DIY Space Bags… Easier Than You Ever Imagined!

August 20, 2014 at 11:28 am (Show 'N' Tell)

Big things are happening in our family these days. This weekend we are moving from Southern California to Virginia! I’ll post later with details of our new adventure, but for right now I just want to share a quick post about a packing trick that is really helping me decrease the amount of boxes we have to haul.

Photo from Amazon.com.

Remember these? I even have some, but they are pricey and not anywhere near the amount I need to shrink the sewing cloth, family clothing, linens, pillows. etc. that we have to move.

So in desperation, I decided to see if I could make a generic lawn and leaf bag serve the same function. I was shocked at how easy it was (not to mention how cheap)! Here’s what I did:

This box was full of blankets. I’ve been consolidating the boxes of squishy stuff that have already been packed and stacked in the garage. I filled the first garbage bag, gathered the top of the bag around the nozzle of the vacuum hose and turned it on. When the bag stops shrinking, turn off the vacuum and quickly remove the hose holding the top of the bag closed.

Tie the top of the bag closed in a knot and your done!

This is the big duvet from the top of the box shrunk down in the garbage bag.

Two additional garbage bags and all the blankets in the box are shrunk. Placed back in the original box, you can see the amount of space that has been saved. Now I added another bag to the empty space and put a quilt, a bedspread , 2 Mexican blankets and a full length wool coat. Turn on the vacuum and NOW the box is full.

The top of the box didn’t reseal quite as tightly as before, but I figure the blankets are still now better protected from dust and whatnot than they were before.

One other example… Giant Sock Monkey… I honestly didn’t know how I was going to be able to take this toy due to it’s size, but it was a gift to my kids from my niece and they are very attached to it.

I think Sock Monkey will fit on the truck just fine. 🙂

Using this packing trick, so far I have managed to consolidate and remove at least 7 good sized boxes from out “to go” pile.

Here is a glimpse of Zoe helping me enjoy my work in the hot garage a bit more by her running commentary. Here she’s exclaiming about how this bike is just so “beeeg! It beeeg!” She’s growing so fast!