Do Space Bags Really Work?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I live in a ~1200 square foot apartment with six other people (and three cats). I’ve been suggesting to my parents that we find a better, more space efficient way of storing sheets, quilts, off-season clothing, etc. I recently saw a commercial for space bags. I’m not one to be sucked into these commercials, but it seems just too good to be true.</p>

<p>My questions to all you parents out there are the following:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Do space bags work as well as in the commercials?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it easy to store items in the bags? My mother worries that the vacuuming part might be difficult.</p></li>
<li><p>Is it easy to pack and unpack the bags? (Let’s say I had to search for my favorite shirt through a bunch of bags. Is it really feasible to go through all the bags?)</p></li>
<li><p>Are space bags actually reusable?</p></li>
<li><p>How long do the space bags last? The last thing we need is a bunch of bags basically exploding in the closets because our quilts are in storage for too long.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Any other information would be appreciated. Thank you. :)</p>

2

<p>easy to use BUT dont stuff them really full… be sure you have sealed them well. the vacuum part is easy. i have re-used mine</p>

3

<p>I posted a similar thread on these the other day that you might want to read - </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1173575-vacuum-seal-clothes-bedding-bags.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1173575-vacuum-seal-clothes-bedding-bags.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>Thanks to you both. I don’t know how I missed the other thread!</p>

5

<p>I use them only for off season stuff. Have used the same bags for several years without issue. The vacumming part is very easy. I will warn you that stuff gets really, really wrinkled in them. I separate things into different bags: is D clothes, S clothes, winter blankets, etc. You don’t want to be searching for one thing in several bags, only store stuff that you will not need for several months.</p>

6

<p>I was always intrigued by the commercials that show a person using space bags to fit more stuff into a suitcase for traveling. I wondered how they would get all that stuff back in the suitcase for the trip home after unpacking the contents, assuming they were staying in a hotel where a vacuum was not available.</p>

7

<p>Dtr used them for a 3 week trip trip Australia, they were the type you could roll the air out manually( they had a oneway valve) so you didn’t need a vacuum and they worked great. You still need to be mindful of the wgt of your suit case as you can get more in the same area.</p>

8

<p>They’re OK, but if you keep things stored for a length of time, we have found it good to open the bag up & fluff up the contents periodically. After a while, we decided we didn’t like it as a long-term storage method. It seems to smoosh things when they’re stored too long. It is OK for packing, but I had trouble taking the time & trouble to properly repack using them & ended up mailing boxes back home instead (got lazy). </p>

<p>7 people and 3 cats in a 1200 square foot apartment could be quite cozy. Not sure space bags would be enough, but it might help with off season bulky things.</p>

9

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<p>A vacuum is not necessary. You can just roll the air out of them and they work just fine. Mine, did, anyway. I haven’t used them for the past several trips because I finally made a decision to just pack lighter. :)</p>