Some bins work best with bin liners (like refrigerator bins… Google these if you have never never heard of them before. I hadn’t until very recently, but everything changed since then.). Some bins require bin liners (like trash bins. I guess they could probably go under the first category, but no one really just throws trash in cans anymore without a bag, and that’s because the result is nasty and disgusting).

Some bins don’t need bin liners at all. Consider Tupperware bins, or the Rubbermaid kind. Bins that don’t need the plastic reinforcement because they are secure enough and strong enough to protect whatever they are holding. In the case of my home, it’s going to be clothes that are too big for my kids (labelled Boy 5T winter, or Girl 24 mos. summer).

If it’s not stuff for them to grow into it’s what they’ve already grown out of: baby 0-12 mos., and baby gear- tub, wraps, bottles, etc. This is what my basement looks like. My basement also has a litter box, which I should really start buying liners for. And my basement also has a tote full of catfood, that I should also get some sort of liner for because even though it is in a plastic container something about it still attracts bugs and we have facilitated the start of some sort of small beetle colony somewhere in the vicinity. Not that I’m complaining.

I used to live in an apartment on the ground floor, a really crappy place, it was so drafty that we couldn’t even tape up those plastic sheets around the windows in the colder months because the wind coming through the cracks would blow it down. Insane, I tell you. Also, the grass grew to over one foot tall before it was cut, and it was not uncommon to almost step on a rabbit or a freaking snake on your way out to the car. The point is, though, that this crappy apartment had an ant problem, and the ants congregated to the cat food. Poor thing couldn’t even eat because her food was crawling…

The thing about bin liners is that they can be super helpful and handy, like in the case of the ones for the refrigerator, which work some kind of miracle in preserving fruits and vegetables. They can be considered a household staple slash necessity if you are like a normal household and believe in putting your garbage in a protected can. Whatever the case, there are a plethora to choose from, and they each have their own story and purpose. Just like everything else on this place, for goodness sake.

As a kid I always really loved that song Auld Lang Syne. It’s got a bit of a haunting-ness to it, and it always gave me the chills. Loosely translated, it means “for old times”. This doesn’t have much to do with custom shipping bags, but it’s the beginning of the new year and I wanted to put in a plug for 2016. And now: custom shipping bags, and how you can use them for everyday projects, purposes, problems, etc.

I was talking in Part 1 about how, if you are like me, you probably have a nice stash of custom shipping bags accumulated from the holiday season: grocery bags, both plastic and paper (we already talked about what to do with those), bubble bags from the Precious Moments figurines your grandmimi still sends you every stinking chance she gets, poly bags which were for making up little Christmas sacks that your kids could pass out in class, and some really snazzy eurototes that most of your presents came in because you are an adult and it is assumed that you no longer like to tear up wrapping paper. Before you throw all of that stuff away, let’s talk about different ways they can be used now that the holidays are over.

The bubble bags. I use those to wrap my ornaments in. You have probably put all of your ornaments away by now, and I don’t blame you for not wanting to drag out the boxes simply for the sake of repackaging. So if you don’t want to throw them through the attic hole so that they are waiting for you next year, use to protect precious objects in your china cabinets and what not. If not, the kids love these things.

All of those leftover poly bags, that make such cute little handouts, can safely be tucked away and used for birthday favors in the future. Or for passing out samples for your home business. And of course all of those eurototes can be put in an actual plastic tote for when you need to wrap something. If the eurotote is blatantly holiday-themed, you are just going to have to wait until next year to reuse them. Or, once again, there is something about the simplicity of such a thing that is charming to a child. My kids play with these things for hours. Whatever the case, don’t be frustrated by leftover custom shipping bags. They don’t have to be a one trick pony; get creative!