Tidy Tip Tuesday - Several Uses for Those Rainy Day Newspaper Bags

When it rains, our newspaper is delivered in a long plastic bag. Rather than throw these away, here are several uses. One is from my sister, Kathy (hers is the really clever idea) and one is from me:

Kathy suggested this:
When it is raining, tie one of the plastic bags (that the newspaper comes in when it rains) onto your umbrella at the top. Here is a photo of what that looks like:

If the bag is wet, simply turn it inside-out so it will not drip on you. When you need to go out into the rain, open up your umbrella and use it as usual. After you get to your destination and are inside, take the bag off of the umbrella and put your drippy umbrella inside it. No more drips on the floor of the home or establishment you visit. Here is a photo of the bagged umbrella:

Though my umbrella is short, the bag is large enough to work for a longer umbrella as well. The really cool thing about this is that you'll have the bag exactly when you need it, early in the morning on a rainy day when the newspaper arrives. If you are planning to go out later, take the newspaper out of the bag, turn the bag inside out and tie it to your umbrella. Then sit down with a good breakfast and look at the newspaper!

My tip is not nearly as glorious as Kathy's, but perhaps it is worthy of a place on Tidy Tip Tuesday:

Use the same kind of bag to enclose disposable dirty diapers. I do this when Riley is here. Place the diaper (closed up with its own Velcro tabs) inside and on the bottom of the bag. Turn the bag as if you were going to close it with a twist-tie, but instead, draw the bag over itself - over the enclosed diaper so that it now has a double layer of bag over it. Repeat this once more and close with a twist tie or rubber band over the entire bag. I like this method because it is like putting the diaper in three separate bags. Therefore, it keeps the odor at bay. (Sorry, no photos for this tip.)