At my house, the bags my newspapers arrive in tend to pile up.

I reuse them to clean up after dogs I'm dogsitting and during painting projects. They're the perfect size and shape to hold a paintbrush between coats. I put the bag and brush into the fridge so the paint doesn't dry out.

This is kind of gross, but I also use newspaper bags to contain fur from my cat when I'm grooming her with the Furminator.

I'm looking for other ways to use my bags, though, so I started asking around on Facebook and Twitter.

Our Editor and Publisher John Foreman suggests that if you talk to your newspaper carrier, he or she may be able to reuse your bags for their original purpose. He said he also saves rubber bands for carrier reuse. A commenter on Facebook said he collects his rubber bands in a newspaper bag.

Other ways people reuse their newspaper bags:

- Another Facebook commenter said she puts shampoo and body wash in the bags before packing them in her suitcase. That way if something leaks, it won't get all over the rest of the items in her bag. She also puts flip-flops in a bag before packing them, she said.

- Staff writer Pat Phillips said she uses the bags to organize similar colors of yarn.

- Several people said they recycle their bags, along with plastic grocery bags, at several grocery and discount stores around town. Many stores have these recycling bins near their entrances.

Re-Nest has more ideas, including:

- Hold your wet bathing suit when coming home from the beach.

- Contain trash inside the car.

- Bring with you to the wine store to carry home you favorite bottle of vino.

And commenters to that story in turn suggest using newspaper bags for:

- dirty diapers

- liners for tall, skinny trash cans

- taking home from the office compostable lunch refuse

What about you - have any genius reuses for the bags your newspaper arrives in?

Photo is from Re-Nest.

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