Spring is in the air and that means it’s gardening time! My husband and I recently moved into a new home and I have lots of outdoor space to get creative this year. First I’m starting out small, so I decided to get soil in bags from the garden center this year.
While living in a larger city I do have access to getting soil in bulk or by the truck load. Since I’m starting out small I opted not to go that route. However I do recognize that would have been the more eco friendly route to go. But I’m also aware from growing up in a small town that not all places have access to bulk soil not in plastic bags, and that’s ok. Sustainability shouldn’t be limited to where you live. So if you’re like me and just needed a few bags of soil or you don’t have access to bulk soil; here’s what you can do to reuse those soil bags!
First start out by opening up the bags and throughly clean them out. I used a hose to get the majority of the dirt off. Then I sprayed it down with my diy disinfectant. Which is just half water, half rubbing alcohol with some drops of lemon essential oil.
Only 3 out of the 10 tutorials involve sewing, but if you don’t sew you could consider just using a heavy duty tape. The rest of the tutorials only involve cutting with scissors. This post is somewhat lengthy because I have added all 10 tutorials in details. Be sure to just scroll down if you’re only looking at a certain tutorial. Each one is bolded by number.
1 Tote bag. Yes you can actually sew plastic bags in the sewing machine. I did a simple tote which I’ll show you how to make below.
Now flip your bag from inside to out and look you just made a tote! Its even double sided! I wouldn’t use this tote to store heavy duty items, since it’s made from plastic – it will most likely rip. But use smaller items if you want the tote to last. I foresee myself using it at the pool. A bonus that it can get wet and dry very easily, since its made from plastic.
Start by deciding where you want the placement of your pockets. I decided on three pockets and sewed them right on the main 12×12 square. Just make sure to only sew 3 sides to the pocket, you want to leave the top open so you can place things in the pockets.
Now sew those rectangles on the sides of the apron. Making sure to sew all around the end of the rectangle. This is the main area that will be tugging on, so you want it to be secure.
3 Trash bag. This is definitely the easiest tutorial on this list. You don’t even really need to clean the bag. Just put it in your trash can to serve as a garbage bag and throw away when full. At least you saved some money on one trash bag!
4 Plant cover for wind. I have some luffas I’ve been growing and we had some heavy winds when I first planted them. To make sure they were protected all I did was cut the garden soil bag open on one side and the bottom, so it was fully opened. Then I simply just placed the bag around my plant obelisk and attached it with some clothes pin. It’s opened on the top, but that’s ok because I’m just trying to stop wind coming in from the sides.
6 Tarp when you want to keep things dry outside – like my cushions on my patio furniture. Just like you did for the plant cover for windy conditions; cut open the garden soil bag on one side and the bottom. Place it over whatever you want to keep dry. To keep it from flying around be sure to clip it down or tuck it under something heavy.
9 Book cover. This was a fun one and nostalgic one. Remember when you were required to cover up your books in middle school with brown paper in order to protect the textbooks? (If you don’t, then I may just be dating myself here.) But it’s the same idea, just with a garden soil bag!
Now remember those two extra inches with the folds we did the beginning? This is what keeps your cover in place. Open your cover to gently slide the book into the fold, keep sliding it in until you can fully close the book.
10 Bookmark. Cut out to any size desired. Mine was 2x6inches and I made sure to cut it out where it said ‘potting mix’ because I’m sticking to this theme here! Pairs well with the above book cover.
More From This Category
Lampshade Upcycles
Sustainably Amber shares creative ways to repurpose lampshade frames, found in thrift stores and flea markets, to prevent them from ending up in landfills. Projects include transforming frames into food covers, plant holders, jewelry stands, and more. Each idea aims to bring practical and decorative uses to these otherwise discarded items.
Lampshade Upcycles
Sustainably Amber shares creative ways to repurpose lampshade frames, found in thrift stores and flea markets, to prevent them from ending up in landfills. Projects include transforming frames into food covers, plant holders, jewelry stands, and more. Each idea aims to bring practical and decorative uses to these otherwise discarded items.
Lampshade Upcycles
Sustainably Amber shares creative ways to repurpose lampshade frames, found in thrift stores and flea markets, to prevent them from ending up in landfills. Projects include transforming frames into food covers, plant holders, jewelry stands, and more. Each idea aims to bring practical and decorative uses to these otherwise discarded items.
These ideas are so cute! I use reusable grocery bags all the time and think I might make some out of all those potting soil bags I bought. I also have a large supply of feed bags (deer corn and cow cubes). I might use some of those as well. If you want some, I’m happy to give you some.
And Amber looks so cute as the model!
Thanks Jeannie! I LOVE that you use your reusable bags (way to go!). So happy to hear you might make some bags from your garden soil bags. I would love some of those feed bags if you have any extra left over 🙂 Thank you!