Dong, I posed your questions to my 78-year-old mother in Dallas during a recent phone conversation, and then patiently waited for the time it took her to think about it and snail-mail her response.

After following her instructions to the letter, I snapped this photo of her solution:



She not only claims that these recycled Sun-Maid® raisin-bread bags keep out dirt and debris, but she says that an endless supply can be procured by tapping your local coupon-clipping network to save them for you (like she does.) The bags are held up by common, re-used rubber bands, of which my mother has a drawer-full (that on my last visit seemed to be multiplying like a den of amorous, but tiny snakes.)

Just remember that not any old bread bag will do. My mother claims that Sun-Maid’s raisin-bread bags will outlast any other bread bag by four times. There’s no source given for her claim, but she does cite the time her Ford Fiesta broke down on the drive from her YMCA exercise class to their after-workout rendezvous at the Potz Family Cookin’ place and she had to walk three blocks in the rain as her proof. She said she arrived without a drop in her mocs inside her Sun-Maids, while her passengers wrung out their socks at their usual brunch booth.

When I said on a follow-up call that the original query was about keeping out dirt & debris, she shot back that they sure will if they’ll keep her dry in a Texas gully-washer.

I asked her if the mil-thickness or the chemical composition of the bags was what gave those Sun-Maids their durability. She said it was probably a patented trade secret and was obvious to anyone that’s why Sun-Maid’s raisins stayed the freshest in their bread. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> (Wonder if she's got stock in Arnold Foods, parent of SM?)

Born in ’30, my mom has told me some harrowing Depression-era tales of her childhood. Interesting that today I’m finding more and more of her ideas dovetail nicely with “sustainability,” recycling and the like. Listen to your mother! If not, mine!

(Note: From my observations, the SM bags work best with women's trail shoes size 6 or less.)