I love discovering clever ways to make regular tasks easier, but the best hacks are the ones you know you’re going to put to use in your everyday life. This is how I felt when I saw content creator Breanna Turner’s brilliant chip bag hack.
With five active kids, I’m often out and about with not only the family, but also the snacks we need to have on hand to stave off any hangry meltdowns. Whether we’re on a long car ride, sitting at one of (several) weekend soccer games, camping with friends, or relaxing at the beach on vacation, I’ve frequently found myself with an open bag of chips — and no chip clip to seal it. And when I buy chips, the bags are always family-size. Leaving the bag open means wasting a good amount of food (and money!) if it spills or the chips go stale. It drives me bonkers! Sometimes I remember to bring a few chip clips, but usually I don’t.
Well, now I have a solution for those times a chip clip is nowhere to be found, and a gaping bag of snacks needs closing. To close a bag without a clip, it’s important you pay attention to how you open the bag in the first place. Do your best to open it neatly along the top seam rather than tearing it vertically.
When you’re ready to close the bag, Turner’s method involves folding a triangle “ear” on each corner and then rolling the bag down. The narrower your folds, the tighter the close will be. As you near the end of empty space in the bag, push the corners down toward the bottom of the bag and pull the triangles out toward the outside edges. Your bag will stay snugly closed and just as airtight as a chip clip would make it. Of course, I had to try this hack for myself.
I absolutely love this clever trick. It’s easier than it looks, works in a snap, and makes the chip bag pretty much completely airtight. Plus, you could use it on other things — produce bags, craft supplies, even Halloween candy. All for free!
Although this won’t do away with the need for chip clips at home (my kids don’t always remember to use chip clips as it is), I’m definitely going to implement it. While it isn’t going to totally replace the staple in my kitchen, when we’re out and I find myself in that (frequent) aggravating situation of having nothing to seal my bags, I’m going to be using this hack all the time — I know it.
