When my young friend started pretending his Star Wars toys were parachuting in the other room, I instantly remembered those cheapo plastic parachute toys I used to get from the gum ball machine as a child. They were so much fun! So I dug through the cabinets and constructed this quickie craft…

The steps are outlined below. Click to see a larger, more detailed image:

While we’re finally starting to notice a shift away from plastic bags and bottles, they do still end up in our lives. The important thing, is what we do with them next… don’t toss them, reuse them!!

This is a simple project, inspired by an old Girl Scout camping trick, and it’s a great way to keep all those annoying plastic bags tucked neatly away.

Using an empty plastic bottle, cut off the top. We used a sharp kitchen knife to slice ours. Next, you need to trim the sharp, newly exposed plastic edge with some masking tape (so you don’t hurt yourself putting the bags in and out). And that’s it!

If you’re doing this with kids, have them stuff the dispenser with your plastic bags. We fit about 20 bags into each bottle. WOW! Under the sink looks so neat.