 5″ X 8″ Burlap Bag with String Pack of 50 Lowest Price: $17.25 |
 Set of 4 Burlap Potato Sacks 23×40 Lowest Price: $17.95 |
 14″ Wide x 26″ Long All-Purpose Burlap Bag Lowest Price: $1.88 |
Burlap bags, far from being a quaint item from some factory floor, actually still represent an item with great ingenuity attached. There remain many uses for these old-fashioned totes and many more could be discovered with a bit of thought and imagination.
For example, as a design element they are quite adaptable. From clothing, to handbags, to wall hangings, to floor treatments, using the bags themselves or elements of them can be an interesting and attractive focal point. At the very least they can impart a rustic or countrified look to many design ideas.
Burlap tote bags are still very useful for camping or backyard activities such as keeping food cool. Burlap has great water retention value, which in turn makes it very evaporative. When using them to store food items in, and then wetting the bag, causes everything held within to stay cool as the moisture evaporates away. This is cheaper and easier than using ice.
A small burlap bag may be necessary for many types of bar-b-cue, particularly those of the deep pit variety. By using the very same and aforementioned evaporative properties, the right burlap bag can impart moistness to meats that are being slow roasted in them. The material itself also imparts a unique flavor that only seems to exist in deep pit cooking foods.
One of the biggest users of burlap is still an apiarist, or beekeeper. These folks need to do what is called smoking the bees in order to keep the busy little fellows calm when working in and around the hives. This is done by using a special smoking device that has smoldering burlap inside of it. The effect on the bees is almost miraculous, and your enjoyment of honey may not be as prevalent without it.
As can be seen, burlap drawstring bags area not just used for sack races or simple storage items; they have a history of useful application of which these are but a few examples. The next time you find one, do not hesitate to use it in any imaginable way you can. These bags and this fabric are interesting bits of history with a long-standing value built right in.