# You Know Those Resealable Packages..... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 9, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-those-resealable-packages/556638 "2010-10-09T21:57:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-those-resealable-packages/556638/1 "2010-10-09T21:57:13Z")
… of say, wieners? Do they open perfectly for you the first time (dragging that upper strip across, which then reveals the re-seal strip) every time? I ask, because I often have to use scissors to open these types of packages, and I am wondering if it’s my arthritis or a faulty heat seal. Thanks Quasi ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-those-resealable-packages/556638/2 "2010-10-09T22:28:05Z")
That is what I find, too. The seal above the zipper is only where the package says it is about half the time. Sargento cheese packages, for a while, would rip open next to the zipper instead of zipping open. I think they got that straightened out. I know exactly what you mean. I tear at the perforation or the red tear line, and my poor beat-up fingers can’t get it open until I have scissored off a little more, a little more, and a little more, to expose the zipper that was so tempting in the grocery store. The sausages, or the lunch meat, or whatever, is calling out to my mouth, but _the goldang package won’t let me in!_ :mad: ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-those-resealable-packages/556638/3 "2010-10-10T21:49:32Z")
I open with scissors. If I want to reseal I stick it in a larger Ziploc. The larger Ziploc can be reused if the contents are already in a bag. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-those-resealable-packages/556638/4 "2010-10-11T20:39:12Z")
I have the same issue with a lot of packaging like that. The ez-tear off strip is not positioned correctly and I still have to use scissors. It’s very annoying because my children have a bad habit of running off with my kitchen shears. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-those-resealable-packages/556638/5 "2010-10-11T23:44:31Z")
Hate them. They either tear off too high and don’t open the package,and you have to do the trimming thing, or they tear off too low and don’t leave enough of an edge so that you can pull it open, and you end up pulling the bag apart sideways anyhow…and then they don’t reseal. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-those-resealable-packages/556638/6 "2010-10-12T22:50:34Z")
> [@Miss\_Woodhouse](#): > > I have the same issue with a lot of packaging like that. The ez-tear off strip is not positioned correctly and I still have to use scissors. It’s very annoying because my children have a bad habit of running off with my kitchen shears. Use a sharpie marker to write “kitchen” on the kitchen scissors. I do this and it seems to increase the odds the scissors come back to the kitchen. I have trouble with zip-top packaging too. Sometimes, it’s like the grooves (or whatever) don’t line up. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-those-resealable-packages/556638/7 "2010-10-13T02:05:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Use a sharpie marker to write “kitchen” on the kitchen scissors. I do this and it seems to increase the odds the scissors come back to the kitchen. You have a much nicer family than mine. 😉 Mine know exactly which scissors are the kitchen shears because they look different. These are standard kitchen shears capable of cutting a back bone out of a chicken. They don’t look like the paper scissors in the craft box. I did finally get my husband to stop trimming guitar strings with it, so I’ve made progress. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_a\_Platypus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Not\_a\_Platypus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_a_Platypus)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-those-resealable-packages/556638/8 "2010-10-13T13:12:22Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > Hate them. They either tear off too high and don’t open the package,and you have to do the trimming thing, or they tear off too low and don’t leave enough of an edge so that you can pull it open, and you end up pulling the bag apart sideways anyhow…and then they don’t reseal. The best packages tear **below** the zipper. I wrecked one of those when I saw where the zipper was just a little too late. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-those-resealable-packages/556638/9 "2010-10-13T13:37:34Z")
Scissors are a great invention. After a few bad experiences (including bags which ripped up just fine - right below the zipper), I just use mine. No arthritis here.