If you're anything like me, you probably have a ton of plastic bags laying around your apartment or dorm. Maybe you went to Walmart for poptarts because you don't want to get up early in the morning for breakfast when you have class at 11:00am. Or maybe you brought a ton of them with you to line your trash can and brought a lot more than you needed. Or maybe you just happen to have a ton of them hanging on your doorknob in one big plastic bag. Whatever the case may be, you have too many plastic bags laying around and you want to get rid of them. Don't throw them away! Instead you can learn to cut them up to make yarn out of them and turn them into sleeping mats for the homeless!

That's right you don't have to throw the bags away and waste the plastic that will just sit in the dump for the rest of time. Don't get me wrong you will have to throw away part of the bag still, but you will be able to use most of the bag.

Now this might sound crazy and you may be thinking "How in the world could I do that?" Well let me tell you it's super easy! All you need is a ton of plastic shopping bags and a crochet hook (the bigger the better!) If you don't know how to crochet you can learn quickly by watching this video tutorial here. While she is using yarn in this video the same idea applies with your plastic yarn that you will make soon.

Now for the interesting part, you get to make "plarn" or plastic yarn as it is commonly known. you will need a lot of plastic bags for this. For a tutorial on how to make plastic yarn click here.

Once you tie all of the bags together you're ready to start crocheting! There are multiple patterns that you can follow for this. Some people like wider mats than others but personally, I like to make them about 2.5 feet (0.762 meters) by 6 feet (1.83 meters).

Once you make a few of these, ask around your community to see if there are any homeless shelters, churches, or thrift stores that would be willing to give them out.

Not only are you helping to save the planet but you are helping your community to make sure that they can sleep comfortably at night!