Some might call my views on this old-fashioned, but someone has to stand up for tradition: chip clips are a pivotal part of a functional adult household.
Let me be clear. You aren’t a grown up if you don’t have chip clips. You have not fully matured. Like Peter Pan, you are a perpetual child. The chip clip is a bellwether of a civilized household. It is a sign of respect for the pantry and for the sustained crispiness of chips. Empathize with your chips a moment: imagine if someone left every window in your house somewhat open and let cold, dry air race through as you were sleeping. Tell me if you would wake up each morning achieving your full potential. Such is the life of the disrespected chip.
Why chip bag ‘hacks’ don’t work
If you fold the bag and push it against the wall… We see you, and it isn’t pretty. No one respects you more for this weak, friction-based method of sealing bags. And it’s going to make your ruffles stale.
If you use something that ISN’T designed for chip bags, it’s annoying.
Finally, there’s the “no clip” hacks. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t need to have origami skills, or spend a minute every time you want to close a chip bag.
Buy quality chip clips in bulk
Look, there are a multitude of options for clips out there. The most important thing you can do right now is get out there and buy at least TEN chip clips. Don’t think about it, don’t debate, just do it and clip your bags abundantly. Not because you ever have 10 open bags of chips, but because it is so easy to misplace these things.
I’ll walk through two clear winners in the chip clip game. You should pretty much ignore everything else.
Highest quality chip clips with a white or gray look: Oxo Good Grips
The first winner is OXO. I’ve had 20 of these clips in my household for a couple of years now, and they are nice-looking and high quality. They operate flawlessly. I thereby achieve the goal of not having to think about chip clips.
Cheapest bag clips that will still set you apart from the barbarians—Cook with Color
I have always been suspicious of cheap chip clips, but ordered these on a whim and must say I’m impressed with their build quality for the price. At the time I bought them, it was $9.99 for an 8-pack, and they are a fairly good competitor to Oxo. I’m biased toward white/gray, but Cook with Color also offers a wide range of clips colors and designs.
Avoid cheap, ugly clips
You won’t feel encouraged to use your chip clips if they’re ugly and multi-colored. The festive “rainbow” look on chips just makes your house seem like a preschool. There are a ton of ugly, crappy ones out on the market that fall apart. In particular, there’s one rebranded design where the clips don’t stay together. These types:
For some reason, these have been getting manufactured at the same quality level for years under hundreds of different brands and I’ve always found them to be unstable and unreliable. This is the kind of stuff that are purchased in bulk and rebranded and sold in discount stores. Don’t do it.
Respect Your Chips, Respect Yourself
I’m sympathetic to the idea of “broken windows” policing: a city that allows broken windows will eventually find itself enmeshed in ever-increasing crime. Enforcing small rules helps protect the big ones. Chip clips are a brick in the foundation of sensible, efficient living. Don’t neglect them.
