Umm, or just use those green twist-ties they have there like everyone else.

@DougDascenzo:

Agreed, but it's pretty amusing to see the thumbs up - thumbs down rating.

@DougDascenzo:

Good suggestion. Or just cut the bag open.

Nothing wrong with just tearing the hell out of the bag :)

Fruit grows on trees. Why do we need the bag after we get it home? An estimated guess says 90% of refrigerators have a fruit compartment.

@n1ckel5: Mine is in the 10% that doesn't. It has a single unlabeled drawer, which has no separate humidity or temperature controls, which we use for meat, so as to avoid possible dripping or what have you on other things. Fruit and veggies go pretty much anywhere. It's an awesome fridge, and I love it.
Those little baggies suck, anyway. Unless I'm buying a ton of something, I don't bother using them.

Dude, I've been tying my produce bags with slipknots for like...forever. Welcome to the 21st century. :)

.....Scissors to open, clothespins to close. Works on bread, chips, cereal, crackers, etc. I used to rip bags open with my teeth...

Was it my imagination, or did the video maker have something obscene written on his hand at the end of the film?

Oh, never mind - it said "consumerist.com" . I thought it said something else. My bad...

Or you could just get 1 piece of fruit per bag, then destroy the bag when you need it. Far easier than figuring out that slipknot rubbish :-P

I assume you mean beyond Consumerist.com?

Actually I thought it said, "Cocksucker.com" the first time I saw it too.

I always use slipknots . . . that way I can reuse them as poop bags when I take my dog for a walk.

I can't believe I'm the first to point this out. Looks like someone has been enjoying his new copy of Final Cut. Nice production values, there, Ben. Though I was really looking forward to the patented Popken mouth click that normally comes at the end of your videos.

A modified version of this also works for plastic shopping bags. Stick one handle through the other handle and pull back. This creates just enough of a closure to keep your cans from rolling around the trunk, but still leaves the back intact for use as a bathroom trash bag.

Somehow this pales in comparison to the frustration and sometime rage I feel after shopping at Ralphs..."Oh, please Mr. Apathetic Bagger, put ALL the heavy stuff in one shitty plastic bag. Thanks!"

holy shit! that video was better than any movie i've ever seen.

Why does anyone even bother to twist-tie/knot tie/use a clasp for produce bags? I haven't "sealed" a produce bag EVER, and have never had produce go missing. I also worked at Kroger for over 10 years starting in high school (working a register) and rarely saw a customer that sealed their produce bags. Sounds like you're just trying to frustrate yourselves!

Been doing slip knots forever... or better yet, with heavier stuff, spin the bag so you get a long, twisty "rope" of plastic, and simply tuck the long end under item when you stick it on a shelf. Great if you live alone, if you share your fridge, best to explain weird system.

What if the bag is nearly full? You can't use this trick then, can you, smarty-pants? :)

A store I went to temporarily used produce bags with handles. That was nice.

Why don't you do a post about a good way to move your groceries from the cart to the conveyor?

Stand at the end of the conveyor, remove an item from the cart with your right hand, transfer the item to your left hand, place it on the conveyor. Uses a minimum reach which makes it more convenient than any other method. I saw it once and started using it immediately. I rarely see someone else doing it.

A diagram to make it clearer:

O = you
C = checker and register
xxx = cart
=== = conveyor
... = checkout lane

........................xxx
===========O
     C

What a horrible article! You can't compare apples to oranges!

that's not a slipknot; it's a slipped half-hitch.
good idea though.

This isn't anything new for closing produce bags. I use two bag-closing variations. This is one of them.

The other, which I do more frequently, is to tie an overhand knot using the two sides of the top of the bag. This method is even easier to open - just pull the bag below the knot and it opens. No twisting needed, so it's faster, too. If you tie it as a butcher knot (two overs instead of 1 aka double overhand) then it's even more secure. I also use this method to close trash bags that don't have the self-closing cinch, tying them in a square knot which is nice and secure. You don't need as much bag-slack as the half hitch method, either.

Uh... I've tied bags this way this since I was a kid. What's so freakin' special about it?

A hitch is used to connect the rope (or, in this case, the wound-up plastic bag) to something else, so this isn't a hitch. It's an overhand knot with a drawloop. :)

Seriously, though, this is a great real-life example of how our lives could be improved with some knowledge of a few basic knots. People in the past used knots for everything, and many of us haven't acquired the same skills due to modern tools. And now all our fruit's rotting because we can't open our bags!

I didn't start using this knot until I had to quickly enclose and release myself from a large blue sack in a performance. Now, I use it all the time!

Thanks, post-modern dance!

This is pretty standard for the camp I used to work at (Camp Stephens). Just make sure NOT to do this with garbage bags containing garbage...

DUGG (on DIGG): http://digg.com/videos/educational/Tie_Slipped_Half_Hitche...

I just shred the bag to get at the delicious treats inside.

I don't even use these bags. Just put the produce directly into my cart/basket. Then the checker puts it directly into a plastic/paper grocery bag.

I've been using that technique for years. I like to save the plastic bags for other uses. They're a handy size and I use it for wet garbage that I can't dump into the garbage disposal.

I don't bother to make any twists in the bag before I make the the slip knot. It works just as well without them and makes it easier to get to the contents.

twist and tuck

If Carl Brutananadilewski were here he would say "What are ya... stupid or somethin?"

Great work! Now that plastic bag you HAD TO USE will enter the landfill seconds faster. Very impressive.

@Little Mintz Sunshine: I feel the opposite frustration, shopping at Publix in Miami. My fiancee recently purchased 3 items, and came home with 5 plastic bags. It's insane how many times they bag, bag, double-bag, individually wrap, and superbagify everything.

We usually use cloth bags for grocery and other shopping, but sometimes one forgets, or gets caught up with the cashier while the bagger goes nuts.

I just twist the bag closed. It holds plenty well without a fastener, as far as I'm concerned.

Child + Helium-filled balloon + Brilliant Mom who uses this slipknot technique all the time to start knitting = "Wearing" balloon faster + Happy Child

Just never thought about it for produce bags. Could be that I don't use produce bags.

@NeoteriX: Nothign wrong with tearing the bag open? Sorry, that's wrong jerk. It's called sustainability. if you have to use plastic bags, it might be nice for the rest of us if you could reuse them rather than tear them to unusable shreds after one use. get with the program.

Neat!
I will use it the next time I buy two oranges.

@tycho55: Yeah, that's what i was thinking...good way to close bread bags. The produce bags I don't even use.