Recycled Grocery Bag...Quick To Make

I don't know about many of you, but when it comes to running into our local produce market or short trips to pick up a few things, I am very good about using my grocery bags that are recycled.

My problem has been because I use the first on a larger grocery trip that I have been going through many of these flimsy bags rather quickly, so I am spending more money to recycle bags than I care to.

We recycle the old plastic ones by dropping them off at Staples or WalMart and many are used for the kitty litter waste.

The other day as I was going through all my husbands old jeans he has donated for a quilt and paring them down a bit into a more manageable pile, I came up with the idea to make this grocery bag!

All I did was whack the legs off, turn the pants inside out, trim up the legs a bit, sew them back together and the straps are actually the old seams from the legs.
Here is another angle so you can see it a bit better. The waist is left open and I kept the pockets all open.

I was going to sew them closed and then thought, they would be perfect for those smaller items like gum, candy, my cell phone & wallet on short trips when I don't want to carry an additional purse.

With so many plastic bags clogging up our landfills, I thought this would be a great way to not add to that problem.

The jeans are strong, will hold heavier items and they won't rip and tear in the corners.

My hubby wasn't so much surprised that I created this bag, as he was that it took me less than 15 minutes to put it all together. He was amazed at how quickly I could create something functional and even more surprised at how fast my new Singer can sew!

There are other ways you can make these, using denim squares, denim skirts and even tee shirts. The thing is to make something that will last longer than the store purchased bags that rip in the corners and bottoms all the time!