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Time to Make the Donuts

 





Drumroll, please.

There were six whole entrants to my contest and they were all wonderful. Creative reuse for the win: everyone gets a prize! 





Many thanks to the following readers who were willing to be creative in the face of such a frivolous challenge. Here they are, in no particular order, with their great ideas:

Donna Swope

Turn turn it into a car bag for cold-weather things that we often forget, like chapstick, hand lotion, Kleenex, and crack-and-shake hand warmers, to be kept handy "just in case."

Debra Flanigan 

I think the best thing to do with this bag is to reuse it the next time a friend is having a bad day. Go buy them a donut or 2 and put them in the bag and give it to them with a note enclosed to pay it forward to a friend of theirs in need of cheer. It can be the traveling donut bag of cheer.

Linda Lamppert 

We all know how much kiddos love sprinkles. I think the best thing to do with this amazing bag is to donate it and a very large supply of sprinkles (like gallons) to the elementary or preschool of your choice. Establish a prize (monthly, weekly, daily..?) where a child is rewarded for doing something amazing with sprinkles on the food of their choice. Knowing you, the reward would be for something like kindness.

Sprinkling kindness everywhere! #SprinkleGoals

Deeba Jafri 

To carry markers around...

Bonnie Bricker

Maybe an efficient snowball-making operation where the bag scoops up snow to be made into snowballs and snow forts.

This last one legitimately tugged at my heartstrings:

Lisa Markovitz  

Put it over my head and breathe in the sugary notes, blocking out reality, until I can figure out the best way to do something productive in this insane world right now.


Ms. Jafri’s entry presents me with a bit of a math problem. Just how many* doughnut-sized reusable tote bags would I need to carry these markers around? 


Yes. These are my markers. All of them.


Lest you think that I’m the only oddball person lying awake worrying about doughnut-sized reusable tote bags, may I present:


Look, I'm all about a free donut. But wtf am I supposed to do with this thing?  r/Anticonsumption

Yes, in a Reddit group dedicated to anticonsumption, this topic garnered 822 upvotes and 190 comments. And it’s a fun read! 

Here are a few gems:

  • This concept is obviously so dumb and useless but the imagery of a single donut in a custom fitted donut tote is absolutely killing me right now.

  • Honestly? See if any local childcare centers would like it for a dramatic play area. Kids could use them to play grocery store or post office, just off the top of my head.

  • Yes. As a preschool teacher, the kids love putting tiny things in tiny bags and we go through materials so quickly, donations are always welcome.

  • I'm also a preschool teacher, which is why I immediately thought of this. My kids loved playing mail carriers this summer with tote bags lol.

  • My mind went straight to donuts as if they're ID cards. "Excuse me. This is a checkpoint. I'm going to need to see some donuts." "Here they are, officer. Safely in my donut bag." "Move along."

  • I love the idea of carrying around a clearly labeled tote for doughnuts and pulling an apple out of it. maybe even a celery stick. you gotta keep healthy snacks in your doughnut tote.

  • Hook the handles to my ears and let me use it like a Homer Simpson-esque feedbag.


Truth in advertising: I did this search after I wrote the original post because I wanted to see if anyone out there besides me was concerned about these bags. I was not alone in my niche preoccupation, it seems.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to draw up a plan to dig my car out. I have some doughnut deliveries in my future.



*This is not a real question. Please do not attempt to do the math. No prizes will be awarded.





Comments

  1. Julia A. McCreadyJanuary 28, 2026 at 4:37 AM

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