A TikToker shared a fantastic way to reuse silica bead packets, those little rectangles of vexation that come in many packaged consumer goods.
The scoop
Silica bead packets, or silica gel packs, are a type of desiccant, meaning they absorb moisture. They keep clothes, electronics, and even food from being damaged by humidity during shipping and storage.
In an October post by Gilgal Farmstead (@gilgal.farmstead), an Arkansas family, the creator showed how to deploy them in perhaps the most used room of your home — and it's sure to change how you feel about your spice rack.
@gilgal.farmstead Don't ya hate when your seasoning powders get all clumped up?! One of my favorite kitchen repurposing hacks is to save silica gel packs and use them in my spices or seasonings, powders i make etc. It keeps them loose and ready to use and they stay fresher longer. This onion powder is like concrete in that jar because i wa sout of gel packs when I put it in there. 🤪😅 . #Frugalhomestead #scrapbuilt #scraphomestead #homestead #homesteadtok #homesteading #frugalliving #frugallife #usewhatyouhave #wastenot #wastenotwantnot #rural #rurallife #wifeover40 #momover40 #reducereuserecycle #reuse #recycle #repurpose ♬ original sound - Gilgal Farmstead
"Do your spices and other powdered things get all clumped up like this? I have a tip for you," they said, detailing that silica gel packets can come with nori, medicine, and other items. "I save them. And then I use them in things.
"I have one in my salt box. I have one in my salt shaker. … [If] you use lemon pepper spice, you know this stuff turns into concrete. I put it in a mason jar so it's airtight, and then I toss in a little silica gel pack."
Turning a mason jar one-quarter filled with onion powder upside down — the seasoning didn't budge — they said: "We have a very humid climate here, and this is what happens if I don't use them. So, I don't throw 'em away. That's my tip for in your kitchen: Repurpose those gel packs."
How it's helping
Keeping waste out of landfills is important since there are thousands of sites across the United States alone, according to the University of Colorado Boulder Environmental Center. When there's no more room for trash, the landfill is closed — and another one opens, eliminating the valuable green space of about 600 acres.
When organic waste in these dumps breaks down, it creates methane gas, the most potent planet-warming pollution produced by humans. Other landfilled garbage can leach into the environment and infiltrate waterways despite federal regulations that require the use of liners.
This hack is also the best kind of hack: It can save you money. No more mad dashes to the grocery store with dinner half done because you need a teaspoon of a spice that is nothing but a cluster in your cabinet.
Other tipsters have shown silica can be used almost limitlessly, from drying silverware to using it as the ultimate travel buddy.
What everyone's saying
"Great tip!!" one TikToker said. "I put them in with my dried flowers."
Another agreed: "I save them too. They come in very handy reuse."
"I have a couple half gallon mason jars with them," someone else wrote. "Found them at a bin store for $0.50. It was an amazing score."
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