Santa Bags

[taybrynn]

I've in the last couple years discovered a storage solution that works well for me.

I call them "Santa Bags" ... mainly because they are BIG and you can put a lot of stuff in them without having
to fuss too much about what fits and what doesn't ... and they can handle 70-80lbs each.

They are just jumbo sized sandbags I bought in bulk on ebay.

I throw in cords from specific parts of the yard or display into bags, write on them ... done.  put away.

Much cheaper than using containers and very easy to move.  Probably $.50 to $1.00 per bag and haven't had one rip yet, as these are designed to hold sand and rocks ... so moving our gear in them isn't an issue.

I've even put in controllers, lots and lots of balled up mini-lights, etc.

For my 9600 light 20' megatree ... the lights and strobes for it lives in 3-4 of these bags, packed up, done.

I'll update this with the size I use, but they were the largest I could find ... and most of the 'large bags' sold on ebay are smaller and only 50lb bags.  I originally bought them to put around my rooftop sandbags, so that if they broke or leaked, these would prevent a spill ... they work for that, but I then didn't know what to do with all the extra bags I had.  It turns out these Santa bags are wonderful and now I just wonder why I ever messed with bins.

I just wanted to plug how useful these Santa Bags can be, esp. for those wanting to save money on storage and minimize the packing up, unpacking time each year.

[rdebolt]

Sounds like a good idea. I would like to see what they look like.

[taybrynn]

I'll try to take some pictures.

Basically they look like big white bags, but way stronger than trash bags ... which actually had helped me know what is Lightshow related, cause when I put them into storage ... they really stand out.  I don't have to wonder which bins are which ... because these bags are all part of the lightshow and I don't use them for anything else.

If I see a bag with a specific location written on it ... I just walk it out to the location and can empty it there.  Its then in the same spot it was when I did the take down ... I know that the necessary cords will be there.  The cords are wrapped up.

[DanHouston]

I found some on ebay....mostly the 50 pound variety...a few that were larger but did not state their capacity. I do use bins (primarily for the stacking capability), but I could see where these bags would be great for coords.