DIY Freezer Pack Gels

Having an insulated lunch bag will go a long way toward keeping the foods you pack fresh, but to keep those foods as fresh and tasty as possible a freezer gel pack is ideal. If you find yourself needing a gel pack in a pinch, or just don't want to pay to purchase one in the store, you can make your own reusable gel pack with a small scrap of fabric and some common household supplies.

Cotton hand towel
Ruler
Scissors
Iron
Sewing machine
Snack-size plastic zipper bags
Dish soap

Instructions

- 1
  Machine wash and dry your towel. This prevents warped seams in the future by preshrinking the fabric.
- 2
  Cut a 9 3/4-by-7 1/2-inch piece of towel.
- 3
  Fold the 7 1/2-inch ends of the towel to one side 1/4 inch. Iron the folds. Fold the ends another 1/4 inch, and iron them again. Sew along both folded ends with an 1/8-inch seam allowance.
- 4
  Lay the towel on your work surface with the right side facing up -- the side you didn't fold the ends to -- horizontally oriented. Fold the left and right sides of the towel in to the middle 3 1/4 inches. They will completely overlap each other in the center. Sew along the top and bottom edges with a 1/4-inch seam allowance.
- 5
  Turn the fabric pouch right side out through the opening where the left and right sides overlapped.
- 6
  Fill a snack-size plastic zipper bag two-thirds full with dish soap. Close the bag. Tuck that bag in a second zipper bag with the zipper of the first bag at the bottom of the second. Zip the second back.
- 7
  Stick the double-bagged dish soap in the freezer overnight. Take it out in the morning and tuck it in the fabric pouch you made before placing it in your lunch bag.

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