The Almost-Free Plastic Baggie Hack that Makes Kitchen Messes Less Stressful

published Oct 4, 2021
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Credit: Joe Lingeman

I pride myself on the fact that I have never dropped my phone in a toilet or spilled coffee on it. (My poor laptop is another story. RIP, Lisa’s MacBook!) And I tend to do everything in my power to keep up those bragging rights.

But as someone who cooks a lot, following recipes (from Kitchn!) on my phone, it’s not always easy to keep my phone safe. Which is where this plastic bag comes in.

I oddly got the idea while treating myself to a manicure years ago. The place I like to go to uses these awesome plastic gloves that are filled with lotion and heated. The gloves are put on between filing and cuticle cutting, and the first time I went there, the technician showed me that I could still navigate on my phone while I sat there — even with the gloves on. My mind was blown!

If I could still use the touch screen with gloves on, I bet the phone would work through a plastic zip-top baggie. I finished my manicure and ran home to give it a try (carefully because my nails were definitely still wet!). It worked! Of course it did. Even the fingerprint unlocking feature worked!

Credit: Studio Firma/Stocksy

That night, I made marinara sauce and didn’t worry at all about splatters or spills. I simply slipped my phone into the bag, zipped it up, and wrapped the excess plastic around the back. (I’d show you a pic but my phone is, well, a crucial part of the trick and I don’t have another camera at the moment.)

At the end of the cooking session, I just take the phone out and set the bag aside. This way, I’m not being wasteful; I can keep reusing my “phone bag” every time I want to protect my phone while cooking. I’ve also especially been liking this tip these days, as I don’t get to clean my phone that often and, with the coronavirus top of mind, I like sealing up the phone, washing my hands, and then cooking without having to worry about things.

While I haven’t had any full submerging spills, the bag has saved my phone from drops of olive oil, dustings of flour, globs of almond butter I didn’t realize were on my fingers, and more. It’s not super glamorous, but hey, neither is getting a new iPhone.

This post originally ran on Kitchn. See it there: Why I Started Keeping a Plastic Baggie on My Kitchen Counter at All Times