Use This Hack To Keep Your Cereal Box Closed
There are few bigger breakfast disappointments than pouring yourself a bowl of cereal, getting a big spoonful in your mouth and realizing your cereal has gone horribly stale or soggy because whoever used the box last didn't seal it up properly. Between this and the always awful possibility of digging through your pantry and having a box tip over and scatter cereal across the cabinet and floor, cereal boxes are far from ideal food packaging, even with the tiny slot and tab closure on the top of the box.
Marketplace explains that the style of most cereal boxes has not seen significant change since Kellogg's introduced the bag-in-box design in 1924, when it was used to keep the cereal fresh, while still having a printable surface to put branding on. Today the boxes are made of recycled cardboard and are recyclable themselves, but while many people would like to see the bag — inside the box or on its own — become resealable, this is seen as cost prohibitive by many in the industry.
Since Kellogg's and General Mills have no intention of making it easier to keep our Rice Krispies and Lucky Charms fresh and organized, one mom on Facebook shared a helpful hack to keep boxes tightly closed that has since gone viral.
Try this folding pattern technique
According to Today, U.K. mom Becky McGhee got inspired when she saw a picture online of a cereal box with a folded top. "I thought I'd give it a go with the numerous cereal boxes we have and couldn't believe how simple it was," she told Today's Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager.
In her video, McGhee explains how to fold the top of your cereal boxes to keep them closed more effectively. In order to keep the box closed, roll the bag down into the box, then fold the two shorter, side flaps inside the box, then fold one of the long sides in two. Next, crimp the two short sides of the box inwards like a "V" by pinching the outer corners together. Finally, tuck the remaining long flap into the opposite side of the box between the other long side and the crimped short sides. The resulting box should resemble a cardboard milk carton and will undoubtedly hold closed more effectively than the tabs built into the box.
McGhee's video has racked up more than five million views on Facebook and spawned a number of copycat videos and photos of people demonstrating their own use of the hack on their favorite cereals.