Re-using Capri Sun Pouches

[tedennis]

It has been mentioned a bunch of times on here but I have yet to see a thread on it. If I missed it, I apologize.

I bought a 4 pack of capri sun boxes from costco for $5.00. Hard to beat that for mylar. After saving as many as I could (I let others drink them) I ended up with 32.

The first step is to cut the tops off just below the straw hole.

[IMG][/IMG]

I then removed as much of the remaining straw wrapper as I could.

Seeing as most of them sat for awhile and dried out, I filled them all with hot water and let them soak.

[IMG][/IMG]

I them thouroughly rinsed them out and sat the upside down on a towel and let them dry for 3 days. I figured any moisture whatsoever could ruin the whole thing so I didnt want to take any chances.

[IMG][/IMG]

For the heck of it, I filled one with water and sealed it to see if it would be leak proof. I tried standing on it just to see and of course it blew the seal but I expected that. It held the water under moderate pressure without any leaks.

[IMG][/IMG]

I then filled each with its contents, dropped in a 50 CC Oxygen Absorber and sealed it up.

The spices and mixes I used were from aldi's and include the following:

-steak seasoning
-ground cinnamon
-minced onion
-ranch powder
-italian seasoning
-paprika
-garlic powder
-oregano leaves
-chili powder
-basil leaves
-parsley flakes
-seasoning salt
-assorted gravy mixes

I labeled and dated each with a permanent marker.

Overall I am impressed with how it turned out.

The grainy stuff sucked down real good. The leafy stuff not as much but I expected that.

I had $5.00 in the capri sun pouches and roughly $15 for 200 50cc oxygen absorbers so I have many left. I comsider the mylar free because they are technically recycled. So this is super cheap prepping.

Not only is this great for spices/mixes, it can be used to pack small amounts of anything for barter. I plan on packing some other things also like matches to keep them dry, maybe small notepads to keep safe in BOB until needed. Is great for fire starting material. You can also cut a small "V" in the side for easy tearing to open.

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions, I will do my best to answer.

[TxHills]

I didn't start a thread specifically on the pouches...but I included some in this thread. I did the same as you...with hot water. I then filled with spices my daughter got on clearance at her work, Encore Gourmet. I've since packed some more, but I only had 100 cc absorbers. A bit overkill, but no harm. I've since packed some sugar and salt, and some more spices.

I'm gonna try the gravy mix like you did....thanks for the tip, as I have several packs. Parsley flakes sucked down good, but not as well as pepper, cinnamon,etc. For sure, a cheap way to prep, especially if you've got someone in the house, or friends kids that drink these things!


http://www.survivalistboards.com/sho...d.php?t=176676

[Rascals]

You can buy brand new ones cheaper then that. Also you can get many differnt sizes. Look around on this web sight and youll see all sorts of differnt bags. Ive bought from them only use 3 of the sizes but it sure beats all the trouble and extra cost of the used ones. http://www.sorbentsystems.com/standupbags_order.html

[Herbalpagan]

I had a bunch of these and tried some things too. I didn't use o2 in them though.
I put trail mix in some, but the others I did for tossing in a backpack for camping or hiking:
it will fit half a wash cloth and travel bar of soap
it will fit a fire starting kit
it will fit a small first aid kit
it will fit an emergency fishing kit
it will hold a couple of batteries.
it will hold seasonings for cooking a camp meal.

My thoughts were small items that would need to be kept dry if one was hiking or canoeing. I'll try some of the spice mixes! Great demo pics!

[rextex]

Good thread. Thanks

[weaselrunner]

I had saved up a bunch to something with until my wife threw them out (well you hadnt done anything with them so I got rid of them) but a friend of mine uses them to package cereal and such for her kids as snack bags.

[goose3]

It's clever but here is my take on it:

1. You'd want to ensure they're clean. You seemed to do a good job of cleaning them, but who knows?

2. Is it worth risking food spoilage or our health by reusing something like this?

3. It sure is a way to leverage someone's time, i.e., if they have no money they can get mylar this way.

4. On the other hand, if they have no money, what are they doing w/ Capri Sun?

5. Oh, yeah, it was on sale.

6. You can make smaller mylar bags out of larger ones. A gallon mylar which costs 36 cents at Sorbent can yield 4 small bags (seal the open edges) for 9 cents apiece.

7. Seems like a lot of work to save under $3 in mylar.

8. On the other hand, when people are resourceful, we can all learn from that.

[Odessa]

Save the pointy straws and refill them with booze and tape the straws to the pouch. Label and you got some bartering commodities! Sorry, had to say it :D

[Odessa]

Originally Posted by goose3

It's clever but here is my take on it:

1. You'd want to ensure they're clean. You seemed to do a good job of cleaning them, but who knows?

2. Is it worth risking food spoilage or our health by reusing something like this?

3. It sure is a way to leverage someone's time, i.e., if they have no money they can get mylar this way.

4. On the other hand, if they have no money, what are they doing w/ Capri Sun?

5. Oh, yeah, it was on sale.

6. You can make smaller mylar bags out of larger ones. A gallon mylar which costs 36 cents at Sorbent can yield 4 small bags (seal the open edges) for 9 cents apiece.

7. Seems like a lot of work to save under $3 in mylar.

8. On the other hand, when people are resourceful, we can all learn from that.

Dont ruin it man, its a good idea if you got carpet crawlers or drape monkeys runnin around the house drinking those things up. I would personally use them for individual meals of rice and beans or something similar. I wouldnt open bottles of spices to put in there for sealed and kept in a semi cool dark place they will last just as long or close enough. I imagine sams club would have deals on cases of these things. I have a hard time finding the Powerade capri suns personally around my area, I like to put a couple in my outter compartments when Im humping my way through the florida jungle.

[goose3]

Originally Posted by Odessa

Dont ruin it man, its a good idea if you got carpet crawlers or drape monkeys runnin around the house drinking those things up. I would personally use them for individual meals of rice and beans or something similar. I wouldnt open bottles of spices to put in there for sealed and kept in a semi cool dark place they will last just as long or close enough. I imagine sams club would have deals on cases of these things. I have a hard time finding the Powerade capri suns personally around my area, I like to put a couple in my outter compartments when Im humping my way through the florida jungle.

As I said, it's resourceful, but aren't there better ways to spend one's time? I understand the idea of testing a method and seeing if it will work.

And in the end, do you want to turn your food storage over to a method like this? If I had no other option, I would, but geez--sometimes the amount you save is such a pittance compared to the time you spend to get it that you'd be far better off to spend the money, save the time, and do something more productive with it.

To each his own.

[vicdotcom]

Originally Posted by goose3

It's clever but here is my take on it:

1. You'd want to ensure they're clean. You seemed to do a good job of cleaning them, but who knows?

2. Is it worth risking food spoilage or our health by reusing something like this?
....

But remember, food isn't the only thing you can store in these. Though I do have one burried in my backyard for over a year. I am waiting 2 years to open it and see how it fared.

[vicdotcom]

Originally Posted by tedennis

It has been mentioned a bunch of times on here but I have yet to see a thread on it. If I missed it, I apologize.

I bought a 4 pack of capri sun boxes from costco for $5.00. Hard to beat that for mylar. After saving as many as I could (I let others drink them) I ended up with 32.

....

For the heck of it, I filled one with water and sealed it to see if it would be leak proof. I tried standing on it just to see and of course it blew the seal but I expected that. It held the water under moderate pressure without any leaks.
....
I labeled and dated each with a permanent marker.

..

Man I am really happy that this idea is taking off! I think you did a great job on it. I currently have one of these burried in my backyard for over a year. Going to wait 2 years to dig it up and check on it. I figured being out in the elements in FL for 2 years would be about 10 years or more in dry/cool storage.

For your try on the water...How did you seal the water? I was able to stand on mine without it popping. In fact I have a few in my car-kits. I think the problem is that you left air in it. Take a peek at this thread to see how I was able to stand on it without popping. Specifically step 3. That should solve your problem. There is also a link to the original thread about the Capri-sun pouch process in the begining

How to seal water:
http://www.survivalistboards.com/sho...d.php?t=139363

Now for the water pouches, I did use a weak bleach solution to clean pouches first to get rid of any lingering bacteria.

[MikeK]

They're just about the perfect size for storing things you don't use a lot of at a time, such as spices, tomato powder, peanut butter powder, etc. Pretty thick too if I remember right. I don't drink those so I don't have any of them though. But a good deal to reuse for those who buy them.

[cleatis]

Hey, good job. way to use what you got. thats what counts.

[MtnBikeMike]

Thanks for sharing!

[pensacoladon]

Great idea, things people figure out.

[tedennis]

Originally Posted by goose3

It's clever but here is my take on it:

1. You'd want to ensure they're clean. You seemed to do a good job of cleaning them, but who knows?

2. Is it worth risking food spoilage or our health by reusing something like this?

3. It sure is a way to leverage someone's time, i.e., if they have no money they can get mylar this way.

4. On the other hand, if they have no money, what are they doing w/ Capri Sun?

5. Oh, yeah, it was on sale.

6. You can make smaller mylar bags out of larger ones. A gallon mylar which costs 36 cents at Sorbent can yield 4 small bags (seal the open edges) for 9 cents apiece.

7. Seems like a lot of work to save under $3 in mylar.

8. On the other hand, when people are resourceful, we can all learn from that.

I understand you points but why cut up the one gallon bags when they have their own purpose? And why let these go to waste?

Nothing beats free. Kind of.

[Filthy_McNasty]

Originally Posted by pensacoladon

Great idea, things people figure out.

It's threads like these that make this website the best place for useful DIY and disaster preparedness information.

[tedennis]

Originally Posted by Filthy_McNasty

It's threads like these that make this website the best place for useful DIY and disaster preparedness information.

I completely agree. But like I said, I can't take ownership for the idea. I just wanted to let everyone know how well it worked.

[Filthy_McNasty]

Originally Posted by tedennis

I completely agree. But like I said, I can't take ownership for the idea. I just wanted to let everyone know how well it worked.

You can't put a price on good ideas that are shared with those that are interested. What you're doing is very helpful and is very useful information. There are too many "drama threads" that take away the main reason for being here.

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiment▬even if it wasn't your idea..