It’s amazing what things you can learn during a lunch break. I had done some shopping for supplies at a hardware store earlier in the day and after emptying the contents upon my return I had left the plastic shopping bags on my desk. As I ate my lunch I began to ponder the possible uses of those plastic bags. Of the many possibilities I focused on the linear structure of the bag and so I grabbed the ends in each hand and pulled it taut.

Polyethylene plastic is pretty tough material but of course has it’s limits based on the thickness/thinness of the material. I have used plastic bags in the past to bind items but was limited by it’s length. It occurred to me that with a little modification I could “daisy-chain” cordage to any length needed using multiple bags.

I decided to cut each bag down the mid-line, top-to-bottom, and then poke a hole inside the pleated fold at the bottom. Now I could poke the handle loop from the first half through the bottom hole of the second half, then push the bottom of the first half through it’s own emerging handle loop, thus creating a daisy-chain link that could be repeated with each ensuing bag half. If necessary it could be twisted like conventional cordage while combining multiple daisy-chained strands for added strength.

This may not be the strongest cord but definitely has it’s place for improvised cordage in a pinch for simple tie-downs and binding.