• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About Me
  • Legalese
  • Recipes

Munofore

a little spot of happy in a crazy world

  • Latest Posts
  • Crafts
  • Home/DIY
  • Gardening
  • Health and Happiness
  • Other Fun Stuff
    • Blogging and Social Media
    • Family Life
    • Humor
    • Photography
    • Random Thoughts

That Recipe is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program. This site contains affiliate links to various websites, including Amazon.com. Purchases through these links help support this blog at no additional cost to you. read more

20 Ideas to Reuse Brown Paper Shopping Bags

Reuse brown paper shopping bags into useful items around your home.

brown kraft paper shopping bag with text overlay "20 awesome ways to upcycle brown paper bag"

Since the start of the pandemic, my local produce delivery service has turned to large brown paper bags with handles for delivery instead of the reusable boxes they had been using for years.

Not one to let these beauties end up in the landfill, I decided to make a list of all of the wonderful ways you can use them in the yard, for crafts, or even as home decor.

In the yard

leaves being raked with a brown bag nearby

Compost

Shred the bags and added to the compost pile to create wonderful nutrients for your garden. You can even get another use out of it by using them to collect leaves, grass and other compostable materials before adding to the compost pile. more details

Weed Barrier

A compostable weed barrier? Sure! The bags will break down with the combination of heat a moisture, but they can be used to provide a temporary weed block allowing other plants get established before being over run by weeds. more details

Gifts and Shipping

gifts wrapped in brown paper with string

Gift Wrap

“Brown paper packages tied up with string…”

Gift Bags

Decorate the bag (or leave it plain) put in a large gift like clothes, blankets, board games, etc. Add some tissue paper and a bow and you are done!

You can even deconstruct larger bags to make smaller bags. more details

Envelopes

Envelopes are pretty easy to cut and fold and the brown kraft paper will make your card stand out. more details.

Gift Tags

Stop buying gift tags and make your own. You can use these printable templates or search for an SVG file to use your die cutting machine.

Packaging Material

Do what the online guys do and use them as padding for shipping. Okay they use rolls of thin kraft paper, but the idea is the same: just wad them up and add to your box.

Get Crafty

brown paper crafts arranged on a table

Book Covers

Do kids still have to make these? I use to make mine from grocery bags then add photos of friends, comic strips inserts from cassette tapes, etc. Then I covered them with clear contact paper to last the entire school year. I still have a few – thanks, Mom!

Book/Journal

Instead of covering the book, make an entire book or journal with the paper for you or the kids. more details.

Baskets

Cut the bag into strips and weave them into baskets. more details.

Origami and Other Paper Crafts

Cut open the bags and use the paper to make fun paper projects like paper flowers and an origami snack holders and holiday ornaments.

Cut the bags into 12 x 12 or 8.5 x 11 sizes and use them with your favorite die cutting machine to make all kinds of things.

Craft Table Cover

You may not be a messy crafter but I am! Cut open the bags and cover your workspace to protect the table from paints, glue, glitter, etc.

Make Paper

Use up the scraps from other projects to make your own paper. more details

Home Decor

wall paper peeling off of wall

Place Mats or Table Runner

Cut the bag open, then cut into rectangles and decorate for rustic place mats. Or use them in the center of the table like this.

Planters

This is a spin on the woven basket above, except it is made around a plastic container that can hold a plant. more details

Paper Fans and Palm Fronds

If you have a tropical theme in a room you can fold them into giant palm fronds and fans to decorate the walls. more details

Cover Floors

Rip the paper bags into strips, glue them on a cement or plywood floor, then add polyurethane on top. WOW! more details

A Christmas Tree

Have you seen the project of turning lunch bags into a mini fall tree? This couple expanded upon the idea to make a full size Christmas tree.

And finally…

Donate them

I know some elementary school teachers that would love to have a bunch of bags for book covers, crafts, desk covers during crafts, etc.

Contact your local pet shelter to see if they can use them to shred for bedding.

Recycle them

If you can’t think of anything else, at least make sure they go into the recycle bin instead of the trash.

Related

Filed Under: Crafts and Sewing, Creative Tagged With: crafts, frugal living, kids crafts, recycled craft

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to Munofore

I'm Audrey, the CEO of Creativity and Sarcasm. When I’m not creating or blogging, I'm just your typical video game lovin' chocoholic mom livin' the life in the California burbs... without the minivan and over priced coffee. Read More…

Follow the fun

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Get the Latest Updates

Subscribe to our newsletter to get a little bit of happy in your inbox.

Legalese

Categories

Footer

Follow the Fun

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 · Lifestyle Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in