This Trader Joe’s Hack Will Save You So Much Money This Holiday Season
Gift-giving season is fast approaching, which means that people are making more trips to the post office, FedEx, and UPS than ever. Trust me — I know from experience, because I used to work at the UPS store. In fact, I worked at three different UPS stores in three different states, selling packaging supplies and helping people pack and ship things across state (and sometimes country!) lines. And I really did pack it all, including a pinball machine and a chandelier. In short, I know my stuff.
Because of all this, I also know that packing supplies and bubble mailers can get pricey. That’s why I love this tip from Instagrammer @distortables, who has sold over 480 pieces of clothing on Depop. Translation: They’ve had to mail a lot of stuff.
The Depop seller uses old Trader Joe’s bags from grocery runs gone by to mail clothes, and explains how to make a mailer yourself in this video.
- Remove the brown bag’s handles.
- Use packing tape to close the seams at the base of the bag.
- Add your gift (ideally a piece of clothing or a book — something that’s not fragile) to the makeshift mailer.
- Tape it all shut using packing tape.
- Tape down any excess flaps of paper.
- Add your shipping label using tape — even better if you have one that’s self-stick, which you can just pop straight on.
“This requires a good amount of tape, but at least the bag is getting reused,” @Distortables notes on Instagram. They also mention that Step 5 is optional, but as someone who has seen postal workers and delivery drivers handle envelopes and packages at pickup time, I’d say it’s crucial. The more compact your packaging is, the less likely it is to break or tear.
Note that you don’t necessarily need a Trader Joe’s bag to do this; any brown bag from any grocer will work — although the holiday-patterned bags at TJ’s would make for mighty cute packaging. I’m adding this to my list of reasons to love Trader Joe’s during the holidays (just behind their Jingle Jangle dessert mix).