What small things did you do today to reduce your environmental impact?

[diapasoun]

My city also has a thriving sidewalk freebin culture -- I just got a cute coffee cup out of one the other day.

****

In the spirit of being on-topic, I made a vegan jambalaya yesterday with homemade seitan. It was delicious and a great way to lower my use of animal products.

[MonkeyJenga]

I'd never need to buy anything again!

Pretty sure MJ only pays for rent at this point =P

This... is pretty accurate. I've spent $19 this month outside of rent.

[okisok]

I sewed bulk bags from scrap fabric!

Thanks for the great idea! I've got a lot of scrap fabric lying around, and I'm trying to shop more from bulk bins.

I actually did it! I made produce bags completely from my scrap bin. Fabric, drawstrings, thread, all from my stash. And it was fabric that I didn't really love, but now I like it. I made them with reinforced seams, so they should last for a long time. Money and plastic waste saved.

[Id rather be outside]

Today, I used the cream in the fridge to make whipped cream before it went bad.  We don't normally buy dairy, but I make an exception for birthday cakes.  However, the planned birthday cake never got made - and I was determined to make sure the cream didn't get wasted.  A small thing that feels like a victory.

Additionally...
-cloth diapers are line drying
-power strips were off most of the day
-walked to the grocery store and park
-kept AC off all morning and turned it off when we were out of the house

[Imma]

We are digging up the whole backyard, taking out the concrete paving and putting in grass and locally sourced gravel. We will also add a rainbarrel. Because heavy rains are more common now than in the past due to climate change, the local council is encouraging everyone to take out concrete and tiles to let rainwater soak into the ground. Unfortunately our yard is too small to receive a subsidy but we're going to do it anyway.

It's too late in the season to grow vegetables but from next year we will add raised beds. We're saving some berries that are already in there now and will move them to their new location. We are also going to grow apples and grapes. We live in a very urban location so it's not like we're going to be self sufficient or anything but from next year I hope to grow enough to not have to buy produce as much during the summer.

Have you thought about planting some native plants instead of grass?  Far better protection against water run off, better carbon capture, and you create habitat particularly for polinators. Oh, and WAY less maintenance.  Grass is a terrible waste of space. We naturescaped 3/4 of our yard and will be getting rid of the last bit of grass as well.  No more lawnmower!

The grass we are putting in is native to where we live. Previously we had a small patch of the same type of grass and we know it's pretty sturdy and resistent to draught.

I don't agree that grass is a waste of space in all cases. Right now we are putting it in as a placeholder for the raised beds next year, but we will certainly keep a patch of grass. A massive lawn that is cut every week is absolutely a waste of space, but a small area of grass in an urban backyard that's cut semi-regularly is very practical. You can sit there with friends, picknick, play or even pitch up a tent when friends are visiting. It's basically an extension to the living room.

[Dollar Slice]

Bought a more expensive item at the grocery store because I noticed that the cheaper one was pre-portioned into individual servings using little plastic bags and would have a lot more plastic waste. Chose something else in a glass jar rather than metal can because I read that glass has a lower carbon footprint than metal packaging.

[diapasoun]

Hung the laundry to dry on the rack.

Used an old ziploc (which we'll use for this over and over) to make fresh tortillas at home instead of buying the tortillas at the store and wasting a larger amount of plastic over time.

[Hirondelle]

Bought shoes at the thrift shop.

Had fresh tea (from a large plastic bag) rather than single-packed tea.

[Imma]

I got a bunch of old sewing supplies from a relative's attic. Will doet them tomorrow. I hardly ever buy thread, buttons, zippers etc new, I all get them used.

In return I gave the relative some plastic bags from my stash - we never buy plastic bags either (it's illegal to give them out for free where we live) but somehow I always have a pile of them & I never use them, I always use my backpack to carry stuff around.

[jengod]

* Went plogging (“picking up litter while jogging”) with a friend, and then picked up litter again while walking back from an errand.

* Planted more milkweed in my yard to make up, a little, for lost wild habitat that supports monarch butterflies.

[Dollar Slice]

My mom sprained her ankle and was thinking about ordering an ankle brace via overnight delivery. Instead I brought her the one I bought when I sprained my ankle five years ago. Still perfectly good and no wasted packaging and fuel to deliver/manufacture a new one.

[chaseboy2010]

Re-planted a tree (tulip tree) that was coming up in my garden to a permanent place in the back yard with sun. Should provide shade, privacy, fresh air, and a wind break in addition to sequestering carbon over it's life span.

Made my own laundry detergent (and saved money): 1 bar of Dr Bronner's lavendar soap (4.5oz), 1 cup borax, 1 cup washing soda. Mix in a blender, let the dust settle before opening, pour into large mason jar to keep near washer.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

When I go the gym before work, I drive instead of biking (because Reasons). So I hit the gym today instead of tomorrow because today I needed my car for an offsite meeting anyway.

[PMG]

I bike all the time and I use a camel back but without the proper backpack.  I have just been running the hose up through the zipper and hoping it stays closed which it really does not.  I decided rather than buying a new backpack I would just sew a little square in the top to prevent material tear and then cut a hole in the top of the backpack.  I am hoping my solution works well.  1 ride down, no issue ;-)

Paint the edges of the cut with a little nail polish.  That should keep it from fraying.  It could still tear with great force, but ought to last a long while.

[A Fella from Stella]

In honor of this thread, I am shutting off my AC for the night.

You have made a difference.

[jengod]

* Went grocery shopping in the cargo bike instead of the minivan.

* Brought my own bags and used a couple of cloth produce bags as well.

* Used the bulk spice offerings instead of buying new bottles of stuff.

[Loretta]

My ac is working hard this week.  I bought another pair of heavy blackout curtains from Amazons bargain bin (previously returned by someone else) and added them to the ones I already have in my bedroom.  It may not help much  at the moment but I’m thinking it will be most helpful as the temps drop in winter.  I am also taking my recycling down to the recycling area more frequently lately. 

[TrMama]

I bike all the time and I use a camel back but without the proper backpack.  I have just been running the hose up through the zipper and hoping it stays closed which it really does not.  I decided rather than buying a new backpack I would just sew a little square in the top to prevent material tear and then cut a hole in the top of the backpack.  I am hoping my solution works well.  1 ride down, no issue ;-)

Paint the edges of the cut with a little nail polish.  That should keep it from fraying.  It could still tear with great force, but ought to last a long while.

Interesting, thanks for the tip.

If the hole you cut starts to tear, sew it closed (I'd use the small patch + zig zag stitch method) and then use your sewing machine to put a big buttonhole in a spot away from the first hole. You'll want to interface and possibly reinforce the spot where the buttonhole will go first, but it should last a good long time after that.
 
Alternately, you could make the existing slit into a buttonhole by hand stitching it, but I've never done that before so you'll have to refer to YouTube ;-)

[pachnik]

Once in a while, I buy a slice of quiche with a side salad on my way to work to have at lunch time.  I bring my own tupperware container rather than using one of their take-out boxes. 

[MonkeyJenga]

I picked up fruit from Buy Nothing. I don't even like some of it, so I'll bring it to a meetup to share. This also saves me money!

In honor of this thread, I am shutting off my AC for the night.

You have made a difference.

Nice! How'd it go without AC?

[chaseboy2010]

I've been switching to glass containers instead of plastic (for health as well as environment). Instead of buying them, I've been re-using glass jars from spaghetti sauce, jelly/jam, etc. I just remove their labels and run them through the dish washer. For jars with any residual stickiness, WD-40 takes it off quickly.

My former spaghetti sauce container was already labeled with measurements, which is handy.

[chaseboy2010]

Made deodorant out of baking soda & coconut oil. I keep it in a small glass mason jar.

[chaskavitch]

I've been switching to glass containers instead of plastic (for health as well as environment). Instead of buying them, I've been re-using glass jars from spaghetti sauce, jelly/jam, etc. I just remove their labels and run them through the dish washer. For jars with any residual stickiness, WD-40 takes it off quickly.

My former spaghetti sauce container was already labeled with measurements, which is handy.

I do this as well.  I make chickpeas and other beans from dry and then throw them in re-used glass jars in the freezer.  Glass is such a great container because you can just remove the lid and throw it in the microwave to thaw.

After losing a few bottoms while canning, I'm reluctant to put cold glass in the microwave, even mason jars.  Has anyone actually had problems with glass jars breaking in the microwave when full of cold/frozen food?  Am I just being paranoid?

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

After losing a few bottoms while canning, I'm reluctant to put cold glass in the microwave, even mason jars.  Has anyone actually had problems with glass jars breaking in the microwave when full of cold/frozen food?  Am I just being paranoid?

I have lost one jar to cracking in the freezer but never in the microwave.

Ditto, except that I have lost more like 3 jars in the freezer. I used to routinely use old jam jars to heat milk in the microwave for making yogurt and never had a problem.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Ditto, except that I have lost more like 3 jars in the freezer. I used to routinely use old jam jars to heat milk in the microwave for making yogurt and never had a problem.

Jars can withstand high heat obviously because they are used in canning.  Sure, if you went from frozen to full cook you may have an issue but you shouldn't do that anyway.  Thaw first, then cook...no problem.

Freezing you have to leave some space for expansion and I guess just accept one breaking now and again.  Mine stayed together and I just threw the whole thing out.

I think when this happened to me it was milk or broth and I thawed it into a bowl, removed the big pieces of glass, and ran the whole thing through a coffee filter :-).

[tawyer]

Ditto on the space for expansion.

I needed a small table for my toddler. I was about to buy a used table on Craigslist, but shortly before I was going to collect it I found an abandoned table on the sidewalk. I sanded it down and repainted it with materials I already owned and had been storing for probably over five years now, and have been considering throwing out. A pretty poor exchange of time for money saved, but (a) it was fun, and (b) this is not the "small things you did today to save money" thread. :)

[Raenia]

Successfully caught the cashier at the produce market before they bagged my stuff.  I've been pretty good at remembering to bring my bags, but they are so used to bagging that they start while they are tallying my purchases, and I often have a hard time catching their attention before they do.  But I'm getting better at catching them in time.

[Fresh Bread]

Successfully caught the cashier at the produce market before they bagged my stuff.  I've been pretty good at remembering to bring my bags, but they are so used to bagging that they start while they are tallying my purchases, and I often have a hard time catching their attention before they do.  But I'm getting better at catching them in time.

I don't know how it works at the tills where you are but I used to put my reusable bags on the conveyor belt before my groceries so that I didn't need to remember to say "Wait, I've got bags!!" They would automatically grab them. Now we don't have bags in our supermarket so it's standard practice.

[dodojojo]

Over the years I moved away from bar soap to liquid/foam.  I still use bar soap in the shower but liquid/foam at the bathroom and kitchen sinks.  Partly for the catsitters and guests as I was concerned they would not be keen on using soap bars.  I mitigated by making my own foam mix--cheapish, but still the plastic bottles would have to be replaced after awhile when the dispensers would die.

Today, I think I'm going to switch back to 100% bar soap for myself.  I'll keep liquid soap for guests--the usage would be low so I won't have to replace the bottles as often.

Since usage of the foam mix would be sporadic, I'm going to stop making it.  Homemade mix is not meant to last very long.  I may ditch making my own foam mix and just stick with liquid soap for guests. That's more stable and can be left in the bottle far longer.  Also part of my foam mix included glycerin...which comes in plastic bottles.  So no longer buying glycerin also cuts down on plastic.

What's an affordable moisturizing soap for hand washing?  I use Trader Joe's cheapest soap for bathing.  But I need something more moisturizing for my hands.  I have cats so I wash my hands a lot.

[Raenia]

Successfully caught the cashier at the produce market before they bagged my stuff.  I've been pretty good at remembering to bring my bags, but they are so used to bagging that they start while they are tallying my purchases, and I often have a hard time catching their attention before they do.  But I'm getting better at catching them in time.

I don't know how it works at the tills where you are but I used to put my reusable bags on the conveyor belt before my groceries so that I didn't need to remember to say "Wait, I've got bags!!" They would automatically grab them. Now we don't have bags in our supermarket so it's standard practice.

It's actually a little market with no conveyor belts and no carts - you just walk up and put your stuff on the counter, and the cashier sorts through (bagging as they go) and adds everything up.  They do all the math in their heads, and it's cash only, no electronic till.  They're so used to the routine that it can be hard to stop them even if I put my bag on the counter with my produce.  At the regular supermarket, I usually use self-check so it's easy to bag stuff myself how I want it.

[Hirondelle]

My cheese consumption had creeped up again recently, so last weekend I went on a cooking spree so I'd have fancy vegan breakfasts and lunches for several days.

[MonkeyJenga]

I've started using a 5 minute hourglass to time my showers. I already try to minimize my water usage by taking camping showers when I don't need to wash my hair. The hourglass helps cut the time of my actual showers. Those minutes go by fast!

[chaseboy2010]

I have several tulip trees coming up in my yard and garden. Normally I pull these as "weeds", but this year I decided to let them grow a bit, to about 2-3 feet tall. I've transplanted a couple to the wooded part of my yard for shade/native habitat, and I listed the others on Nextdoor for neighbors willing to transplant them to a permanent location.

Maybe I'll charge a nominal amount for a small side gig if there's high demand.

[okisok]

Picked up aluminum cans from the work parking lot. Litter really annoys me! I brought them home and put them in my recycling.
Made sure the office cleaners didn't empty my recycling bin into the garbage. We don't have office recycling, so put in an extra wastebasket, fill it up all week, then bring it to my home recycling.
Put some extra potting soil on my little herb garden to help keep water in the soil. It's so nice to have fresh greens right outside my back door.
More scrap busting crafting this weekend!

[jengod]

Took my daughter to speech therapy and lunch in our ELF, and went grocery shopping for the week with our cargo bike. Zero emissions active transport!

I continuing to develop my skills as a gardener. I recently learned how to scarify seeds which has  enabled me to propagate more seedling trees that I can eventually share with neighbors. Urban tree cover is beneficial economically, environmentally and psychologically.

Plus gardening, composting, reusable grocery bags, cloth diapering, etc.

[Bracken_Joy]

Found out we qualify for two different energy credits if we switch to a smart thermostat in our apartment, since we have central air here. It'll bring the cost down to just $50, so we're probably going to do that! Didn't realize we'd qualify since we're renters. It'll be nice- this will let us control temps when we're gone (so I'll let it get hotter when we're not there if we have the dog with us), and it'll let us do zones depending on the time of day. Plus the learning programming and scheduling all that. We had one in our house when we were there, excited to move to one here!

[Dollar Slice]

Went to the store and farmer's market and brought all the reusable bags. The cashier at the grocery store blithely ignored the bright red reusable bag I put standing up on the conveyor belt and gave me a plastic bag instead (FFS!).  I was afraid he would throw away the 'used' plastic bag if I made him unpack and repack my groceries, so I stopped him from double bagging my three whole items (FFS x 2! but at least I caught him in time) and figured I would be able to at least reuse the plastic bag at home a few times. Used all my own bags for cucumbers, tomatoes, peaches, broccoli, and bread at the farmer's market and saved a bunch of food miles by buying local produce. (I try to buy local produce at the grocery store when they have it, but it's not always clear how far away it came from since they usually just list the state or country of origin. New York could be up to 200 miles, Pennsylvania could be up to 300 miles, you just don't know. With the farmer's market I know exactly what town they're from, and I'm pretty sure they're all <100 miles.)

[StarBright]

Am using things from our garden for our dinner! It doesn't happen as often as I'd like but I love when it works out.

[OtherJen]

I have a bit too much veg thanks to forgetting to cancel a Hungry Harvest shipment last week and not finding out until after I'd gone to the produce market. I just made a giant batch of tomato-mushroom sauce for pasta that I will freeze down in several containers. We've also eaten a lot of cold mixed-veg salad. Waste not, want not and it's better for our health to eat like this.

[Dollar Slice]

This week's batch cooking was a vegan stir fry made partly with local veg from the farmer's market.

I also ordered some reusable silicone zip-top bags since I had a gift card for Amazon I'd gotten from doing a survey. I like how versatile they are - they're dishwasher safe, you can use them to cook food, you can use them to pack snacks or meals, you can freeze food in them, they're non-toxic and BPA-free, etc. I read somewhere that you can, e.g., freeze chicken with a marinade in the bag, and then pop the bag right into simmering water and poach them without even having to remove the chicken from the bag. No more raw chicken hands/cutting board/etc. for your weeknight dinner. Pretty nice!

[chaskavitch]

This week's batch cooking was a vegan stir fry made partly with local veg from the farmer's market.

I also ordered some reusable silicone zip-top bags since I had a gift card for Amazon I'd gotten from doing a survey. I like how versatile they are - they're dishwasher safe, you can use them to cook food, you can use them to pack snacks or meals, you can freeze food in them, they're non-toxic and BPA-free, etc. I read somewhere that you can, e.g., freeze chicken with a marinade in the bag, and then pop the bag right into simmering water and poach them without even having to remove the chicken from the bag. No more raw chicken hands/cutting board/etc. for your weeknight dinner. Pretty nice!

What kind of bags do you buy?  I'm always skeptical buying them from the internet, because I don't know how they'll work, and I don't want to fork over $$$ for one that's just ok.  So I'll just trust you, internet stranger, and your recommendations :)

[Dollar Slice]

This week's batch cooking was a vegan stir fry made partly with local veg from the farmer's market.

I also ordered some reusable silicone zip-top bags since I had a gift card for Amazon I'd gotten from doing a survey. I like how versatile they are - they're dishwasher safe, you can use them to cook food, you can use them to pack snacks or meals, you can freeze food in them, they're non-toxic and BPA-free, etc. I read somewhere that you can, e.g., freeze chicken with a marinade in the bag, and then pop the bag right into simmering water and poach them without even having to remove the chicken from the bag. No more raw chicken hands/cutting board/etc. for your weeknight dinner. Pretty nice!

What kind of bags do you buy?  I'm always skeptical buying them from the internet, because I don't know how they'll work, and I don't want to fork over $$$ for one that's just ok.  So I'll just trust you, internet stranger, and your recommendations :)

Oh, I just bought some no-name brand from Amazon :-/  They had a lot of good reviews so I hope they will hold up OK. I don't even know if there are "good name brand" bags being sold anywhere, I haven't seen any. (They had some at Bed Bath & Beyond, but they were a brand I'd never heard of and were $20/bag instead of $5/bag.)

If one of us remembers in a couple months I can let you know how they're holding up!

[Christof]

With the farmer's market I know exactly what town they're from, and I'm pretty sure they're all <100 miles.)

That‘s great! Around here farmer‘s markets are not selling produce from their own farms which means you might end up buying potatoes from Egypt, which is a continent and several thousand miles away.

[okisok]

Remembered to use my homemade produce bags! By accident, but it counts :) I had tucked them in the bottom of one of my reusable shopping bags, and was pleasantly surprised by them at Aldi. And pleasantly surprise by Aldi actually having loose avocados for sale.

Used all my own bags for shopping, then refused a bag when I got to the last store and I'd run out of my own. I just stacked everything in my arms and took it out.

Made a little pouch with fabric scraps that attaches to my dog leash. I can fit three folded-up plastic bags in there for poo bags. No more purchased plastic bags to pick up poop. I get them from family and friends, since I no longer get plastic bags when I shop.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

This week's batch cooking was a vegan stir fry made partly with local veg from the farmer's market.

I also ordered some reusable silicone zip-top bags since I had a gift card for Amazon I'd gotten from doing a survey. I like how versatile they are - they're dishwasher safe, you can use them to cook food, you can use them to pack snacks or meals, you can freeze food in them, they're non-toxic and BPA-free, etc. I read somewhere that you can, e.g., freeze chicken with a marinade in the bag, and then pop the bag right into simmering water and poach them without even having to remove the chicken from the bag. No more raw chicken hands/cutting board/etc. for your weeknight dinner. Pretty nice!

What kind of bags do you buy?  I'm always skeptical buying them from the internet, because I don't know how they'll work, and I don't want to fork over $$$ for one that's just ok.  So I'll just trust you, internet stranger, and your recommendations :)

Oh, I just bought some no-name brand from Amazon :-/  They had a lot of good reviews so I hope they will hold up OK. I don't even know if there are "good name brand" bags being sold anywhere, I haven't seen any. (They had some at Bed Bath & Beyond, but they were a brand I'd never heard of and were $20/bag instead of $5/bag.)

If one of us remembers in a couple months I can let you know how they're holding up!

I think the brand I have is Stasher--they were recommended by the Frugal Girl. But I don't use as many bags as I used to anyway. My husband and children eat cereal and a cereal bag works for many purposes.

I just got back from a trip. I had turned off the water heater, WiFi, and AC while we were away.

[Christof]

I just got back from a trip. I had turned off the water heater, WiFi, and AC while we were away.

In addition we‘ve turned off phones, clocks on our microwave, radio, etc., shut down heating including hot water. Basically, only fridge, freezer, smart meter and our motion controlled outside light remained on.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

I just got back from a trip. I had turned off the water heater, WiFi, and AC while we were away.

In addition we‘ve turned off phones, clocks on our microwave, radio, etc., shut down heating including hot water. Basically, only fridge, freezer, smart meter and our motion controlled outside light remained on.

That's hard core. A lot of that stuff I don't even know how to unplug.

I am typing this on my husband's Surface. My refurbished laptop was not performing satisfactorily and rather than me buying a Chromebook or another cheap laptop, we decided we could just share and reduce our total number of gadgets.

[Dollar Slice]

This week's batch cooking was a vegan stir fry made partly with local veg from the farmer's market.

I also ordered some reusable silicone zip-top bags since I had a gift card for Amazon I'd gotten from doing a survey. I like how versatile they are - they're dishwasher safe, you can use them to cook food, you can use them to pack snacks or meals, you can freeze food in them, they're non-toxic and BPA-free, etc. I read somewhere that you can, e.g., freeze chicken with a marinade in the bag, and then pop the bag right into simmering water and poach them without even having to remove the chicken from the bag. No more raw chicken hands/cutting board/etc. for your weeknight dinner. Pretty nice!

What kind of bags do you buy?  I'm always skeptical buying them from the internet, because I don't know how they'll work, and I don't want to fork over $$$ for one that's just ok.  So I'll just trust you, internet stranger, and your recommendations :)

Oh, I just bought some no-name brand from Amazon :-/  They had a lot of good reviews so I hope they will hold up OK. I don't even know if there are "good name brand" bags being sold anywhere, I haven't seen any. (They had some at Bed Bath & Beyond, but they were a brand I'd never heard of and were $20/bag instead of $5/bag.)

If one of us remembers in a couple months I can let you know how they're holding up!

So, for the record: not having great luck with these bags. Two of the bags turned out to have a bit of a defect and one of them tore when I was struggling with the defective part. These were the ones I purchased. They are also not 100% watertight, although I think they would be fine for most storage uses. I wouldn't use them to store liquids (like freezing stock) and I wouldn't submerge them in liquid (like for sous vide or reheating food). They held up OK as long as I didn't squeeze them, but they leaked when I did. (We have a rigorous product testing regimen here in the Slicey household... ;-) ) 

[Imma]

I'm back to work tomorrow, so I'm in the middle of a last minute back-to-work household marathon. I didn't do much laundry over the past couple of weeks and I am only just now noticing how much smaller the amount of laundry is when I'm not working. It hasn't been very warm here so I haven't been sweating much, which means I can wear my clothes for longer. There aren't any regular bras (I wear sports tops at home) or tights in the laundry hamper, and no items that need special care. It's just one big load of regular cotton items that all go in together and were then line dried.

After that, I threw my work bag in the machine. It's an Eastpak shoulder bag that I've owned since 2005. I wash it once a year and it still looks ok. It has started to fade and the fabric is wearing out, I've done several small fixes over the last couple of years. I guess it's time to keep my eyes open for a new-to-me bag. I inspect the items I own semi-regularly and make a mental note of everything that needs to be replaced in the next 6 months, so I have a replacement ready when the item finally fails and I don't have to run to the shop to buy new.

[chaskavitch]

This week's batch cooking was a vegan stir fry made partly with local veg from the farmer's market.

I also ordered some reusable silicone zip-top bags since I had a gift card for Amazon I'd gotten from doing a survey. I like how versatile they are - they're dishwasher safe, you can use them to cook food, you can use them to pack snacks or meals, you can freeze food in them, they're non-toxic and BPA-free, etc. I read somewhere that you can, e.g., freeze chicken with a marinade in the bag, and then pop the bag right into simmering water and poach them without even having to remove the chicken from the bag. No more raw chicken hands/cutting board/etc. for your weeknight dinner. Pretty nice!

What kind of bags do you buy?  I'm always skeptical buying them from the internet, because I don't know how they'll work, and I don't want to fork over $$$ for one that's just ok.  So I'll just trust you, internet stranger, and your recommendations :)

Oh, I just bought some no-name brand from Amazon :-/  They had a lot of good reviews so I hope they will hold up OK. I don't even know if there are "good name brand" bags being sold anywhere, I haven't seen any. (They had some at Bed Bath & Beyond, but they were a brand I'd never heard of and were $20/bag instead of $5/bag.)

If one of us remembers in a couple months I can let you know how they're holding up!

So, for the record: not having great luck with these bags. Two of the bags turned out to have a bit of a defect and one of them tore when I was struggling with the defective part. These were the ones I purchased. They are also not 100% watertight, although I think they would be fine for most storage uses. I wouldn't use them to store liquids (like freezing stock) and I wouldn't submerge them in liquid (like for sous vide or reheating food). They held up OK as long as I didn't squeeze them, but they leaked when I did. (We have a rigorous product testing regimen here in the Slicey household... ;-) )

Thanks for the update!