Photos by Joe Lingeman
Some tips and tricks make you want to make your cookie sheets look like new again right now or inspire you to order a bag of zip ties ASAP. Other hacks impress you, but don’t incite immediate action. Instead, they live in your memory until just the right situation or moment makes you go, “Hold on a second, I know just what to do to solve this little problem!”
Today’s hack is one of those that, even if you don’t have a use for it right away (although you might!), you’ll want to tuck away for the future.
The tip is this: You can join two zipper bags to each other to make one bigger sealed bag. It’s the plastic bag equivalent of joining sleeping bags together. To do it, open both bags, flip one inside out, and fit the “tongue” portion of one bag into the “groove” portion of the other—then press all around to seal. That’s it—no other materials or skills needed!
Of course, the entire point of being able to make a bigger bag is to put something inside of it for containment and/or protection. Place your item inside one bag before fitting the two bags together and you’ve instantly created a protective dust cover for awkwardly sized items.
Here are a few things you might put inside your MacGyvered bag:
- A keyboard you want protect from dust or other damage while you’re storing it or moving it.
- Boots that you want to keep dust-free.
- Boots or large shoes you want to put together in a storage bin, but don’t want touching each other or other clothing that’s also in the bin.
- One of those long, delicious, rectangular pizza crusts from Trader Joe’s. (They come in a two-pack and you don’t want the second one getting stale or getting freezer burned!)
- Baguettes that you don’t want to cut but that you want to stay fresh or protect from freezer burn.
- Holiday decor that’s too big to fit in a regular bag. Covering it in plastic keeps it clean and protects it from rubbing against other items that might be in the same bin.
- Awkwardly-sized but small artificial plants or flowers.
