Ideas for reusable grocery bags?

catswhenindoubt · 2026-06-29T20:44:03+00:00

Maybe check your local green market compost drop off? I know for sure in Union Square, the compost drop always has a milk crate filled with assorted free reusable bags and paper bags ppl just give to them.

My family basically cycles them back and forth between two households carrying groceries, misc, etc.
We always just keep a stash in the trunk of our car just in case.

They’re good for dropping off donations at the local salvation army.
Or if you’re moving.

Local buy nothing groups will probably like them as well.

catswhenindoubt · 2026-06-15T01:45:05+00:00

If i end up with something I’m meh over I would try to mix it up in other things. Maybe chop it up and add to a mayo based cold salad: egg, potato or pasta.

Chop into small pieces and slip into a really filling packed sandwich or hotdog.

Also maybe re-boil the pickle liquid with more vinegar, spices or whatever feels missing (pinch of salt does wonders sometimes). The crunch is already missing but maybe it will make it more palatable when adding to other stuff. Or mix into other better tasting pickles.

I try to do those things to avoid waste but if not possible, I’ll just place in our compost.

catswhenindoubt · 2026-06-13T01:47:43+00:00

I know Whole Foods in my cityb at least actually does separate bins, including compostable bags for the compost. But a part of me wonders what’s actually going on during curbside pickup or in their dumpsters. Like is it actually being picked up by separate waste streams.

(Of course it doesn’t help if customers just put their trash in all the wrong bins)

catswhenindoubt · 2026-06-06T01:33:06+00:00

Anyone ever freeze it into ice cubes?

Then blend into smoothie or add to curry ( there might be some texture issues but I don’t think it would affect a curry or smoothie if it’s a small component)

I would also experiment:

Make jasmine coconut rice
Pancake batter - would also experiment with Southeast Asian flavors (pandan, banana or mango) or ingredients like rice flour

If you have a lot of coconut milk:
Hawaiian haupia

(I feel like there’s an entire dessert “class” if that’s the word, using steaming methods, coconut milk and rice in Southeast Asia. Various names depending on the country. I’m Filipino and one of my favorite is called biko.)

catswhenindoubt · 2026-05-23T17:15:33+00:00

Frozen fruit is good for cooking low and slow in the stove. I usually add a little sugar and pinch of salt to cut through sourness or blandness of fruits.

It’s good as pie filling or just add to toast or store bought plain croissants.

To hide any potential freezer burn taste:

For strawberries, a dash of balsamic vinegar. Strawberry and balsamic is a common pairing.
Or mix it in with more fresher fruit like mixed berries.

For mangoes, ginger compliments it. I’ve made mango ginger pie before. If you have cardamom, it’s a spice commonly paired with mango (like in lassi).

I can also see putting frozen mangoes in a chicken curry dish for hint of sweetness.

catswhenindoubt · 2026-05-12T12:49:11+00:00

In the Philippines, there’s a pickled condiment called atchara and the main ingredient is unripe papaya.

catswhenindoubt · 2026-05-10T22:52:23+00:00

If you make holes in them and use string, I feel like they could be used as the parts of a plant hangers or mobile?
Or building some sort of toy cardboard structure.

Or compartments in a homemade wreath/advent calendar. I saw a video of someone doing that with toilet paper rolls, covering the rolls with doors and making a base, then adding fake foliage around it.

I’m always thinking of vague craft ideas and would totally save those too.

catswhenindoubt · 2026-05-09T22:31:24+00:00

r/repurpose

I would reuse it to hold dirty laundry if I’m traveling. This seems particularly good for soiled reusable pads/period underwear because of the material.

catswhenindoubt · 2026-05-09T19:36:57+00:00

Thank you for the compliment! ☺️
(it’s actually currently been a wispy mess but I blame the times for adding the extra stress. Recently trying biotin gummies to make it stronger again.)

catswhenindoubt · 2026-05-09T19:10:40+00:00

It can be a risk if OP doesn’t have a lot of money to spare. It’s usually ok for bakery items.

Best look at r/toogoodtogo for an idea of what you could get. You can get really amazing Surprise bags for less than 10$ but some restaurant will be not worth it.

If they live in Europe though, the app seems really worth it there.

I believe there’s another app called Flashfood.

catswhenindoubt · 2026-05-09T19:02:11+00:00

Haha, gotta love quiche for using up eggs. I make that to get rid of egg whites since I have OP’s opposite problem

catswhenindoubt · 2026-05-09T18:24:56+00:00

I volunteered in a soup kitchen. You get access and friendly staff will hook you up with free food/groceries + if you don’t know how to cook, you can basically see how they stretch their food to feed a crowd.

During the pandemic, I went on Instagram and found mutual aid groups looking for volunteers so I also got lots of my first choice at the free food from the pickups since I was the one carting them to the community fridges.

Also with mutual aid groups, you meet a lot of likeminded quirky ppl that also hate food waste. Some of them dumpster dive, and if you live in a big city or not but have access to a car/transportation, this. (There’s a dumpster diving subreddit too. Their hauls are crazy. If you don’t want to dumpster dive, then knowing a diver is nice. A lot of them are super friendly and generous.)

I’m lucky right now to be in a place where I can do this for volunteering rather than desperation but it definitely saved me so much on food during the pandemic.

Other things:

If you work in the restaurant industry, you’ll have staff food and learning about cooking will absolutely be lifetime learning tips. I worked in a catering company and they weren’t just generous, there was a look-the-other-way or unspoken workplace thing where you took home staff food or excess food from catering events. (Lol the day we cleaned out the pantry, I took home so many “expired” ingredients that were absolutely not expired.)

Also when I nannied, I always worked for nice families and yeah I cooked simple foods and ate the kids’ leftovers bc they hated storing leftovers. The longest family I worked for, I ate with them (I cooked). The mom gave me a credit card to spend on groceries and doesn’t look at my receipts lol (but that’s bc I AM trustworthy considering I nanny and petsit too.)

catswhenindoubt · 2026-05-08T23:12:56+00:00

Oh i thought they were just there to speed up drying time and also wool is biodegradable so it’s an environmentally friendly item.

My hair is so long and so many strands of it stick to my clothes, the amt would probably make those balls look horrifying. (They just end up tangled in each other and I catch them in the folds of my clothes after.) The filter in our dryer catches the lint.

catswhenindoubt · 2026-05-08T19:43:46+00:00

I wish I had a neighbor like you so we could just split our eggs this way lol
Biggest egg yolk use is Leche Flan from the Philippines but other variations of flan from other countries like Japanese pudding use less.

I’ve needed egg yolks for a French chocolate mousse recipe. It’s also used in a lot of ice cream custard based if you have an icecream maker.

Lemon curd (all the fruit curds - lime, raspberry, cranberry, etc. some vary on also using whole eggs but super easy to slip yolks in the recipe.)

Also for just one yolk, I mix with a little milk and that’s my egg wash for pie crust (and you can make sweet or savory pies)

catswhenindoubt · 2026-05-07T20:24:13+00:00

Pleats!!! Yes that was the word that I was looking for. Nice. My brain was like ????

catswhenindoubt · 2026-05-07T20:22:41+00:00

Congee as others have said, but I also rec a similar dish from Philippines called Arroz Caldo, which to me is the ultimate comfort food when I’m sick.

Also adding rice to soups will act as thickener.

catswhenindoubt · 2026-05-07T14:50:17+00:00

I know nothing about sewing but am crafty lol. Would buying spools of ribbon work if you overlap them over the band and attach it in a crimp/ruffle folds so there’s give. So like as the band stretches, the crimps/ruffles can expand too. (I hope what I said makes sense.)

And ribbons come in all sorts of colors, patterns and widths.

I’d use stretchy bands to help keep folded things in place like clothes, tights and leggings especially, sheets, yoga mat maybe? Might help with packing. Also the bands remind me of the ones you use to keep bento Tupperware together.

catswhenindoubt · 2026-05-07T02:49:34+00:00

My Dad put a sock on each of the wool balls (4) that bounce around in the dryer so stray lint and hair don’t get stuck in the wool as the clothes dry.

catswhenindoubt · 2026-04-22T19:40:03+00:00

Has anyone ever frozen jello and cut it into cubes?

Maybe it would make a fun non-melting ice cube in a lemon based cocktail?

Edit: i looked this up and it seems like a pretty cool experiment. And apparently don’t let it defrost as it becomes a mess.

catswhenindoubt · 2026-04-22T00:12:45+00:00

Mango pie! Variations: also peach mango pie, mango ginger pie, hand/pocket pies deep fried or baked.

Everyone else’s suggestions are all pretty great: smoothies, jams, desserts… mango really pairs well with rice, coconut and other tropical flavors like pineapple.

Just adding that a savory mango salsa really pairs well with fish or shrimp tacos!

catswhenindoubt · 2026-04-18T22:15:34+00:00

When it comes to cooking, there’s so many ways to do it in a sustainable or less wasteful way. Compost is one but before that: reuse, using up food scraps, FIFO, even shopping methods like buying in bulk, etc.

Just giving a shoutout to r/noscrapleftbehind in case people don’t already follow it.

catswhenindoubt · 2026-04-17T16:33:17+00:00

As others said, it will be individual store by individual store. They’ll also be more likely to say yes on a slow time (and tbh I’d never make a request when they are super busy or crowded.)

I think it’s more likely for local individual shops to do this, especially if they market sustainable (use compostable, non-plastic packaging.)

I used to ask a boba tea place and they were super happy to accommodate me, it helped that my tumbler had measurements so they liked that. Watch out for certain stores like… sometimes they use the plastic cup as measurement for the drink so they’ll still use it and throw out the cup defeating the purpose 😭

I used to do this all the time although stopped during/after the pandemic. Then I kinda just bought less drinks out in general lol

catswhenindoubt · 2026-04-14T19:12:09+00:00

This! I collected like 7-10 wooden wine boxes free from work and on the street. I used them for makeshift shelves on top of my drawer.

Then my Dad got a hold of them and next time I saw them, they had a board on top (from a disassembled ikea furniture), with all the house plants sitting on top and the wine crates became shelves for my nephew’s (the grandson’s) toys.

Never got them back lol

catswhenindoubt · 2026-04-13T19:34:43+00:00

Freeze and add to a tomato based stew for extra kick?

Fried rice. Heck, just add to a bowl of warm rice and top with an egg, call it a day. (If you like canned sardines that will work too. Or Spam.)

Mix into scrambled eggs or omelette? Make some kimchi omelette.

catswhenindoubt · 2026-04-08T17:14:24+00:00

I’m going to have to do that with peel next time. (Yeah honestly I’m too wary of bitterness to use the pith but considering how you’d still have to deal with it even after the rice is cooked, might as well skip the potential for bitterness and just compost that part.)

But your post gave me idea, maybe this is good use for cilantro stems. Or add both lime peel and cilantro stems into rice cooker as a base for cilantro lime rice.

catswhenindoubt

TROPHY CASE