5 Things To Do with Sandwich Bags

The self-sealing plastic bag became a part of our lives in 1969, when Dow Chemical introduced the Ziploc bag.

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A wide variety of sealable bags has been developed since then, but don’t limit their use to plain old food. Click through to find out some unusual ways to put your baggies to work.

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Protect Your Padlocks

Protect Your Padlocks

When the weather is cold enough to freeze your padlocks on the outdoor shed or garage, remember that a sandwich bag can help. Slip one over the lock and you’ll avoid frozen tumblers.

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Freeze a Washcloth for a Cold Pack

Freeze a Washcloth for a Cold Pack

It’s hard to predict when someone in your household will next suffer a burn, teething pain, or another bump or scrape. Be ready. Freeze a wet washcloth in a sandwich or freezer bag. Pull it out of the freezer the next time someone needs some cold care.

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 Mold Soap Scraps Into a New Bar

Mold Soap Scraps Into a New Bar

The thrifty among us hate to throw out a sliver of soap. Yet they’re impossible to use when they get small. Instead, start collecting them all in a sealable plastic bag. When you have several, place the bag in a pan of warm, not boiling, water. Watch the soap pieces melt. When the mixture cools, you have a new bar of soap.

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Make a Fabric-Softener Dispenser

Make a Fabric-Softener Dispenser

Who can ever remember to add the fabric softener to the wash at the right time? You won’t have to again. Punch some pinholes in a sealable plastic bag and, holding it over the washer basin, fill it with fabric softener. Seal the bag and toss into the laundry. The softener dispenses slowly through the pinholes during the wash and you won’t have to remember that extra step.

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Make a Pastry Bag

Make a Pastry Bag

Pastry bags can be cumbersome, expensive, and hard to clean. Stop scrounging around the kitchen drawer for the pastry bag tip. Place the food to be piped, be it deviled-egg mix or decorating frosting, into a sealable bag. Squish out the air and close the top. Snip off a small corner of the bag to the size you want and you are ready to begin squeezing.

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Want to find more useful stuff around the house?

Want to find more useful stuff around the house?

Check out our 5 Things page!

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