How to Store Reusable Grocery Bags

Reusable grocery bags are an excellent way to save money and care for the environment. However, without proper storage, the bags can create a mess if you have multiple bags. They can also be a breeding ground for bacteria if the storage conditions are not favourable.

You can use your reusable grocery bag to its full potential if only you can store it properly. Luckily, storing these bags isn’t hard. You just need to have the right routine and storage practices, and you can keep saving money and the environment.

Collect All the Bags

Although reusable bags are handy, sometimes, you might forget your bag at home or can’t remember where you kept it, and you’re forced to purchase a new bag. You end up with multiple bags littered all over the house.

The first step is to gather all the reusable grocery bags in your home for an audit. Evaluate each of the bags and dispose of any that have seen better days or you don’t intend to use.

Why not also read: 10 Reasons Why You Should Recycle

Once you have determined the bags you want to keep, you can now start considering the various storage options available.

Clean the Bags

At first sight, reusable bags look harmless and innocent. But when stored in damp and dark places, they are a haven for bacteria and germs. Before you can think of using the bags again, you should consider cleaning them.

If you have any of our reusable cotton bags, washing the bag is very easy. You just have to sort them by colour and throw them inside the washing machine. Cleaning other reusable grocery bags depends on the design and the material used to make the bag.

Sort the bags

Once the bags are clean and dry, you can now start separating them. You can sort them by size or by use. We recommend using separate bags for raw meats and vegetables. You can label the bags to avoid confusion.

Fold the bags

You want your grocery bags to take up the least space possible and possibly stay out of sight. The only way to achieve this is by folding the bags, which is quite simple with most reusable bags.

Start by finding a clean and flat surface where you can lay the bags as you fold them. Lay the bags on the surface and fold the sides in. You can fold the bag over a couple of more times if you want it to be smaller. You can also roll the bags up and tie them using a rubber band. How you fold the bags depends on where and how you want to store them.

Storage space

There are multiple places around your home where you can store your reusable bags. If you don’t have any, you can start with an empty toy box, cardboard box, or fabric box. These will also work fine. You can also use an empty cabinet if you have one.

Alternatively, you can pick the largest bag of the bunch and place the other folded bags inside it. The trick is to neatly pack as many bags as possible to ensure they don’t unravel and fall over when you move the bag. You can arrange the bags according to colour, size, or use. Having an organised system makes it easy to pick access the bag without pulling all of them out to find the right bag.

If you’re tight on space and you have to pile the bags on top of each other, have the bags you use the least at the bottom and those that you use most at the top.

Alternatively, if you’re having a hard time managing all the different reusable bags, you can consider purchasing our multipurpose reusable cotton bags. The bags are made from responsibly sourced and ethically imported cotton. They are functional and easy to clean, and they dry fast. With our range of cotton bags, you don’t need to purchase multiple bags. You can find one bag that you can use to run most of your errands in our collection.

Why not also read: How is Cotton Made?

Final Thoughts

Your reusable grocery bags can be a blessing or be a pain, depending on how you store them. Keeping the bags clean in a dry and nwell-ventilated place is critical in preventing the growth of mould, bacteria and germs that can later transfer on to the things you put in the bag and find their way inside your body. Once you have a good storage system and process, you shouldn’t have any other concerns with your reusable grocery bags.