View Full Version : What to Use in Place of Ziplocs?
try2bfrugal
10-9-13, 3:36pm
When we started getting on the simple living bandwagon, I tried to get rid of as many single use products as possible. I bought everyone water containers so we didn't buy bottled water and replaced sandwich ziplocs with hard plastic, washable sandwich containers.
The issue I am having is how to store things like cheese, romaine lettuce, carrots and summer squash. Ziplocs really seem to keep the food freshest longest. I bought some washable produce bags from Amazon. They are okay for things like potatoes and onions, but they don't seem to work well for fridge produce.
Today I started washing out the Ziplocs for reuse, but they still probably won't last for too many uses.
Any suggestions?
We get years of use out of these Glad containers, they wash up fine, and you don't end up throwing away lots of bags:
http://www.glad.com/food-storage/containers/
We use food-storage containers for most food storage. We still use zipper bags, primarily in the freezer, but they typically are used multiple times as they're only holding closed opened boxes of fish sticks, etc. A few tricks which have worked for us are:
- buying only what we need so it does not need to be stored for very long. I'll pay for one pound of carrots more than half what I'll pay for two because there's nothing frugal about composting the ones we don't get to;
- putting a paper towel or tea cloth/sheet remnant/etc. in the container. This will hold some of the moisture which otherwise would damage the food. We keep Parmesan cheese (the real Reggiano stuff, in wedges) for months this way. It's also helpful with lettuces and carrots and other high-moisture foods. I also don't seal airtight. In fact, sometimes, I don't seal much at all. Lettuce in the refrigerator crisper is surrounded by a sheet or two of paper towel and then placed in a food-storage container or bowl or even a zipper bag. But it's not sealed. I find sealing sometimes creates a terrarium effect. I don't want that.
Tussiemussies
10-9-13, 3:52pm
I save the inside bags of cereal and other things, the plastic is of much better quality and I just keep rewashing when I am done unless there is meat in it.
I use glass food storage containers. I bought a couple of them, but I also save jars.
I use ziploc bags over and over and over and over.........
I actually can't believe that some people use them only once.
try2bfrugal
10-9-13, 4:01pm
I use glass food storage containers. I bought a couple of them, but I also save jars.
Would you use the glass containers if you had a pound of summer squash to store? I guess I am not used to putting glass containers in the produce drawer but I don't know why not. I think part of my problem is I buy too much produce so the ziplocs make it easier to pack a lot in the produce drawer. Maybe I just need to buy less fresh stuff at one time.
try2bfrugal
10-9-13, 4:02pm
I use ziploc bags over and over and over and over.........
I actually can't believe that some people use them only once.
Well, I did a lot of stupid things like that before I woke up about how much disposable products were really costing us. After we got interested in simple living, one nice, unintended consequence was that we were able to reduce our trash can size, and some weeks even the smaller size can is only half full.
I did buy a set of mason jars that I use for storage now. I want to get more in other sizes. And I bought a big set of glass containers for food storage since we cook at home a lot now. The lids are starting to crack and I found out I can replace just the lids, so I was happy about that.
Good for you try2bfrugal!
I'm thinking of replacing all my Rubbermaid, etc., plastic containers for kitchen use with glass......but its hard. They can be heavy, and my hands are very arthritic. I also worry about the substances in plastic things.
We didn't have plastic when I was little, and we somehow survived!
I use containers like Bae mentioned.......but they're still plastic.
I've seen some collections.......I forget who puts them out......but they are all sizes of glassware for storage. You might look into that.
I do save some glass jars from things I bought at the grocery to store my garden seeds, and various beans, rice, etc.
Canning jars are good, because you know they are meant for food. (but make sure they were made in the U.S.)
You're right about how we all have too much for our refrigerators! I'm as guilty (if not more) than most.
I have bought mesh bags for produce at the grocery store, but you're not supposed to store produce in them. So when I get home, I transfer them to big ziploc bags.
I wonder how produce would do just "naked" in the crisper? Sometimes I put things in there without a bag, and they seem to do okay.
So many of our problems are (as my DD likes to say) are First World problems!
I am proud of you for making some of these changes! I need to try harder myself too.
I use containers like Bae mentioned.......but they're still plastic.
I'd switch to all-glass too, we have some nice pyrex-ish glass bowels and pans that have (plastic) lids that work well. It's just that my Mom got be a big box of those Glad plastic things at Costco 4-5 years ago, and they haven't perished yet, so it seems a shame to waste them.
try2bfrugal
10-9-13, 4:39pm
I bought BPA free water bottles and sandwich containers. But otherwise I have been trying to use glass for fridge storage since who knows what else besides BPA is in plastic containers. But I guess I don't know what is in Ziplocs either that could leach into food.
You might try this kind of storage:
http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-International-LKS-06-Lettuce-Keeper/dp/B000OUY2QO/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1381351113&sr=1-1&keywords=vegetable+storage
try2bfrugal
10-9-13, 4:42pm
I'd switch to all-glass too, we have some nice pyrex-ish glass bowels and pans that have (plastic) lids that work well. It's just that my Mom got be a big box of those Glad plastic things at Costco 4-5 years ago, and they haven't perished yet, so it seems a shame to waste them.
I used to have the Glad ones but the lids would always crack before very long. Now I have Pyrex with plastic lids with steam vents for microwaving and the lids have lasted several years, and are just starting to crack.
ApatheticNoMore
10-9-13, 4:53pm
Oh I use everything. For the produce: I reuse the produce bags from the store, provided they haven't gotten too horrible. I use ziplock freezer bags, rewash them when I can. Neither are ideal produce solution, some produce just goes in the crisper naked.
Then for everything else: I use the plastic Glad type containers, I hate them as I hate plastic, but I keep aquiring them from my mom, it's getting ridiculous and annoying. Then I have glass containers which I like with plastic lids (the lids of some products now days are BPA free, don't think Pyrex is, but Anchor Hocking very specifically label their products as BPA free).
Would you use the glass containers if you had a pound of summer squash to store? I guess I am not used to putting glass containers in the produce drawer but I don't know why not. I think part of my problem is I buy too much produce so the ziplocs make it easier to pack a lot in the produce drawer. Maybe I just need to buy less fresh stuff at one time.
Yeah, you do have a point. Ziplocs are good for packing stuff in. Paper bags may be just as good in a produce drawer. If the squash hasn't been cut, I just put it in by itself. We keep our CSA veggies in the waxed cardboard box it comes in.
Ohmagosh Bae......you have glass bowels? Please be careful! :~)
try2bfrugal
10-9-13, 8:30pm
You might try this kind of storage:
http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-International-LKS-06-Lettuce-Keeper/dp/B000OUY2QO/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1381351113&sr=1-1&keywords=vegetable+storage
That is a good idea. I will check into it for the lettuce. Part of my problem is I still need bags to fit everything in the produce drawer.
Tonight we went to the ethnic market for produce. I tried to use more restraint than usual so storing it all doesn't become a problem.
We have ancient plastic bags that have been washed dozens of times! I use them up, then the city recycles them. We bought glass storage containers with snap locks, and that's what we carry lunch in, store leftovers, etc. We also use mason jars and I bought some pour tops for them that are very cool -- my first Kickstarter, I think. I wrap greens in a damp dish towel.
We get years of use out of these Glad containers, they wash up fine, and you don't end up throwing away lots of bags:
http://www.glad.com/food-storage/containers/
Those are what we use, too! We also have some ikea containers, but I much prefer the glad ones. I have only had a few of the lids crack. They seem to last forever. I know I shouldn't be reheating things in them, but the glass containers are ridiculously expensive and so heavy.
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