Plastic Bag Organizer

Do you have an abundance of plastic grocery bags in your house? We like to keep a bunch around because they come in handy when walking the dog, but they have a tendancy to get out of control. I got tire of seeing them around the garage and under the kitchen sink, so I made this tubular bag storage device. The trick is that when the storage device is full, we probably have more than enough bags, so any excess can be recycled or disposed of.

For more projects (more interesting ones), check out my project page at:

http://www.gt1.homeip.net/homeimp.htm

Step 1: Get Materials

For this project I used a 24" piece of 3" ABS Pipe and an End Cap, as well as a few scraps of wood to simplify mounting. You'll need some ABS cement to glue the end cap on.

For good looks use some left over spray paint from some other project.

Step 2: Glue & Paint

Glue the end cap onto the pipe.

Paint your pipe and wood mounting blocks. I decided to paint before drilling the hole just so there wouldn't be some weird overspray inside the hole.

Step 3: Drilling

Use a hole saw to put a good sized hole in the 3" pipe near the end with the cap. This is where you will pull out the bags.

Drill some holes in the wood blocks for fastening it to the wall.

Step 4: Mount the Wood Blocks

Mount your wood blocks to the wall using some suitable mounting technique for your particular wall. In my case I screwed one side into a stud, and put in drywall anchors for the other side.

Step 5: Attach Tube

Now just attach the tube to the wood blocks with the open end up.

I drilled and countersunk so the screw heads wouldn't catch any bags.

The bottom screw is accessed through the hole. The top screw was put in on a slight angle so the drilling and screwing could be done through the open end.

Next, stick bags in the top until the start coming out the bottom. This holds about 20-25 plastic grocery store type bags.

Comments

[guy90]

Finally,a tidy way to store bags; nice one!

[Jacob S.]

I did something like this for ping-pong balls (they kept getting lost)

(sorry, I don't remember HTML that well)
http://static.flickr.com/63/171714599_2da64dfae3_m.jpg

[marissamight]

that is pretty neat!

[blksheep]

I like the idea of using it to dispense boxers. Would also work for balled socks. I could do a whole closet of clothes this way.

PS: I reminds me of this Mr. Show clip.

[Einarjon]

A lot nicer than the $2 Ikea bag dispenser, but hardly worth the effort...
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80010222

[taki_183]

this could also be a great boxers organizer

[zachninme]

We have a cotton one that is about a meter long and it is bulging. For all you people who want to do this, save only 2 out of every 5 bags. As for the beverage can thing, the first few cans would have quite the drop. Then again, you could make "dummies" or get really strong NdBrFe magnets to lower them down. (One on the bottom, of course since Al ain't magnetic)

[gt_man002]

Thanks for the comments... You could definitely drill first and paint later, but like I mentioned, I wanted to avoid overspray inside the tube because I figured it would look tidier. I guess I could have stuffed an old rag in the tube instead... whatever. As far as other uses go - A slight modification might make it a neat beverage can holder. I also thought I need another one for garage rags...

[Neodudeman]

What else could you put in there?

[lennyb]

kudos for cleaning up after your dog. nice instructable . i made one like it many years ago . it keeps everything neat and tidy..err well at least tidier

[N6OZG]

Very industrial! We've got the cloth bag version under the kitchen sink and when it's full it bulges out quite a lot. I like the idea of this one for the garage. Good Job.

[mrdspecs]

I had a nice cloth bag for exactly this purpose. Hole at the top, smaller hole at the bottom.

[TheOneGreatX]

wouldn't it be better to drill before painting?