Organizing Life

Every morning I wake up early just to make lunches for my husband and son. It usually takes me about 30 minutes to wake up enough to form logical sentences, but I can do tasks just fine (mostly). Every day they get pretty much the same thing: 1 peanut butter and jelly sandwich, 1 sandwich with meat (this varies depending on my preparedness/alertness), and a variety of what I like to call “lunch accessories”. You know, snacks!

Bread clasps aren’t fun in the morning.

Everyday I get the bread out, and everyday I put it away. However, I am not a big fan of the clasps used to close the bags of bread. It’s too early in the morning to have the patience to fumble around with the twisty or plastic clasp. I’m awake enough to perform the task, but like I said, it takes about 30 minutes to wake up, so I can become easily annoyed during this critical time zone (until the coffee kicks in basically). So I have taken to using clothespins to close my bread bags. It is so much easier for my foggy brain to handle. Plus, I have found the bread stays fresher (less air) and is less likely to get squished. I guess that’s because my foggy brain can better handle a clip that early, than a tiny clasp.

I’m too sleepy to handle a clasp; clothespins are easier.

We actually use clothespins for a lot of other items too – chip bags, rice cakes, frozen chicken patties, frozen veggies, anything in a bag that should be closed back up to maintain freshness. Yes, I know many frozen food bags come with a “re-sealable zipper”, lots of things do, but honestly, I can rarely get them to work. I often end up destroying it when I open the bag, so I just clip it shut. 

Clothespins are my friend.

You can get a pack of clothespins at the dollar store – I’m sure that’s where I got mine.

I still keep the white clips for the bread anyway (not the twisties), and have found they are great for frozen veggies too, although not all types of bags. The bags that are resealable are too thick, as are the ones that come in a steamable bag, but the ones that are plain-Jane are perfect. 

Bread clasps work better here.

As to where I store them, I have wire racks in my pantry, so I simply hook them on the wire, but if I didn’t, I would probably put them in my (organized and not junky) junk drawer. 

This is how I store my clips.

If you are already using clothes pins this way – good for you! If not, now you have a new way of looking at clothes pins (and the clips that balloons come attached to). Happy clipping!

What do you use clothespins for? How do you close your bread bags?

p.s. – Sorry for the delay in getting back to blogging. I’ve just been way too busy! So I figured a short and sweet blogging tip would be better than none at all! Hey, I did say that I’d be lucky to get them out once a week – and I wasn’t kidding. 🙂