The Scissor Trick That Makes Any Food Bag Resealable Without Using Rubber Bands

Whether you're a potato chip connoisseur or constantly keep dried beans on hand for your go-to one-pot red beans and rice recipe, most people's pantries are filled to the brim with bags of ingredients. The common convention is to snip the top of these bags, pour out what you need, and reseal them using a bag clip or rubber band. However, if you're tired of rummaging around in your junk drawer with one hand while precariously holding bags of quinoa closed with the other, there's a better way.

While the easiest way to store pantry items and keep them fresh is to remove the food from the original packaging, some don't have the budget or space for extra storage containers. Fortunately, a little clever cutting with your kitchen scissors renders the original packaging a cinch to seal, no rubber bands or extra tools needed. Rather than cutting straight across, cut a U-shape slightly into the top of the bag, creating two "legs" on either side of the opening. When it's time to close things up, just tie the legs together to seal the bag tightly closed again.

The biggest pitfall with this hack is ensuring your cut is the right shape and depth. Too shallow and the legs won't be long enough to tie together. Too deep and the cut edges will be exposed even after you've knotted it closed. One simple solution may be to cut a V instead of a U to make the right shape easier to gauge, as you'll be cutting straight lines.

Whether you're using a U-cut or a V-shaped one, it's important that the sides of the cut are as even as possible, so the legs are of equal length. The bottom of the cut should also stop an inch or two above the remaining food in the bag to create a tighter seal. Though a double knot is necessary for this hack to work properly, undoing them can be tough. To create a partial slipknot, pull one of the legs just halfway through the knot so it'll open easily with a single tug.

This hack works best with plastic bags that hold things like rice and split peas, as they're flexible and won't tear easily when knotted. If you're dealing with crinkly mylar bags, there's a genius hack for folding potato chip bags closed that'll work well on things like bags of cereal, cookies, trail mix, and most other snacks. The trick is to fold down the top two corners to form a point, then fold the point in on itself until it creates a little pocket that holds the bag closed with friction.

Of course, all of these clever tricks only work as long as there's a fairly substantial amount of food in the bag to tie or fold against. Otherwise, it may be best to invest in an inexpensive storage container from Dollar Tree to keep the dregs of your pantry items fresh and organized.