The Versatility of Rubber Bands

Rubber bands can usually be found in a random kitchen door at home. Sometimes, you keep others in a desk in your office. Whatever the case, they’re usually associated with shipping supplies.

But we’ve got a few handy uses for rubber bands that you likely hadn’t thought of. These ideas will have you stocking up on rubber bands and using them at will any chance you get.

Keep chip bags fresh.

For some reason, my friends don’t know about this little secret, and they’re always searching about, trying to find extra chip clips. I grew up rolling the bag down and binding it with a rubber band to keep the chips fresh. It’s so simple, yet a no-brainer.

Wrap your fabric tape measure.

You know, the tape measure that’s foldable and usually bound up nice and small in a drawer somewhere in your house? Fabric tape measures are incredibly useful for taking measurements of your clothing size and measuring round objects. The thing is, they always seem to be loose and tangled in a drawer. Just roll up the tape and bind it in the middle with a rubber band to keep it (and your drawers) organized.

Protect your books.

From time to time, your books may flip open inside your bag, which could potentially damage the pages inside. Try binding your books with rubber bands so that you can make sure they’re safe whenever you’re on the move.

Bind tea bags to your mug.

For the many who steep tea bags in their mugs of hot water at work, this is a genius idea for keeping the tea bag fastened near the side of the mug instead of floating around in the middle. All it takes is wrapping a rubber band around the top of the mug and keeping the string underneath it. From there, it won’t slip.

Fashion a lid gripper.

Lids on pickle jars and other foods can be quite tough to pop off when they’re new. By wrapping a rubber band around the side of the lid, you can make it easier to grip the lid with your hand and twist it right off.

Prevent slippage of cutting board.

This can be scary when it happens, as you can cut yourself or your furniture. Since wooden and plastic cutting boards often come without rubber feet, give them some of their own rubber “feet” by wrapping each end of a slick cutting board with rubber bands. Who knew basic shipping supplies could be so useful?

Resourcefulness with Your Supplies

Over the past week, my fiancee and I attempted to take in a stray cat. We’ve talked about getting a cat for awhile, and our only qualms were wondering how the dog would handle a new animal in the house, especially a species he hasn’t been around much before.

While we gave it an honest shot with a lot of patience and correcting and watchfulness, we ended up realizing that the cat was too feral at times, which affected our own safety and comfort in our own home. Not only that, but the dog was entirely too obsessive over the cat, which affected his own daily schedule, from losing sleep to becoming disinterested in his food and treats. Though my fiancee was quite upset about it, she knew that it was better for all 4 of us to surrender the cat to an animal care facility in town.

I feel like we learned a lot about ourselves and our dog in the process of trying this out. More than anything, we’ve realized that we need to devote more time to our dog, whether that’s for his health or behavior or just happiness all around. I began to understand how much I appreciate his calmness in our home, so it made me want to work at being there for him more often, whether it’s taking him on runs with me, spending 15 minutes a day just talking to him down on his level, or just rewarding him with small treats more often when he displays good behavior.

We also realized how resourceful we could be in a pinch. There were a lot of supplies we didn’t grab for the cat when we first got her, such as a place to sleep or toys to play with. Luckily, we had a bunch of shipping supplies like cardboard boxes and labeling tape laying around, which served to solve these two problems (bedding and toys) extremely well.

For example, we made a small bed for the cat by using the cardboard box and putting a small blanket in it to line the bottom. She slept in this box every night we had her, which made us feel a lot better about her comfort in our home. In addition, we used the labeling tape to play with her at times since she would get a kick out of the tape being on her paws. Who would’ve ever guessed that mere shipping supplies could do so much in keeping a cat entertained and comfortable?