A our house we try to re-use or upcycle whenever and whatever we can. So we save and re-use plastic bags. We wash them in dish soap and hot water, then air dry. The problem is where to dry them? In the past we have stuck them on bottles or upside-down in the dish rack but these methods didn't work well.

We needed a bag drying rack of some sort.

So years ago I was at a used office supply store and I found a couple old STANDARD STAMP CAROUSEL Rubber Stamp Holders. They are metal revolving racks made by the Standard company, which hold rubber stamps. I bought them because I thought they looked cool. I put them away and waited for inspiration.

Then recently it hit me-- I would use one to make the much needed drying rack for our plastic bags. I know this type of office equipment may be hard to come by but the construction of the rack could easily be modified to fit other objects as the base instead of the rubber stamp carousel. But if you really want the racks, I have seen them on eBay for $7-$20. Mine were cheap, however. I think I paid about $1 per rack.

Here is a photo of the finished rack.

Step 1: Supplies

Here is the original rack. It is metal and the arms hold the rubber stamps--the type with wooden handles. The top section with the arms revolve or spin, Lazy Susan style, for easy access to the stamps.

I also used:

8 wooden chop sticks
Yellow spray paint
plastic lid from recycle bin
hot glue gun
ice pick or awl
scissors
pen/marker
Sugru http://sugru.com/
disposable gloves

Step 2: Prep, Clean and Redesign Center Section

First, I cleaned the rack with rubbing alcohol to ready it for painting, gluing, etc.

Top Center Redesign: I wanted to make the holder less industrial looking so I traced the top-center section onto a plastic lid. Next, I cut out the traced design. In order for it to fit over the center rod (which screwed on/off) of the rack, I punched a hole in the middle of the cutout. I used an ice pick to punch the hole and slipped it down the center rod of the rack.

Next, I sealed all the edges of the cutout by using a hot glue gun. It would help repel water as well as improve the appearance of the rack.

Step 3: Add Sugru and Chopsticks

Put on disposable gloves.

Use scissors to open foil packet of Sugru (doesn't matter what color as it will be painted over).

Knead Sugru for several minutes to make pliable and softer. Roll into ball, smoothing out any cracks.

Pierce Sugru balls with the pointed end of wooden chopsticks. Squeeze Sugru slightly to mold to sticks.

Pull open arms of rack slightly. Insert ball of Sugru/chopstick into arm. Shut gently.

Let air dry for 24 hours.

Step 4: Spray Paint and You're Done

After Sugru dried, I spray painted the whole rack with 2 layers of yellow paint. The spray paint helped to disguise the sloppy hot glue job.

Overall, the project came out looking pretty nice and most importantly it works great.

To Use: After washing ziplock or other plastic bags, open wide and place upside-down on chopsticks to drip dry. The rack can hold up to 8 sandwich size bags or 1-3 larger bags at a time.