Hi All! We are just starting up a new school year and my children will be taking lunch from home most days. I hate wasting plastic baggies for sandwiches, fruit and vegetables, but the reusable rubbermaid, etc. are too big for their lunchboxes. Does anyone have experience with the reusable sandwich bags (where to get them, care, etc.)? Any other suggestions?
SOrry, different venue advice... walmart has thermal lunch bags with a zip bottom that holds an included sandwich tupperware. Four bucks for the whole shebang.
As long as the little sandwich bags aren't gooey or have something sticky on them, they can be reused. As long as he's bringing a box home every day, just have him put the bags back in. Just make sure you open the box as soon as he gets home and go through to get the unusable out. Sometimes the gooey can transfer.
I purchased reusable fabric sandwich bags on Etsy (etsy.com) - there are a ton of sellers and a range of prices and features. I prefer the ones lined with oilcloth b/c they're better for both dry and wet snacks (sandwiches, grapes, carrots). Considering how much you pay for ziplocs and the environmental impact, the cost is totally worth it (they are really NOT expensive). You can use them for a while before they need to be washed...and then just stick them in the washing machine. Because my guy is still little, I also purchased the ones with a fold and vertical strip of velcro, which are easier for him to open than the ones with velcro going along the whole top.
My favorite shop/seller is: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5793502
good luck!
I send my son with sack lunches. I just ask him to please bring the bags home. There's no reason to throw thwm out. Sometimes he forgets but this has worked pretty well for me.
