The Value of a Little Zippered Bag

Although many people are not a great fan of WalMart, I am. Well, not a fan exactly, but I do admit liking it and a great deal of our budget money goes there. Now, if you don't like WalMart, I'm sure you can go to a few other stores like Target, Staples and may-be even CVS to follow my advice. In fact, at the end, I'm going to give you a very simplistic way to follow my advice by doing it by hand.

Sheesh! What could this be leading up to? Why the new necessary, the little zippered bag!! My experience is mostly with WalMart, but I started noticing these little zippered bags in two different departments of WalMart: Health/Beauty and then in Stationary (the place where pencils,pens,erasers, sticky notes are stocked). In Health/Beauty, the bag stocked is the one I have to the left of my writing. It is clear (that blue card with the plane comes right out) and it has a black zipper. From what I hear from travelers, this is ideal. I bought it for my latest stint in the hospital (because I finally decided my little zippered baggies were not a very green decision and I didn't have a piece of Tupperware or Rubbermaid the right size) and it easily held all my necessities and it was very easy to clean.

The zippered bags in the Stationary Department were made of a synthetic material, I think nylon, were longer and came in bright neon colors. I didn't buy one because I hadn't had time to mull about them yet, but they did seem to be very sturdy and because they are synthetic fiber, I imagine they wash and dry very quickly.

So what is the big deal about these bags you ask? They are little more than cosmetic or pencil bags and we've all seen those before. How did this ever deserve a blog entry?

Think outside the box! Don't think of them as pencil cases or toiletry bags; think of them as purse (pocketbook if you'd rather) bags! Okay, stop yawning or your face will freeze that way.

Picture this, your period (Aunt Flo is due, menstruation or the curse, whatever your preferred name for it) is due to start. What do you do? Stuff a tampon or napkin into your purse and be embarrassed every time you open it in mixed company? Or do you buy one of the neon bags that I've mentioned, pre-pack it with a napkin or tampon (or two), a travel pack of WetOnes, and a little bottle of Midol (Pamprin, whatever your pleasure.) Then every time you're near that time, put the bag in your purse, and you're ready to go. When that time is over, take it out and store it until it's needed.

How about coupons? Clip the coupons you need, store them in the bag. May-be even include a small notebook to write your shopping list on. When you go shopping, bring the bag with you. When you're done, store it in a kitchen drawer. Probably the junk drawer, everyone seems to have one.

Is someone in your family in a "health circle?" I was in one last year; it seemed like I was always being admitted to the hospital. Why not pack one of these little zippered bags with necessities like a new toothbrush and cover (the toothbrushes I got at the hospital fell apart in my mouth), deodorant, mouth wash, body wash and some powder. Then just store it in a knapsack, and it's ready when needed.

Are you going to a destination that will take a few hours to get to? Or may-be you'll have to stay a few hours. Pack one of these zippered bags with aspirin/acetaminophen, wet wipes, antacid, something to settle the stomach (pepto), tissues, a protein bar or snack bar, hard candy (lifesavers), lip balm. Then you are ready for just about any eventuality that can make you miserable, and it just about impossible to take care of while traveling (or in a doctor or lawyers office).

Those are just a few ideas off the top of my head and I'm sure you can think of plenty of others for your lifestyle. The basic idea though is to have these little bags pre-packed so that they are ready to grab and go. If you have to scout around for items that should be in them, pack it and then go, the magic (convenience) is gone.

I've made these little bags before. This is my simple way of doing it. First decide how long and wide you want the bag. I usually want it as long as the zipper I have for it is. I take these measurements and add about an inch. I iron out the fabric, which is usually Daddy's old jeans that I've already cut the back pockets out of. I then take this (usually a square) fabric and iron the raw ends over,(and I do it hard, sometimes I even use starch, I don't want the raw edges working their way out) then inside out, I saw the wide edges closed, leaving a little at the top unsewn. I sew the now neat edges of the top,to the inside out, zippered close, zipper. I was inordinately afraid of zippers for the longest time until I just did it. There, simple, just about free, zippered bag; the size you want it!

So, why not just buy a box of Great Value, plastic zip bags? Good question, considering each of these zippered bags costs about the same as a box containing 30 plastic bags (roughly, under $3). First, I'm trying, and I really encourage you also, to try to stop buying and using plastic bags. (I have a blog about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that you must read) Second, these bags will last much longer than your box of baggies will, so in the long run, you save money and the environment; It's a win/win situation. Third, these bags, for the most part, are not clear, so you do get a bit more privacy to the things that you pack in them.



Pictures used on this blog belong to WalMart and Modella. They are not my copyright. The link below goes to the pictured clear bag above so you can read about it if you wish. I could not find the bags I found in the Stationary section of my area WalMart on their website, so I couldn't show them to you. Sorry!

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Modella-Clear-Travel-Bag-Personal-Care/11027872

Hot Dog!!

Before you plan that family bar-b-que, were you aware that Americans eat an estimated 7 billion hot dogs between Memorial Day to Labor Day? And that on average a child chokes to death on food about once every five days (in the US) and that among those children younger than 10, 17% were caused by choking on hot dogs!

Unbelievable!

I remember first hearing about the choking hazard of hot dogs in the early 1980's, I think it was on the Phil Donahue show. A grandfather was so upset about the death of his grandson, that he invented a special cutter for them, so that no other child would die this way. The cutter was very simple to use, it was kind of like an apple slicer, you put the hot dog through the center hole, and it would cut grooves into the side of the hot dog. That way, if a child started to choke, the throat would not close on a solid cylinder, and would be easier to remove. It was about this time too, that Fisher Price redesigned the shape of their "Little People" because the old design had proven to be a choking hazard also.

I never did see that grandfather's hot dog cutter, but I did take his message to heart. I began to cut my children's hot dogs lengthwise into quarters. It was this time that my children were no longer allowed to eat un-halved grapes and marshmallows.

Now almost 30 years later, the designers of Guard Dog, a hot dog slicer for the home, has an industrial design to slice hot dogs at the factory. It is called Kinder (pronounce it like kindergarten) Cut, and it thinly slices the hot dog into an 8 petal, daisy design at the meat processing plant. You cook the hot dog as usual, either boiled or on the grill, and the hot dog opens up. The idea is that if a bite of hot dog does get stuck in the throat, it will easily break up into a few pieces, and be easy to cough out.

A hot dog slicer, for home use is the Toddler Bites Hot Dog cutter. It is pretty basic, you cook

the hot dog as usual, press the Toddler Bites Hot Dog cutter over it, and the hot dog is cut into twenty identical pieces. Easily washable.

Will Kinder Cut become standard to the hot dog market? I don't know. To me, having the inside of my hot dog exposed to flame or boiling away in a pot, just isn't appetizing. But with so many families now having twin and even triplet births, this could be a real time saver.

And anything that reduces the worry of choking, child or elderly, has got to be a winner in my book.

Pictures on this blog are copyrighted to their companies. For more information, please check out the links below.
http://tdn.com/lifestyles/article_52d66eac-7353-11df-92fe-001cc4c002e0.html
http://www.mypreciouskid.com/toddler-bites-hot-dog-cutter.html
http://www.thisoldtoy.com/L_FP_Set/Pg_Link.htm
http://www.creativators.com/

Our addiction

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, stretches from California to Hawaii AP

The oil catastrophe in the Gulf has our attention now, but equally bad is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that stretches from off-shore California to off-shore Hawaii and lest people on the Atlantic seaboard feel left out, there is another Garbage Patch forming there too. It is made up primarily of plastic; plastic fiber net ropes, plastic shopping bags, plastic beverage bottles. It is suspected in the death of many marine animals and fish because some ingest the plastic as they feed for krill and ingest the indigestible plastic at the same time. Other deaths occur when an animals body part gets caught in plastic fiber, abandoned, nets and the animal (seals, dolphins for example) or fish (think sharks) or sea turtle ,drowns. .


As hard as it is to believe, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is as much a petroleum environmental disaster as the one in the Gulf , because most plastics are made from petroleum. Those that aren't still usually depend on petroleum products (gas, diesel) for the energy that drives the machines that make them.

Found in the stomach of a dead Minsk Whale, London Telegraph

The drive for recycling is only part of the answer because recycling itself uses so much energy. For example, cardboard can be recycled many times. It is soaked in water and stirred to join the fibers again. Each time cardboard is recycled, it takes longer for the fibers to rejoin, until finally it is impossible. Each round of recycling uses a lot of water. Is this water itself recycled by being cleaned? Sadly, the usual answer is no, although this is changing.





Pile of plastic bottles


Plastic bottles can also be recycled, but think of all the energy that is used. Bottles start their "life" as blanks, made in one factory in a slender shape, and sent to a bottling plant where they are changed to the size and shape that is needed for the particular beverage. Just this far in the story, the bottle has used petroleum three times: it's creation, shipping to the bottling plant
and being changed from a blank to a bottle. Then the beverage is sent to a warehouse, from the warehouse to the store, although if it is going to a large chain, it could go to the chain's warehouse first. The bottle has now used petro a fourth time. You pick up the beverage and bring it home. From there, you put it in your recycling bin and municipal trucks pick it up. The bottle has now used petro six times. From there, it goes to the recovery center, trip seven, to the plant that grinds it into shards for reforming, trip eight. From there, it is made into a blank again, trip nine. That recycling has become pretty petro-use intensive (never mind the air pollution), although that is vastly preferable to it being dumped in the ocean or into a landfill.




These are shopping bags easily picked up at the stores we shop at. The two blue bags are insulated and cost me $2 each. Other bags are as low as 50 cents to $1
Picture by Mary Bennett C2010






Plastic shopping bags can be recycled into dog leashes, and plastic lumber (think decks), most plastic bags are not recycled. Reasons vary, it's hard to find a collector/recyclers, to the bag being re-used at home for garbage. This trend isn't going to change I fear, until municipalities stop insisting on 'clean' garbage, i.e. that all garbage be in bags instead of being able to be put directly into the pick-up can. It does take a little more house keeping to make sure that your garbage receptacle is cleaned every week, but the idea of 'clean' garbage just seems ridiculous. It retards the garbage from decomposing during a time when landfills are filling up at alarming rates.

Metals, like coffee and soda cans can be recycled indefinitely, and along with glass are the best bets for recycling. Of course like all recycling, energy use is involved, but the end product is virtually the same as the beginning product, unlike paper and plastic recycling. An added bonus of glass is the not having to worry about chemical leaching out when the product is used at high temperatures (like the microwave), or when it comes in contact with bleach (cleaning, sanitizing).

The best solution is of course the hardest solution, and that is to avoid not only extra packaging, but even original packaging as much as possible. For example, instead of buying little 16 oz jars, buying bulk containers of product and repackaging them in 8 oz, 16 oz or 32 oz canning jars. The modern kitchen usually has refrigerators, freezers and vacuum sealers to make storing the extra product until it is needed, easy.

Short of this, another great practice is to repurpose , in other words, to use an item in a different way than it was originally intended. Using soda (pop) cans as curlers might be a bit much. However, Dad's old jeans have been repurposed for the longest time by my family. Because denim is so tough, we cut out the seams, and then salvage the pant legs for making pot holders (make sure to layer them with old blanket), resew the legs into sleeves to hold plastic bags (yeah, we still use some), make bags for holding clothes pins, curlers, toy pieces, even small tote bags. The back pockets are unusually strong, so we cut them out, use a clip magnet, and they hold the small packets of seasoning that usually get lost in the cabinet. They are also good for holding coupons. When you go to the store, just bring the whole pocket with you. They fit very easily into a pocketbook. Other repurposing we have done, is to take the plastic lid from an empty can of coffee and put it on the bottom of a new can of coffee. It keeps the can from leaving a rust ring on a damp counter. There are so many ways to repurpose items, it just takes time, imagination and patience.

FUD

You never now what is going to come up in conversation, the other day it was Go Girl. I had no idea what a Go Girl was, but waited for someone else to ask. I figured that I could Google it later on to find out, if needed.

"You know, it's a fud." I had no idea what a fud was either. I have pictures on my blog, so I'm sure you know.

Fud, as in ef u dee, fud. Go ahead and Google it, so I did. I wish though that I had stayed around for the whole conversation, because now that I know what a fud is, and generally how to use it, I'd like to ask more specific questions.

Apparently, fuds have been around for a long time, I just haven't been aware of them. May-be you have?

F emale

U rinary D evice ( or D irector) was the clever answer to non-existant or dirty toilets. The first one, or I guess to be more accurate, the first patent was in 1918 by Edyth Lacy. She called it the "Sanitary Protector." It was to be made of cheap material, so that it could be used once, and then discarded. Since then, many more fuds have been made. Most of them are made of silicone, and are made to be re-used. They aren't cheap either, then again, they are an investment in not having to worry about germy, toilet seats ever again. Truly, I am starting to think, that instead of training our daughters to sit on a potty, we will be training them to use a fud. One fud maker, the p-style, actually offers a bulk order discount.

We've seemed to come full circle now, the latest addition to the fud is the Urinelle from France. It is made of paper, and is bought in packs. Use it once and throw it away.

Now according to all the customer comments that I have read, fuds are incredibly easy to use, and take very little practice. I, on the other hand, am probably one of the least graceful (is it possible to be the most least graceful? If so, I am.) people you will ever meet. But you are supposed to be able to use these without having to "drop trou", if you wear zippered or button pants. Wearing a dress or skirt makes it that much easier, but I rather doubt it, and elastic waisted pants are a bit more tricky. Anyway, one of these days, the fear of the drug resistant germs and spotty toilets will probably drive me to buy a fud, though I'm not sure which one. They really do seem like a good idea.

And for you contest lovers, GoGirl has a sweepstakes going. The deadline is December 31, 1010. There are a lot of pretty nice prizes, so check it out. Here is the link
http://www.go-girl.com/sweepstake.asp

Want more info?

http://www.go-girl.com/
http://www.urinelle.biz/
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___80976
http://www.thepstyle.com/products/pstyle

100 Things I've learned the hard way #21 - #32

More pearls of wisdom:

21. Buy the cooking oil while you are at the supermarket. Guaranteed, the bottle at home will not have enough oil in it to reach the little line inside your deep fryer.

22. No matter how frugal you want to be by saving money on vacuum bags, don't buy the bagless vacuum. They don't suck, as in, they don't work very well if you have pets especially.

23. There is no shame in having a small shop vac as your household vacuum. It's the only thing that won't clog sucking up great tufts of Labrador fur.

24. You can not put a price on a good dog, they are indispensable. Louis is gentle with the littles, actually whimpers along with the upset/crying, cuddles with me when I'm newly out of the hospital and weak as water, is a one dog welcome wagon for children returning home for the weekend and growls, snarls and acts like he will take the door down when there is a stranger at the door. Priceless.

25. Houses are the most reasonably priced where it is the hardest to obtain a job

26. Teenagers know everything. Twenty year olds aren't teenagers and they aren't adults, so they still know everything, but they're not 100% sure about it.

27. Cats, children and dogs don't perform on command.

28. When your daughter is a teenager, it is inevitable that you are going to say, do or wear something that will embarrass her.

29. When your son is a teenager, you will age at least 10 years in his estimation, and although you embarrass him, he'll kind of grit and bare it.

30. When a sibling turns 30, the younger kids will all think he is ancient, but so will the teens and the one's in their early twenties.

31. Your mom will give you unsolicited child rearing advice, even when you're in your 40's and it's with your sixth child.

32. You will give your mom unsolicited advice about her caring for her great grandchild, even when she is in her 70's, is the mother of 5, the grandmother of 13, and the great grandmother of 7.