REUSING PLASTIC LINEN PACKAGES

If you're like us, you often buy something, maybe a curtain panel or a set of sheets or a table linen of some sort, and they come packaged in those zippered pouches.  After you take out your item, the package probably goes right into the trash.  But why throw out a perfectly good storage item?  

Package almost ready to be used

Case in point, here is a recent package we got.  We bought sheets for the farm (these courtesy of Overstock.com) and so we ended up with two of these nice, heavy plastic packages, complete with a zippered top.  

Empty Package

Simply remove the large cardboard that describes the item or, if there is a smaller one such as this, often in a pocket or pouch on the inside of the package, just turn it around and you can use the blank side for labeling as you desire.  Then, just put anything you'd like to store inside, zip the top closed and you're done.

Tablecloth storage

Here is a large one of ours that we use to keep various tablecloths in that we use for different occasions.  They stay folded up and safely stored away.

Curtain / Valence storage

Here are some smaller ones (I think they originally had small curtains in them), and now we are using them to store window valences that we switch out seasonally over our kitchen window.

Candle Storage

Here is yet another one that contains all the extra candles we use in the dining room candle chandelier.  We have a 2nd one that is full of tea light candles, and you know how hard those are to store away, always falling all over the place.

Keeping them all together in a basket

We often store them in baskets that we keep in cabinets around the house.  The best part of this is that you are using something that would otherwise be destined for a landfill, and because they are almost always zippered, you have safe, dust free storage of whatever you want to put in there.  Plus, being clear, you can immediately see what you have.  Pull them out a year later and they are as good as the day you put them in there.

Usually the bigger the item you buy, the bigger the package you'll get.  Quilts or bedspreads/comforters give you a nice size bag with lots of storage room, maybe for your own homemade quilt or something larger you want to keep stored away.  I use one large one to store all the others until I need them.  That sort of makes them like "nesting packages", LOL!  Then whenever I need one, I know where to look to find the size I need.

It's just a great way to always have the things you need in one place at a moment's notice, safe, clean and ready to be used.  It's frugal AND green!


Hope this helps!