Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Ointment Straws

Don't you love going on vacation and reaching in your bag to pull out your hairbrush only to find that you are now the proud owner of an over sized, pre-pasted toothbrush? Not to mention the clothes that are now soaked in shampoo. How about those hikes when you reach in your bag to pull out your awesome sandwich you've made for lunch only to find it slathered in first aid ointment...even when the ointment and sandwich were in two separate ziplock sealed baggies. That's always a happy discovery. Blech. 

Sarah was thinking ahead and decided to prepare for their travel adventure and set out to fix the problem. She found a pin all about preparing one-time-use packs of ointment, toothpaste, or whatever. 

The Original Pin
(I'll get to the source of this photo in a minute...it's part of the Pinstrosity, so keep reading). 

The caption on the pin she found said this, "Use straws to bring small amounts of toothpaste or lotion with you on a trip. Cut and burn the edges to make tiny sealed containers for things you may not need a lot of."

Sarah thought this was genius and got working. She said, "This seemed like a really cool idea for travel! The instructions didn't specify how long to cut the straws, whether or not to hold the straw in the actual flame or not, or if you had to pinch the ends of the straw first. So I thought, "Hey, this seems easy enough, I bet I can figure it out!" I cut the straws about 2 inches long, and started to burn the ends together."

The Pinstrosity

"I held the straw directly above the flame, but instead of the ends sealing together, they started to open! Basically what I ended up with was half melted, still open straws. I didn't even attempt to put any toothpaste inside, but I'm sure it would have been even more pinstrosity-er."

Not so helpful for not making messes. 

But this had to have worked for someone, right? So I set out looking. The pin led to a blog with the same vague instructions that didn't help Sarah out so well. It was a post of various camping ideas this person had found, but they didn't include any sources to where they found the ideas or pulled the photos, so I turned to my good pal, Google Image Search. The first link it pulled up was perfect. How perfect? It was the original site that the photo originated from...and it even had the guy's watermark (which was missing from the photo pinned on Pinterest):

Finding the original post made all the difference with the instructions. Brian gives an excellent tutorial on how to successfully and correctly make these ointment packs. He suggests using clear straws, using pliers to pinch the ends together while you burn/melt the edges, and then cutting the straws as you fill them. For his excellent instructions, head over to Brian's Backpacking Blog

So one of the morals of the story...if you re-blog someone's idea and/or photo...please give them credit. It helps acknowledge their work, it helps people find the original instructions (rather than the watered down or condensed versions), and it makes our job a lot easier when we're trying to track down how to actually do a certain project. 

What great tricks do you use to keep things from becoming a mess during camping, hiking, or travel? 

14 comments:

  1. How do you get the sealed straw bits open again? And how messy is it to try and fill one? I guess I've just been lucky in that I've never had my tubes of stuff open up.

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    1. Brian, the original blogger mentioned in the post, suggests on his site to squeeze the corners of the straw together and it'll pop open, or a pair of scissors or fingernail clippers will clip it open easily. I have not tried this out personally yet, but I imagine there is a little mess (as with any project), but it looks like Brian has a pretty good process figured out that will result in as little mess as possible. Check out his post: http://briangreen.net/2011/07/diy-single-use-antibiotic-packs.html

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  2. Well, for starters, put your toothbrush, paste & floss in a small pencil pouch (like the ones kids use at school). Like wise, you could put the tubes of ointment in a seperate one.

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  3. I've seen this floating around, but never looked into it. Now that you have shared the link for instructions, it's a great idea! I've pinned the link you posted. Thanks!

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  4. I saw this on Instructables the other day, you can also do this with spices for camp food.

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    1. Oh that is a most excellent idea! I've been keeping small pill containers to do that with, but this would be even better...

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  5. I came across a similar pin (not that one) but the caption said "Single use ointment/toothpaste/lotion/etc. put it in a straw. Heat your pliers and seal it shut. Hole punch and throw on a key chain inside your first aid kit/ toiletry bag/ purse / backpack. Great for camping, hiking, or traveling." So it came with at least the basic instructions. The link only went to the picture -- http://mediacdn.disqus.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/358/8776/original.jpg.

    For camping and hikes, I like meals in bags (Google "freezer bag cooking"). I lived in an RV with no water or electricity for a year, so these kinds of things were a lifesaver. :)

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  6. I tried this and had his original directions. I got the first seal done A-OK, but couldn't get the second to seal. This was probably due to the ointment residue. If you try it, maybe use another short straw as a "funnel" to get the ointment in while preserving a sealing spot.

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  7. Geez, I just get a travel-sized toothpaste, or use one that's almost run out. This seems like way the heck too much work and mess for the amount of space you save.

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    1. This was my thought too. When I go hiking I just bring the entire tube with me. It doesn't add hardly any extra weight and I put it in it's own baggie to prevent spillage on other items. Also I tend to be accident-prone so I never know how much I'll need!

      (Also I like your screen name. I too have a little black car ;)

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    2. Yeah travel sizes do exist, they don't exactly break the bank and whatever's left I use at home. Maybe this is good for people who REALLY need to travel light, e.g. backpackers

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  8. This still seems like a lot of trouble. I just pack potentially messy things in Ziplock bags. Easy solution.

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  9. I always double my Ziploc bags when I travel. I usually use the gallon or quart sizes because they seem a little sturdier. I put my stuff in it and then put that bag upside down in another bag so the zippers are on the opposite sides. The times my stuff has come open or burst, it never made a mess because, even if the first bag leaked, it never leaked out the second bag.

    (That became so so so handy when I went to Hawaii and my hairspray nozzle flew off from the pressure change on the plane.)

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  10. Firstly, thank you for taking the time to find my original post and reading the instructions. Also, thanks again for taking the time to mention that no all re-blogs are created equal. I wanted to make you aware of a recent "update" post the I published related to opening these little packages once made. It seemed that a lot of people were struggling with them.

    So, I created what I think is a clever little hack of sorts that makes opening these packs a breeze and may help some of your readers. You can find the post here: Easy Open Hack for DIY Single Use Antibiotic Packs

    Thanks again for your kind words and sharing of this fun little project. P.S. my kids love putting honey in larger versions of these straws for sweet treats when we're out and about ;) // Brian

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