Bonus: an Ode To Tape
This is a long form essay about Dunn Edwards Tape that I wrote several years ago. I uncovered it while I was cleaning up my computer this past weekend and it really made me giggle. It does encapsulate a certain moment in my life - my kids were little, I still had a husband, and I hadn’t been organizing for that long. I had rolls of this tape stashed in all kind of places and I was thinking of starting a blog so… here you go, I hope you enjoy it!
The Wonders of Masking Tape:
Masking tape is basically my everything.
My relationship with the magical creature that is masking tape began after my first child was born and I read in some mommy Facebook group that masking tape could be used to baby proof while traveling, which exploded my brain and started my wheels turning. After a deep dive, I found out that masking tape, besides being an amazing artistic tool when used to actually mask paint, is the weapon of choice for all the major food network chefs, each with their own preferred color, brand and width. Though Mario Batali has been cancelled for obvious reason, but I will always admire the perfect orange corners required of his meticulous labeling system.
Personally, my masking tape of choice is Dunn Edwards Original Orange Premium Painter's Masking Tape, which I have on hand in multiple widths at all times. Here is a sampling of it’s various uses in my life:
Travel child proofing: My first foray into wide world of masking tape. Get yourself a bright color (so you can easily spot it for removal) and slap it over the plugs at your airbnb. Tape the cabinet shut under the kitchen sink so your kids don’t drink bleach when they wake up and roam around unsupervised at 4am on the first morning of your “vacation.” Tape the hot water handle in the off position, tape the dishwasher closed, tape your bedroom door shut!! Tape it up baby, you’ve got nothing to lose. Then take it all down before you vacate, with no trace it was ever there, because it’s masking tape and it’s magic.
Labeling: Obvious. Use pieces of masking tape to label things that don’t need a permanent label. Leftovers, moving crates, piles for donation, pot luck dishes, your seat at a conference, I don’t know. One great thing to label is where all the knick knacks were before you moved them out of reach of your tiny agents of chaos at the airbnb on your “vacation.”
Lint roller: If you create a little circle of masking tape with the sticky part on the outside, you can stick a few fingers in the loop and roll it up and down your shirt and it’s exactly as easy as using a lint roller. Great for sheddy pets or when your bleached hair is disintegrating all over your black tank top. (anyone? no? just me?)
Sticky stuff remover: If there is anything sticky stuck to anything, masking tape will remove it. Masking tape will take sticky label residue off of jam jars, or scotch tape residue off your dining table, or DRUMROLL PLEASE it will take the sticky stuff off of a shirt which has been washed with a sticker stuck to it. I swear to god. You are welcome.
Luggage décor: We own a set of black suitcases which appeal to my minimalist aesthetic (i.e my fear of anything that’s a “choice”), but which also make things a little annoying at the baggage claim. In order to easily spot our luggage, I stick a random piece of masking tape on one or two of the sides. It only needs to last until baggage claim and then I get the simple black luggage back.
Rug stick: This works best if the corners of your rug stick up, or if there’s a bump, or some small area you need to secure. Just make a small loop with the sticky party out (don’t make your loop too big or it defeats the purpose) and stick it on under there. You can also use this as a primary means of securing a rug in place, like a hallway runner that has a tendency to make a daily migration askew, but for a larger area you really need rug tape or a good rug pad.
Painting straightener: I’m really good at hanging frames, but from time to time even I am not able to get the stupid thing totally straight. In this case, it’s super easy to roll up a piece of masking tape and stick it under one corner of the frame, straighten the frame, then press that corner against the wall. Voila, you’ve tamed the frame.
Blackout curtains: My kids are VERY early risers. I am not. Not at all. In a perfect world, I’d like to exist on a biorhythm which starts many hours after the rest of the world has completed their morning commute. Unfortunately, Mother Nature tends to side my with my children, and each morning the sun signals to them that’s it’s ok to get up when IT IS ENTIRELY NOT. Sometimes, my friends, this burning beast trickles in to the cracks in their curtains BEFORE the ungodly hour of 5am. In these most unfair of circumstances, I lean with all my might onto my old pal masking tape, and I tape the shit out of those cracks. I get the wide kind and tape the curtains to each other, and to the walls, and then I go up top and tape up the area where the curtain hangs. This does mean that my kids don’t get to open the curtains during the day so usually I take pity on us all and only leave them taped for a couple of days but that’s usually long enough for the early birds to break the habit and I can take everything down without a trace because… masking tape.
So there you have it. Duct tape be damned, I belong to the church of masking tape.
