I am not a fan of plastic bags, and whenever possible I try to avoid them.  When I’m making my weekly grocery trip I bring along a collection of reusable shopping bags to hold my haul, but for my everyday out-and-about trips around town, I don’t always remember to grab them.  I would carry one in my purse, but the ones I have, though very nice for carrying a lot of stuff, just don’t fold down small enough to be practical.  Over at Zaaberry I stumbled across a great solution; this beautiful tote bag folds down to an easy-to-carry size that can go with you everywhere!  I’m thinking it would also make a great graduation gift for a girl-on-the-go, just waiting to be loaded up with library books!  [how to make a fold-up tote bag]

Project estimate:

• Fabric, on hand or $1 and up
• Hair elastic, on hand or $1
• Button, on hand

Total:  Free and up