Monthly Archives: December 2015

Packaging Tape: It’s Time to Stock Up

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Have I mentioned that I started catching up on The Walking Dead? Of course I have, mentioned it that is. I’ve been talking about it a lot lately, and how with technology these days these shows and stories are so insanely convincing that you almost begin to wait for breaking news to hijack the TV and tell you that the real zombie apocalypse has finally happened. I feel like, every time, I have to verify that I am not normally a paranoid doomsayer. As a matter of fact, the end of the world is not something I’m particularly worried about at all.

However, I’ve begun to reflect on what would be beneficial to have around in the hypothetical post-apocalypse. You know…just in case. I have come to the conclusion that packaging tape would definitely be in my list of top five. I’m being totally serious. Packaging tape (such as duct tape, aluminum tape, electrical tape, filament tape…) is more or less technologically advanced rope. It can be used to tie someone to a chair. It can be used to secure you to a tree branch so that you can get some sleep without worrying about falling into the gaping mouths and outstretched hands of the cannibals below. (Did someone just say “brains”?)

If the strap on your backpack breaks, not a problem! Make a new one out of duct tape. If your shoe falls apart, no problem! The fan belt? No problem. Need someone to stop talking or crying or screaming or complaining? Any and every tear and hole in your clothes can be repaired with packaging tape. My new and greatest idea is this: armor. Take a tube sock and cut the toes off and another hole so that you can wear it like a glove that goes all the way up to your elbow. Then wrap it a couple times in duct tape. No biter is going to be able to get through that! Do the same thing with your neck and lower legs.

This will be really helpful in reducing anxiety. It would also be helpful if people had better hearing and overall just paid more attention- I certainly would not be the one who manages to get bit by a zombie in a huge wide open field. But if I did I would admit my mistake like a woman, chop off my arm, and seal the end of my nub with packaging tape. It’s clear to see why it’s time to start stocking up, people.

Everyday Uses for Stretch Film, Part 2

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As evidenced by the title, this is the second part in a two-part series on the everyday uses for stretch film. A quick recap: in the first part I briefly discussed that sometimes when we search for a subject like ‘stretch film’, we find out about their “cousins”, and may indeed discover a better product for what we are trying to accomplish. I spent the majority of part one discussing shrink film, one of the cousins of stretch film. I mentioned a couple everyday uses for it, and I will mention one more before moving on.

My church puts on a Christmas play every winter, and it’s kind of a big deal. Not a big deal as in “oh we think we are so cool because we have the best play ever” but because the volunteers work really hard, the children take it seriously, and the parents are very proud. So, every spring, a DVD of the Christmas musical comes out for people to buy. Recently, the church invested in some shrink film (don’t forget the heat gun!) and they began wrapping the DVDs, since a lot of people wind up giving them as gifts throughout the year.

Stretch Film

It’s been well appreciated. I have yet to purchase one, but my kids aren’t old enough yet to be in the play. How about poly sheeting? This is also a cousin of stretch film. Surprisingly, a common use for poly sheeting is a drop cloth. When my husband and I moved into our fixer-upper we invested in a canvas drop cloth. It has been good, to say the least, but if we had known about poly sheeting we probably would have gone with that instead because it comes in different thicknesses and you can get a variety of sizes, too.

Also, there is black poly sheeting which we began to use in our home garden. After tilling up the ground and making the furrows, you spread out the plastic sheeting, cut some holes in it, and plant the seeds in the holes. The black is supposed to be good for ground plants like cucumbers and pumpkins and whatnot. Whatever the case, we had a really good crop this past. The moral of the story is that stretch film is not as narrow a subject as it appears to be. I guess nothing really is…

Everyday Uses for Stretch Film, Part 1

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Did you know that you can use stretch film for more than just food? Or for wrapping pallets? I’m guessing you probably didn’t, which is why you are reading this right now. Well, it’s true. This is because stretch film is more than just saran wrap, or industrial style.  As a matter of fact, if you are searching under ‘stretch film’ odds are that you are going to get hits on that specific item but also its many cousins. This is probably because of a lot times when we try to search for something, we think we know what we want but we don’t really, because we aren’t familiar with all of the products out there that could be used for a particular purpose.

It turns out that there are a ton! While we might just assume that some good old saran wrap will do any and all jobs, which it probably would, there are actually some other avenues that could be more suited to the need. For instance, when looking into stretch film some other types of plastic sheeting might be better. Like shrink film! This is a product that actually shrinks to seal around an item. Yes, there are pallet shrink bags, but there are also shrink wrap bags for gift baskets! Since it is the holiday season, this would probably be a lot less frustrating than Saran wrap, and you might even convince people to think that you are giving them a store bought item- unless, of course, you want the credit for your creativity and product prowess, which I most certainly would. A lot of times people like to know they are getting a homemade gift, anyway.

It really shows some thought, these days. It used to be kind of a drag to get gift cards, like that was a cop out. Well, nowadays you don’t even have to go through the trouble of purchasing the actual card, you can just order it online and send an e-card. So, yeah, maybe taking credit for the shrink wrapped gift basket would be a good thing. There are all manner of items we may want to have shrink wrapped. For instance, I tried getting those garment bags that you vacuum seal using your own vacuum, and it completely did not work. I imagine that a roll of shrink film would easily do a much better job. But don’t forget the heat gun!

There is still more to be said about the everyday uses for stretch film, so look for part two!

One Thousand Shipping Boxes

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You Know that song, “A Candle in the Wind”, sung by none other than Elton John? (What am I talking about, of course you do…) Well, my favorite character from my favorite TV show (Andy, from Parks and Recreation), was trying to figure out what song he should play for this huge concert the Parks and Rec department was putting on, and he was saying how his song would have to be a thousand times better than “A Candle in the Wind”. Which would be…? Obviously, “One Thousand Candles in the Wind’.

Maybe you had to be there, but it’s freaking hilarious, and it ties in today because what is better than one shipping box? One thousand shipping boxes! Preposterous, you say! Nay, say I! For, indeed, at PackagingSupplies.com there are over one thousand shipping boxes to choose from. I kid you not. Of course there are four main categories, each consisting of their own subcategories, and so when it is all said and done there are over a thousand different sizes to choose from these many varieties and sub-varities, but that doesn’t change how awesome it is. There is no such thing as having too many kinds of boxes.

However, there is such a thing as not having enough. The right size box is a pretty big deal, especially to people with OCD. And this is not a jab at people with OCD, or else I would be jabbing at myself. This is just a simple fact of life. So when you are looking for a box to send off your oddly shaped gift, or even just to stick some oddly-shaped thing in the attic for a while, or even just something that is really big, or something that is really small, you can be assured that you have options to choose from.

One thing everyone can agree upon is that we all love options. Granted, too many options can be pretty overwhelming, but when it comes to shipping boxes you already have a general size in mind, so that narrows it down considerably. The packaging and shipping industry is vast indeed, and can be kind of overwhelming to navigate through. I think a lot of times, as consumers, we will spend more money on something we can see. Thankfully, the concept of shipping boxes is pretty cut and dry, and at PackagingSupplies.com it is one thousand times better!

Custom Packaging Tape, the Stocking Stuffer

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During one of my recent shopping “trips” on PackagingSupplies.com, I stumbled across one of the best stocking stuffers of all time: custom packaging tape. Of course there are several brands of packaging tape that are custom to certain fields of work and job descriptions (like gaffer’s tape is for stages and booths, and electrical tape is for wires), but then I saw that you can also customize your custom packaging tape.

This is a pretty perfect idea. If you are anything like me, you probably know quite a few goofy people, or you are probably going to be attending some sort of white elephant party in the near future (did I mention that we are about a week away from Christmas right now?). Perhaps one of those goofy people is your teenage son, or your mother-in-law.

Your teenage son might appreciate some tape with his name printed on it, in huge block letters, and your mother-in-law might get a kick out of some tape with a witty saying printed on it, like “oh no you didn’t”. And then, while you are ordering some “oh no you didn’t” for your MIL, you may decide to order an extra roll for yourself, and all of your friends who are mothers, because you got this amazing idea to hand out justice with custom packaging tape. For your kid who keeps leaving dirty dishes all over the house, tape them together with some “oh no you didn’t” and leave them on their bed.

As many times as it takes. For the kids who keep leaving their toothbrushes on the side of the bathroom sink to make a nasty, crusty film, tape those things onto the bathroom mirror with some “oh no you didn’t”. Spread some strips on clothes left lying around, and wait to hear the groan. You could even find yourself taking justice outside of the home.

The car that double parked? When they come back outside they find a giant X of “oh no you didn’t” across their driver side door. It’s not keying, but it would still be satisfying. Or at work you label all of your Tupperware with this aggressive statement and when some sneaky jerk is reaching out their grubby paw to eat that leftover lasagna their brains will read it and they will automatically turn to someone else’s. I’m getting pretty excited just thinking about it. Okay, now don’t steal my idea…