Why Didn’t I Do This Earlier? Reusing Silica Gel Packets

We recently bought a mattress in a box from Amazon, but before I tell you THAT story, I have to tell you THIS story.

This story is about the other thing that was in the box besides a squished up mattress.

Giant silica gel packets.

I’m not kidding you. These things were as big as my palm.

And for the first time in my life, I thought, “Hey, Smarty Pants! Maybe you should reuse those silica gel packets.”

The lightbulb burns bright around here ~~every once in awhile~~.

Do you reuse silica gel packets?

If so, why didn’t you tell me?

I thought we were friends!

Friends tell friends smart things like this.

My foray into reusing silica gel packets was a big one. I wasn’t messing around with my commitment to this idea, folks.

My kids each have a ~~large plastic tote~~ keepsake box and that’s where I put the silica gel packets to help keep those precious memories free of moisture.

You don’t need an action shot of me placing the silica gel packet in the ~~large plastic tote~~ keepsake box do you? I’m willing to do it because we are friends, but I’d really rather not.

How about a confession instead?

Don’t tell my son, but a few years ago I opened his keepsake box and the little leather booties that I had saved from when he was a baby had mold or mildew starting to grow on them. Everything else was fine, I swear!

The bag I had put the booties in must have trapped moisture. All I know is it was extremely lucky that I opened the box when I did.

Timing is everything, right?

Especially since the next time I opened his box I realized it almost caught on fire in the attic…but that’s another story.

The point is the box and its contents are fine, ~~but maybe I should go check again.~~

I’m going to call these giant silica gel packets an insurance policy on keeping my children’s precious keepsakes dry and intact ~~at least until it’s time to get them out of my house and into their houses~~.

Someday my son will be so happy to open his box of keepsakes and see all the wacky and precious things I’ve saved from his childhood. At least I hope he will be happy because clearly I’ve been ~~extremely lucky~~ working very hard at keeping these things safe and dry and not burned up for a very long time!

If you want to reuse your silica packets, here is a list of 50 places they can be used from Make Life Lovely. FIFTY! I’ve got a long way to go to achieve peak silica gel packet reuse.

If you’ve been using your silica gel packets for awhile, here is how to recharge them via eHow. Let’s all pretend we are actually going to do this, okay?

If you want a special keepsake box too, I use these 18-gallon ones by Sterilite.

Now my mind is blown. You can buy silica gel packets that change color so you know when to recharge them! I should have known this was a thing. I wonder if they pack silica gel packets in with the silica gel packets when they ship them?!?!