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!

If you really think about it, if no one had invented stretch film wrap and we didn’t have access to it, we wouldn’t be able to save our leftovers. That would be a seriously huge bummer, at least in my book. I know a lot of people that don’t eat leftovers. Like, at all. When they are finished with supper they take whatever amazing, delicious food they had just eaten and let it slip right into the open, gaping, bottomless mouth of the Glad bag (which is just a fancy way of saying that they threw it in the trash).

This has always scandalized me, because it seems like an abomination. Sometimes its hard to look a person in the eye and see past the fact that they eat their fill and then throw the rest out, you know? I mean, what is up with that? I’m not going to lie, I make extra food on purpose because of leftovers. Slop some of that goodness into some Tupperware and, “There you go, husband and children, your lunches for tomorrow are ready!”

Of course, in the world of food, we don’t call saran wrap by it’s industrial title: stretch film wrap. We don’t call it ‘ food grade stretch film wrap’ either, because that is ridiculous to say, or ‘food service film wrap’ because then we would sound like one of those people that wants to say ‘tomahto’ even though they aren’t even British. In short, we would be obnoxious and annoying. This is why we say saran wrap, and I’m not sure where that came from, but it has become the socially acceptable title and so it is what I will use. I suggest you do as well… All the same, saran wrap is a stretch film wrap and it is a wonderful and amazing tool.

Yes, I said tool. A tool is not just some piece of equipment used to fix something. It is anything used to accomplish a task, and so saran wrap has become a tool in the kitchen. When my daughter says she is done eating I wrap her plate up and put it in the fridge for later, when she realizes that the rest of us are all actually going to start eating popcorn without her. I slice up pieces of banana bread and embalm them in saran wrap and freeze them to pop in lunchboxes later. If we didn’t have saran wrap, or stretch film wrap, I wouldn’t be able to do any of this. And since I’m just coming out of the Thanksgiving season I am oh so thankful that I can enjoy my turkey and stuffing for days…