We never buy freezer bags and I’m on a mission to help people see that they’re entirely unnecessary. In the category of plastic bags in general, please don’t ever buy them!
Most of our freezing is done in glass jars. Roasted pumpkin, for example, goes into a large mouth glass jar with a few inches left at the top to account for expanding liquid when it freezes.
But what about things that really don’t need to be put in jars, like berries and bananas and pre-made burritos? Enter the DIY freezer bag. I’m feeling sheepish even writing about this, because I know most of my friends already do this. If you’re going to freeze your goodies for more than a month, be sure to use a very sturdy bag. Simply reuse another thick bag!
We get frozen cassava tortillas, for example, and frozen berries when we run out of our own, and simply save those self-sealing bags to reuse as freezer bags for our own food.
A DIY Freezer bag, Ahem, is Just a Reused Freezer Bag.
And, if you run out of those, double up on regular self-sealing bags that you’ve saved. By using two, you’ll extend the freeze-life of your perishables. Simple! If you don’t have ziploc-style bags, just ask for them in your local Buy Nothing group. People will gladly share the ones they typically throw away and you’ll never have to buy those bags again.
Don’t Buy Freezer Bags. Just Double Up on Your Reusable Self-Sealing Bags.
Pioneering The Simple Life 
We actually put our berries in jars as well – freeze them on a cookie sheet first then pour them into mason jars. Any plastic bags that food comes in we save for dog poop bags as we don’t like to buy them anymore.
Out of curiosity, why do you freeze bananas?
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We often put berries in jars, too, but the freezer bags allow me to pack them into tight corners of the freezer when we’re low on space. I don’t need to do the extra step of freezing them on a cookie sheet. We freeze bananas because my children love smoothies with frozen bananas in them! It makes the smoothie like ice cream. Also, when bananas start to bruise, if we can’t eat them fast enough, they get thrown into the freezer so they can be saved for later smoothies or banana peanut butter ice cream.
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Ah gotcha!
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I freeze bananas for banana bread/muffins!
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You can also use the wax paper liners from cereal boxes, and the plastic type of bags that dried noodles/pasta come in. They are air tight and if you use two for the freezer, you’re pretty much guaranteed your items will defrost out as fresh as when you put them in the freezer.
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Thanks, Karen! Will try those, too.
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