The Last Thing To Do Before Throwing Away Those Red Mesh Produce Bags

If you've ever purchased a large bunch of oranges or tangerines from the grocery store, then you know that they tend to come in red mesh produce bags. Besides those red mesh bags making the oranges look more vibrant and enticing to shoppers, they're also pretty handy for transporting your fruits and veggies from the shop to your home. Once home, they can also be used for hanging up your fruits and veggies, freeing up critical counter space real estate in small kitchens. 

And if you buy large quantities of oranges, tangerines, lemons, avocados, onions, or potatoes on a regular basis, you may have ended up with quite a collection of mesh bags of assorted colors, assuming you haven't thrown them out already. If tossing out those mesh bags once you've gone through all the contents is your go-to, stop right now, as there's a super easy way to give them a second life in the kitchen as a scrubber for your pots and pans. You can actually buy mesh pot scrubbers or scourers, but why purchase yet another item to clutter your kitchen when you can make one from something you already have? Here's how.

To turn the mesh produce bags into a scrubber, simply ball them up and tie a rubber band around them to secure them. Add some dish soap to your up-cycled scrubber and use it to scrub away those hard-to-remove built-up residues on your pots and pans while also saving yourself a bit of elbow grease. You can also wrap the mesh produce bags around a sponge for a combo scrubber sponge. Or use a hanging mesh produce bag to hold wet sponges while they dry out, with the holes providing good airflow and ventilation.

Another easy use for the mesh bags is to reuse them as a produce bag the next time you are at the grocery store or farmers market. Just stick to fruits and produce that are big enough so that they don't fall through the holes in the mesh. Some people have even been known to boil potatoes while in the mesh bag, but per Taste of Home, you want to be extra careful with that and only do so if your mesh produce bags are made of nylon, as opposed to plastic, which can leach into your food.