Inventive mother

Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher, once said that "Necessity is the mother of invention." But in the case of Mary Jo Bass, a mother's necessity resulted in an invention.

Frustrated in trying to find a way to keep gently used baggies open so they could dry after she washed them for reuse, the Henderson resident created the Baggie Dryer.

"I had tried the faucet handles, anywhere in the kitchen I could think of to keep them open," she said.

As a new mother, she also was also looking for a better way to dry her baby's bottles. It was her frustration that sent her to the garage one day, where she created the prototype for the Baggie Dryer out of a piece of cardboard and barbecue skewers. Her father-in-law, who operates a manufacturing plant, helped refine the design and select the materials for the finished product.

Really quite simple in design, the Baggie Dryer consists of a plastic base that holds sets of parallel acrylic rods that keep baggies upright and open so they can dry properly. The rods are the perfect height to hold gallon-size bags.

Bass said it can be used to hold open practically any type of plastic baggie, particularly the resealable types and those used for vacuum sealing food.

"I started out not wanting to throw decent, gently used, perfectly good baggies in the landfill," she said.

She also felt that throwing them away was a waste of money.

"Every bag you clean and reuse instead of throwing away is money in your pocket."

Although it wasn't her intention to sell the Baggie Dryers, Bass said she was surprised to learn how many people actually reuse their plastic baggies -- even though many are embarrassed to admit they do.

To clean the baggies, Bass recommends washing them in warm soapy water.

The dryer holds as many as eight bags, and the Baggie Dryer's individual rods also hold bottles of all types, as well as items such as hydration water reservoirs.

"You could even use it to dry gloves in the winter," she said.

At $12.95 in white and $14.95 in beige, the Baggie Dryer pays for itself very quickly, especially if you consider the high cost of bags needed for vacuum packers, Bass said.

When not in use, the rods are stored inside the dryer's base.

For additional information, visit www.baggiedryer.com.