It seems I'm always packing a cooler. Either it's full of drinks for my son's baseball team, snacks for a car trip, or lunch for the kids and me to eat while out somewhere to save money and keep us from buying fast food.But I used to hate the process of emptying the cooler afterward. The ice would have melted and any leftover drinks or food would have to be dried off before being put away. The cooler would also have to be dried out. Anything with a paper label would be soggy. It was just the extra mess at the end of a busy outing that put me over the top!
Then I found these reusable ice packs at Target.
They are awesome because it is a flexible sheet of frozen cubes, so I can put one in the bottom of the cooler and then use one to wrap around the sides of my smaller soft-sided cooler. You can cut the sheets (around the cubes, of course) into any size you want. They can be used over and over again. I have several because most coolers need more than one sheet.
And the best part is -- NO MESS, because they don't melt water all over everything!
It's all about making the little things in life easier, my friends!
Find more Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.
Those are great! I'd never seen them before...thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea!!! I'm sure it saves money over time too...
ReplyDeleteAwesome, I will have to look for those, I also hate the watery mess aftermath. And those also look so squishy and fun, I like that you can wrap them around stuff and customize them! Very cool.
ReplyDeleteI love the hard ice bricks too - I haven't seen the squishy ones like that though, only the medical ones. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGreat tip! I've never seen these before, just the hard brick types. These look great!!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea! I'm going to have to look for those! I too am forever packing a cooler!!! Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! A couple years ago, I sewed a pouch in my son's chest protector (he's a catcher) and we used those type of ice packs to keep him cool.
ReplyDelete~Liz
These are neat. I've not seen them before but will have to check them out. I think they would be great for the kids lunch bags we carry with us to the park and on trips sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI also really like my no ice needed cooler I bought from Avon. It insulated somehow so it maintains the temperature of whatever you put in without ice. It is also collapsible so I keep one in each of our vehicles for unexpected grocery stops. I wouldn't put ice cream in it on a summer day without ice, but for everything else it is very effective. My mom and sister both liked mine so well they each bought a couple to keep in their various vehicles.
oh those are nifty. where can i get those?
ReplyDeleteWe use these for so much. Aren't they great?!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't seen these yet! Great idea and something to think about for those days out and about. I like that you can wrap it around things if you want. I also like that you pack dinner if you know you are going to be out instead of just going through the fast food drive up. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteGreat tip - I am off to find some. I hate watery stuff from the cooler.
ReplyDeleteWe've been using one of the reusable hard packs and we like it, but these look really neat!
ReplyDeleteThese look really neat. Here in The Netherlands we have "ice bags" instead of ice cube trays so I suspect if you kept them tied shut they'd work similarly. I do like the reusability factor of these, I'm not sure the ice bags here would be as sturdy as this. Thanks for sharing!
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