Should work. Be careful with ventilation when you bag it - the "fines" get airborn and can hurt your lungs.

I use coffee filters with a rubber band around them.

Thanks Brenda - good thought!
and crankyoldman - great idea ;)
Thank you both!

harlgr8dane,

May I ask where you got the silica gel from in bulk? I'm wanting to do the same thing and wasn't sure where to find it?

Thanks
Shauna

Shauna - the bag came in with some tool DH bought (contractor)- a compressor or some large item. There is probably more in the garage (or will be at some time in the future)...if you are interested email me. Renee

Thanks, Renee. After reading your response, I phoned my brother, who works as a power engineer. He's going to check to see if he can find me some. If he can't, expect mail. : )

Shauna

Look for generic crystal-type kitty litter (unscented) Its pure silica gel =)
=^..^= GW

garden witch is right about the crystal kitty litter. If you want the fine powdered stuff, you can get it at craft shops.

I have a suggestion: Go to the local "Mart"'s shoe department and ask the associate if they would save the silica packets for you. EVERY single pair of boxed shoes has a packet(s) in it when it is received by the store. And every single box has to be cleaned because there is stuffing and other packing materials in it. Be nice, smile and be sure to go back and pick up the saved items when you say you will. Don't phone them, speaking from experience, sometimes it is hard to get to the phone. Again, pick them up when you say you will.

Typically, I didn't hear back from my brother but I ended up finding a jar of it in the floral craft section of Wally's Mart. I, too, thought of asking an associate in the shoe department to save me packets and just picked them up today. With no trouble at all, they saved me about a hundred of them. : ) Might be a good idea to get them now, though. Many of the shoe boxes are now being packed with a plastic clear strip and it looks like they are phasing out the silica packets. The plastic strips would probably work, but I think the seed would stick to them from static.

Also, another little find in the craft department. They have a tray for sorting beads, about $3, sort of like something the pharmacists' use for sorting pills. Picked one of those up and it works great for separating seed from chaff and then putting it into the envelopes. Needed a bit of googone to get the label glue off and then I also rubbed it with a dryer sheet to make it less static.

Shauna