Things I need recommendations on:

[conuly]

1. Reusable shopping bags of decent quality - no stretching at the seams after a reasonable load of groceries. Quality tends to decline in bag companies after the first few years, so brands that were excellent five years ago are probably crap now. They need to be able to go over the shoulder and fold up into a pouch so I can go into stores with overzealous security guards.

2. Card holders for playing cards. My mother's dexterity is not as bad as right after chemo or the stroke, but she's getting older. It would be useful to get something now so we can all continue to play Rummy 500 together.

3. Dice trays. Eva is sure to get less enthusiastically clumsy with her dice, but as I recall it took me a while so.... She's game to using the lid, but not if the lid is pretty small.

Comments

[sarahthecoat]

I could probably make you some shopping bags...

[conuly]

If this is something you'd really like to do, I'd be delighted, but don't do it unless you think it'll be fun.

[brokenallbroken]

One thing I've seen for dice trays is to get an unfinished wood box or tray of whatever size you like from a craft/hobby store and line it with felt.

I'm jonesing for something like these, personally.

[calimac]

I use canvas bags. Not only do they fold up smaller than the big plastic ones do, but they're strong and can carry heavy loads, plus they're easily washable. I bought them at Trader Joe's.

[conuly]

I prefer compact bags, which are typically made of nylon. The ones I got years ago were really heavy duty, and I'd still use them now except one of them smells badly of sour milk. The ones today are a bit thinner and less well-constructed overall.

[zesty_pinto]

So far the best reusable bag I got was also the least packable: an insulated Trader Joe's bag we purchased within a year; it's built really well and insulates surprisingly well compared to previous ones.

re: regular bags, I've sadly gotten them from donation and the like so can't give a real name here. My mainstays have included Shaws (which I know doesn't exist over there), a CMJ bag I was gifted for covering their music festival, and some bags I received from my local co-op for being a member. Sorry I can't be more help.

I have seen some bags that pack into a keyring, but I question their integrity. I'd honestly look for anything made of burlap or some kind of potato sack material or the like which won't fold nicely, but should be pretty strong.


RE: 3, Have you considered looking into dice towers? You can even DIY one if you have the free time and want to personalize it.

[conuly]

Dice towers? Those are a thing?

Try this ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

2. We found simple, very cheap woodblock card holders at the mall. Look for woodworkers in your area. You just set the block on the table and stick your cards in the slot -- nothing to hold in your hand so you can't drop it. Ours are similar to this but without the angled front and I think they have more slots. You can buy these things online but they cost more.

3. I bought a heavy-duty divided plastic travel plate with a lid for rolling gaming dice. This gives me a place to store dice that aren't in use and to roll active dice. The sections are deep enough to keep the dice in place, and the lid makes it a storage device when not playing. It won't tip like a tall dice cup, either. Available for a buck or two at Wal-Mart or a dollar store.

Re: Try this ...

[conuly]

A travel plate! Now that's a great idea! You're a genius, you know that?

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

I have to admit I use cloth bags because I can judge their strength and I've yet to see a nylon bag made with the right nylon for the job. I had to stop using a backpack(grocery store has a sign, and mine don't roll up) so I can only get the groceries my biceps can manage.

[movingfinger]

Baggu bags!

[conuly]

When's the last time you bought?

[swingandswirl]

I really like the baggu my school gave me a few years ago - it's held up remarkably well!

[conuly]

How long ago is "a few years"?

[alatefeline]

>> 2. Card holders for playing cards. My mother's dexterity is not as bad as right after chemo or the stroke, but she's getting older. It would be useful to get something now so we can all continue to play Rummy 500 together.

3. Dice trays. Eva is sure to get less enthusiastically clumsy with her dice, but as I recall it took me a while so.... She's game to using the lid, but not if the lid is pretty small. <<

Check one of the big gaming stores that caters to people who are into Magic: the Gathering, other collectible card games, miniatures wargaming, role-playing games, board games, etc. Some of them are massive - there's one in my area that's warehouse sized and almost always has lots of people, but obviously that's nowhere near you. They tend to have lots of things for holding and organizing collectible trading cards that are the same size range as regular playing cards, like sleeves, boxes, tabs, etc. They might also have oversized playing cards. And they will have weird dice and lots of dice tray options.

[conuly]

That's a suggestion, and I can see them in the flesh, as it were.

[thewayne]

My mom made card holders with plastic can lids. She took two lids, one slightly smaller than the other, and somehow rigged a button of some sort in the middle to keep them together. You were able to hold a huge hand of cards with them and it worked quite well.

As far as dice trays are concerned, check your Friendly Local Game Store, and I understand NYC has some very good ones. There's also dice 'towers' which are pretty cool, she might get a kick out of those and they take very little tabletop space, but are inconvenient for large numbers of dice.

[conuly]

Plastic can lids!? That's great.

[elainegrey]

Not the type bag you are asking for, but the US post office has had shopping bags for sale for the past few years and they have held up well under weekly use. FWIW

[conuly]

I'll check it out.

[silveradept]

IKEA, if you have them, make bags that fold into their own pouch, which is attached to the bag. The blue bags have also been good for holding groceries, assuming what you get doesn't need insulation and would fill such a bag.

Card holders are available at some game stores, and I think some of them hold enough for double-deck Pinochle. I don't have the tools for it, but notching a wood block and maybe affixing some backing to keep the cards upright might be a solution.

As for a dice tray, we'd have to see how it affects the rolls, but my partner uses a microwave bacon-cooking tray as a holder and organizer, so that might work well as a space to throw dice into.

[zesty_pinto]

Oh yeah, IKEA bags I can doubly vouch for. As long as you don't mind carrying something that resembles a tarp, it folds well and should hold a decent amount of swag.

[zesty_pinto]

Oh, addendum:

Did you look into drawstring bags? No guarantee about their lifespan, but I would think it should handle the tussle of whatever groceries you're carrying up to 15-20 pounds and make it a little easier for you to carry around since it can go on your shoulders. Plus, it packs into your pocket, no problem.

[conuly]

Oh, I've got a compact backpack. I can't use drawstring bags - they dig in too much.

[adrian_turtle]

This summer, I got a "Flip and Tumble" nylon bag. The handle is long enough to go over my shoulder, and is lined with a bit of felt though it isn't really padded. It's made of very light nylon, and folds up into a little pouch. It's as light as the Baggu I used to have, but the little pouch is stretchy so you can roll the bag up like a sock and sort of turn it inside out instead of needing to fold it just so. It purports to be able to carry 35 pounds (but I can't lift that much.) It's not puncture resistant, unfortunately.

[conuly]

I can lift that much and am terrible at estimating how full my bag is, either before or after I've hoisted it up. That's one reason it's so important to have a good weight capacity.

[tielan]

Do you have any sewing skills? I make my own, and because I can reinforce the seams (french seams: a seam within a seam) they're pretty solid for carrying anything from several 2L soft drinks (soda/pop bottles) to chunks of butcher's meat.

[conuly]

Yessssssss but that doesn't mean I want to sew my own bags.

[gatheringrivers]

If nothing else pans out (I see you have some suggestions in the queue already) I'm working out the bugs on a sturdy tote/shopping bag design right now, might be ready for prime time by end of January.

LL Bean also makes a DAMN sturdy "boat & tote bag", which AFAIK hasn't fallen prey to the trend of "actually made overseas" yet. (Just picked one up recently because I saw a youtube video of how it was made and I was like "Damn, it's really that simple to make??")


Dice trays: Got a frisbee/flying disk thingie? They're plastic, have a lip, and reasonably good sized for dice rolling.

[conuly]

Does the bag fold into a discreet pouch? Not kidding about the overzealous guards, and they typically back down if you just ignore them and say "No thanks!" in a cheerful voice, but it's still awkward as hell.

[thekumquat]

For the cards, a small bookrest may work, or equally rigging up a slanted piece of wood or card with a backrest and a ledge at the front is pretty easy.
another alternative is blu-tack or Plasticine - I don't know if those brands exist in the UK but basically soft squidgy stuff that could hold a card upright.

[conuly]

In the US I think the term is fun-tak.

[grammarwoman]

When my son was younger, we got him these, which worked pretty well, and I see grownup versions on Amazon, but I really like the idea of fastening two lids together mentioned above.

[conuly]

Thanks :)

[flamingsword]

I use IKEA bags. They are incredibly durable, reasonably cheap, and have two sets of straps and can go either over the shoulder or in the hand.

[conuly]

And they're altogether too big and visible for my purposes.