMT -5
Plastic bags are crack for me... all sorts. I'm getting good at not having to fill them before i throw them out. That's right I was getting stuck because i hadn't fully filled the bag before I threw it out! I have so many *** plastic bags, I'm sure I'll have plenty if I only quarter filled each one.
|
|
|
Post by phoenixcat on Jan 27, 2015 7:54:28 GMT -5
I went to the grocery store a week ago with four kitchen bags full of grocery bags. A lady stopped me and asked if she could have them for a local charity shop. Anyway, if anyone is battling bags and small boxes - maybe check where you are donating other items and see if they need. Hmm - maybe I should ask about wrapping paper and bubble wrap too!!
PC
|
|
|
Post by ohblondie on Jan 27, 2015 8:20:36 GMT -5
phoenixcat great idea...I will ask around at different shops. I have three bags of bags right now. I try to remember to bring reusable bags to the store with me...but I forget.
|
|
|
Post by Unswamping on Jan 27, 2015 15:52:44 GMT -5
Im convinced they breed while im sleeping. Like aquamarine, i used to store stuff in plastic bags and cardboard boxes. Im trying to use reusuables now. Ive gotten a bit better about remembering to take them out of the house with me but leaving them in the car when i go into the store isnt very helpful. Especially when the bagger decides to put every item in a separate bag and i was doing my big monthly shopping. Guess that was my punishment for forgetting my bags.
|
|
|
Post by aquamarine on Jan 28, 2015 5:45:12 GMT -5
A couple of weeks ago i took 8 shopping bags stuffed full of shopping bags back to the grocery store for recycling. Last week i took three more full bags. This week i think i may get three more full bags. What a collection! How many more do you think you have? I am sure that this will inspire other people to get rid of their collections too. There are different issues to be dealt with in connection with the Bag and Box problem. Some people just have trouble letting go of anything, including B & B. Some people worry about the effects of plastic on the environment if they throw their bags away. Some people keep the bags, or the prettiest ones at least, in case they may need something to take presents to a friend; they keep boxes in case they might need to return, for example, a faulty toaster. Some people use them for storage. Some people keep bringing more in. There are ways to deal with all of this. You can attack the enemy on many fronts. The environmental aspect is being dealt with in the UK. Some shops only give plastic bags if people ask, or they ask if they need any. Some shops have started charging. Many of the bags are now bio-degradable: they disintegrate after a while. Where possible, I shop in places where they give you brown paper bags. I also take cloth shopping bags or my bag on wheels. There are many places where cardboard can be recycled, and some charity shops accept plastic bags. There are many cheap and attractive options for storage: plastic bags and cardboard boxes look terrible and messy. Bags are not efficient as they can't be stacked. There is no harm in keeping a small hoard provided that they do eventually get used.
|
|
|
Post by Serendipity on Feb 5, 2015 3:43:16 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by ohblondie on Feb 5, 2015 8:32:13 GMT -5
I am SLOWLY cleaning out the hoarded mess in my bedroom. I had piles of stuff several feet deep. As I am burrowing into the piles - I noticed that I was uncovering several boxes of kids clothes. The boxes had deteriorated and gotten crushed. So I pulled out all of hte cardboard I could get my hands on. I collapsed and flattened it all. Now it is in the middle of the kitchen floor waiting for recycle day.
I did not get the trash out this week as we were in the middle of a huge snow storm. Another snowstorm is predicted for trash day next week. Oh my, I could be in trouble.
|
|
|
Post by MakingChanges on Feb 6, 2015 21:35:39 GMT -5
Was not able to get the clothing sorted, but I did finally get it piled to the side in bins so that I could move my printer out of the way. Now I can walk into the room! Now it is recycle time again - found an area with a ton of small recycle items!!!Yeay! -MC
|
|
|
Post by MakingChanges on Feb 6, 2015 22:31:45 GMT -5
Ok - got two HUGE bags of recycle out between breaks in the rain! -MC
|
|
|
Post by Unswamping on Feb 6, 2015 23:04:05 GMT -5
A couple of weeks ago i took 8 shopping bags stuffed full of shopping bags back to the grocery store for recycling. Last week i took three more full bags. This week i think i may get three more full bags. What a collection! How many more do you think you have? I am sure that this will inspire other people to get rid of their collections too. There are different issues to be dealt with in connection with the Bag and Box problem. Some people just have trouble letting go of anything, including B & B. Some people worry about the effects of plastic on the environment if they throw their bags away. Some people keep the bags, or the prettiest ones at least, in case they may need something to take presents to a friend; they keep boxes in case they might need to return, for example, a faulty toaster. Some people use them for storage. Some people keep bringing more in. There are ways to deal with all of this. You can attack the enemy on many fronts. The environmental aspect is being dealt with in the UK. Some shops only give plastic bags if people ask, or they ask if they need any. Some shops have started charging. Many of the bags are now bio-degradable: they disintegrate after a while. Where possible, I shop in places where they give you brown paper bags. I also take cloth shopping bags or my bag on wheels. There are many places where cardboard can be recycled, and some charity shops accept plastic bags. There are many cheap and attractive options for storage: plastic bags and cardboard boxes look terrible and messy. Bags are not efficient as they can't be stacked. There is no harm in keeping a small hoard provided that they do eventually get used. Since this was posted on jan28, i have now filled six more bags. Im sure there is more. If the weather isnt too bad monday, i will drop them at the grocery store. Recycling goes out sunday night and im hoping to get a bunch of cardboard boxes out.
|
|