How to Fold Plastic Grocery Bags & Make a Box Dispenser

by Lisa Burningham

Published: March 18th, 2024

I learned how to fold plastic grocery bags because when it comes to managing bags, I prefer to reuse or recycle them whenever I can. Here's a simple way I fold and store them for later use.

Laying the plastic bag flat

First, I lay out a plastic bag flat and fold one side towards the middle.

Folding toward the middle

Then, I do the same with the other side, folding it towards the middle as well.

Folding the bag

Folding the bag in half

After that, I fold the bag in half neatly, ensuring that the handles at the top align perfectly to create a hole.

Rolling another plastic bag

Next, I grab another plastic bag and start rolling it up tightly from the bottom until I reach the handles.

Attaching the first bag to the second

Once I reach the handles, I take the bottom of another folded bag and slide it through the hole formed by the handles of the first bag.

Rolling the second bag

Then, I continue rolling up the second bag.

Repeating the process

I repeat this process, rolling up each bag and sliding the bottom of the next bag through the handles of the previous one, until I have a large roll of neatly folded bags.

Storing the plastic bags in a box

To store these rolled-up bags, I repurpose an empty Kleenex box.

Sliding the bags into the box

I open one side of the box and slide the roll of plastic bags into it.

Pulling the handles out of the box

How to fold plastic grocery bags

Then, I pull the handles of the bags through the opening at the top of the box.

Now, whenever I need a plastic bag, I can simply pull them out of the Kleenex box one by one, making it easy to reuse them whenever necessary.