My name is Lori and reside in London, Ontario, Canada. I am a mother, grandmother of two beautiful little girls and an avid crafter the majority of it being crocheting and sewing. In January of this year, I was trying to prepare myself for the 'January Blues' compiled with the 'Pandemic Blues' which I was already experiencing. I had not been able to see my grandchildren for Christmas and that was really tough enough.
One day, out of desperate boredom, I was cleaning out a hall closet one day and came across a collection of used plastic grocery bags. I wondered if I could repurpose them somehow. So, Google it was! I found out that they could be cut and used to crochet sleeping mats for people experiencing homelessness. I had found my new craft.
So I created a Facebook group called 'London Ontario-Reduce, Reuse & Recycle'. I kind of thought that oh maybe twenty people would join and give me their outer milk bags and plastic grocery bags and I would just crochet them into mats. Well, here I am, five months later, with over eight hundred amazing members, thirty-three tireless volunteers, over fourty thousand plastic bags collected, kept out of landfills and repurposed to give comfort to many.
It takes anywhere from five hundred to seven hundred bags to make just one sleeping mat. The mats are lightweight and easy to clean and are made with a tie, so it can be rolled up and also with a carry strap for convenience. These plastic mats provide a layer of warmth for people sleeping on the ground and offer an excellent protective barrier against insects and city dirt and grime.
We have also crocheted pillows as well with a loop on one corner so it can easily slide on the tie of the sleeping mat. The pillows are stuffed with the tops and bottoms that are cut off of the bags.
My hardworking volunteers are absolute heroes of so many tasks. From collecting the donations of plastic bags by placing a tote on their porch for contactless drop off, to sorting the bags (by color as we crocheters are a little creative with our designs), to cutting the bags into strips and making plarn (plastic yarn),
My hardworking volunteers are absolute heroes of so many tasks. From collecting the donations of plastic bags by placing a tote on their porch for contactless drop off, to sorting the bags (by color as we crocheters are a little creative with our designs), to cutting the bags into strips and making plarn (plastic yarn), to picking up the donations of plastic bags and egg cartons(we collect them as well as other items) or dropping off bags and other necessities to some of the fellow volunteers.
I also have volunteers sewing mittens out of donated fleece and sweaters to be ready for the next winter.
In addition to plastic bags, the group also collects egg cartons (sixteen hundred collected to date) and flats, which go to local farmers to reuse, all brands of markers ( six hundred collected to date) including dry erase markers and highlighters which are shipped to Crayola to repurpose into a mixture of tar for roadways and other items and wax crayons which are melted down and reformed for underprivileged children and schools.
I am proud of my new found passion and shall continue until all plastic bags are depleted as many store have already stopped using them and redirected from the landfills and repurposed for the comfort of the less fortunate of our streets. Sadly, Covid has pushed more to our streets and LORRR (London Ontario-Reduce,Reuse & Recycle) on facebook will continue to send a little comfort out to them.
About the Creator
Lori A Ashe
I live in London,Ontario,Canada.I created a Facebook group called London Ontario-Reduce,Reuse & Recycle. I crochet sleeping mats for people experiencing homelessness out of plastic grocery & milk bags.It takes 500-700 bags to make one mat.
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When I was 17, I met a man who delivered newspapers in the rain. Not in a casual, half-hearted way—but fully committed, every single morning. He would leave his house before sunrise, his coat soaked, shoes falling apart, and the wind cutting through him like a knife. Yet, despite the cold and wet, he smiled at everyone on his route. To a teenager like me, it was both confusing and inspiring. I remember the first time I saw him struggle with a bundle of papers that seemed almost too heavy for him. He slipped on the wet pavement, muttered something under his breath, and kept walking. When he reached the next house, he knocked on the door, handed over the paper, and smiled as the door closed. That smile was strange to me—it wasn’t pride or satisfaction, it was… calm. Almost peaceful. Curious, I approached him one morning. “Why don’t you take a day off when it’s so hard?” I asked, shivering in my hoodie as the rain soaked me through. 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And yet, nobody cheered. Nobody noticed. Years passed. I went to college, chasing my own “big dreams,” my own versions of instant success. I started businesses, abandoned them; learned new skills, stopped halfway; made promises to myself I couldn’t keep. I told myself I was working toward greatness, but mostly, I was chasing the idea of success, not the work itself. Motivation was my fuel, and when it ran out, I stopped moving. Meanwhile, the memory of that man stayed with me. The quiet diligence, the smile in the pouring rain. I didn’t realize it at the time, but he had already taught me the most important lesson: consistency matters more than talent, and persistence matters more than inspiration. Years later, I found myself struggling. A career path crumbled beneath me, a relationship ended badly, and my confidence had hit rock bottom. I remembered the man with the newspapers. 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