Every Friday I walk to the library and every Friday I see multiple cans strewn along the sidewalk. It drives me a little bit crazy, especially when they are beer cans, because it really makes the neighborhood look not-so-nice.

I got in the habit of picking them up and storing them in a garbage bag in my garage to bring to the recycling center. At first, I would just grab them and carry them home, but as I got into the routine, I noticed more and more cans.

One trip home from the dentist left me with over 50 cans (glad I got one of those cute little bags with my toothbrush and floss that I could use to carry some). Finally, I decided to start carrying a reusable bag with me on these trips. Unfortunately, the inside of the bag would get pretty dirty and smell like beer. It was annoying to have to wash it every time. This led me to create a waterproof lining for the bag, which has made clean up much less of a hassle.

This technique works well for lining other bags such as beach bags or bags you’re carrying food in and makes it very easy to clean up spills and reduce odor.

I say “waterproof”, because this won’t do a whole lot if you submerge the bag in water, put will add a layer of protection to the bag to help keep things dry and prevent the bag from getting dirty.

Supplies:

  • Reusable bag
  • Scissors
  • Safety pins
  • Old disposable poncho/ thick plastic bag
1. Turn the bag inside out and lay flat.
2. Cut a chunk from the poncho/bag that is twice as long as one side of the bag and a little wider. If you are using a plastic bag that is the same size as your reusable bag, you can skip the whole cutting step and move straight to the safety pinning.
3. Lay the poncho chunk over one side of the reusable bag. It’s okay if the top is not perfectly straight. Life is too short for perfection.
4. Fold an inch of two or the poncho inward toward the reusable bag.
5. Pin along the top, connecting the poncho to the reusable bag. I chose to use pins so that I could remove the lining if desired. You can also sew the lining in or glue it if you choose.
6. Once the poncho is secure at the top on one side, flip everything over.
7. Starting on one side, fold over some of the excess poncho (being sure to leave some excess on the opposite side as well).
8. Pin into place.
9. Repeat on the other side.
10. Fold the bottom part of the poncho up to cover the second side.
11. Trim if needed.
12. Fold the top section inward toward the reusable bag.
13. Secure with pins (or sew or glue, whatever strikes your fancy).
13. You will also want to pin the sides now that the second layer is in place. Alternatively, you can also use hot glue to attach the two layers together to add an extra seal to make the lining more effective.
To consolidate pins and make it look a little smoother, I removed the original side pins and used them to secure both layers of poncho to the reusable bag. To do this…
15. Remove the pin.
16. Lay the top layer of poncho down and secure both layers of the poncho to the reusable bag. Make sure the pin gets all of the layers.
17. Repeat with the other pins on this side.
18. Then repeat on the other side.
19. Once the lining is in place, turn the bag right side out and you are ready for action.
To clean, simply turn inside out and wipe with a cloth.