Velcro ties. I keep stocked up on a stash of the ugly gray/black 8" ties that I got at a hardware store, and I am so glad I do. There are prettier colored versions, but the primary-color ties I've found tend to run only 4.5" long, so they're just not as useful.
There are at least 101 uses for velcro cable ties, of which 98 are basically: wrapping up cords of one kind or another. I use these for my long extension cords, so I can hang them on a flat hook without their falling off. I use them for wrapping my computer cord when I travel, so it doesn't get tangled up with everything else in my suitcase. I use them for my sewing machine cord, so I can carry my sewing machine to the dining room occasionally without tripping over it. I use these for Christmas lights . . . but you get the idea. The list goes on. And on. (and hopefully the Christmas lights go on, too, but sometimes they just die).
So, with those 98 uses out of the way, there are three other uses for velcro cable ties I've discovered recently. One, which I wrote about before, is that you can sew them to fabric to make a strap for something that rolls up. Not everybody needs a cloth drill bit holder that looks like a knitting needle holder, but if you do and you also happen to have velcro cable ties, man, you're set!
Similarly, recently I used a cable tie to replace the worn out umbrella strap that closes up (or rather, no longer closes up) my favorite umbrella. The umbrella is yellow, so a black strap is a little striking . . . but the handle is black, so it doesn't look completely odd. Eh, I can live with it.
Here's the most recent use I found for these straps though: repairing the dog. Prewash suffers from seasonal allergies, and sometimes her allergies makes her lick herself so much she gets a sore. By "sometimes", I mean "last week" -- she got a sore on her toe, which she couldn't stop fussing with. Even if I didn't want to heal my dog, the fussing was starting to keep us up at night. So I put a sock on her foot, to keep her from messing with her toes. And I velcro-ed the sock both below and above the ankle, so it'd stay on.
(Just so you don't worry, we also took her to the doctor and got a spray med, plus antibiotics for her UTI, plus vaccines, plus her yearly heartworm and flea/tick meds. And she's already doubled her allergy meds. Ooof, she is not a miser dog! However, the doctor heartily approved of the velcro sock strategy. So that at least is a frugal solution to a vexing problem.)
In case you want to see up close how she looks with her adorable sock on her foot, here it is.
And the sock/velcro strategy worked. With the sock on, she was a bit confused at first, but she quickly adjusted, and better yet, started ignoring her foot. She rested, the toe is healing, and we're sleeping at night. If the sock gets wet or dirty (nix that: when the sock gets wet or dirty), we just remove the velcro and use it on a clean sock.
There are at least 101 uses for velcro cable ties, of which 98 are basically: wrapping up cords of one kind or another. I use these for my long extension cords, so I can hang them on a flat hook without their falling off. I use them for wrapping my computer cord when I travel, so it doesn't get tangled up with everything else in my suitcase. I use them for my sewing machine cord, so I can carry my sewing machine to the dining room occasionally without tripping over it. I use these for Christmas lights . . . but you get the idea. The list goes on. And on. (and hopefully the Christmas lights go on, too, but sometimes they just die).
So, with those 98 uses out of the way, there are three other uses for velcro cable ties I've discovered recently. One, which I wrote about before, is that you can sew them to fabric to make a strap for something that rolls up. Not everybody needs a cloth drill bit holder that looks like a knitting needle holder, but if you do and you also happen to have velcro cable ties, man, you're set!
 |
| My drill bit holder, wrapped up with a sewn-on velcro tie. |
Similarly, recently I used a cable tie to replace the worn out umbrella strap that closes up (or rather, no longer closes up) my favorite umbrella. The umbrella is yellow, so a black strap is a little striking . . . but the handle is black, so it doesn't look completely odd. Eh, I can live with it.
Here's the most recent use I found for these straps though: repairing the dog. Prewash suffers from seasonal allergies, and sometimes her allergies makes her lick herself so much she gets a sore. By "sometimes", I mean "last week" -- she got a sore on her toe, which she couldn't stop fussing with. Even if I didn't want to heal my dog, the fussing was starting to keep us up at night. So I put a sock on her foot, to keep her from messing with her toes. And I velcro-ed the sock both below and above the ankle, so it'd stay on.
(Just so you don't worry, we also took her to the doctor and got a spray med, plus antibiotics for her UTI, plus vaccines, plus her yearly heartworm and flea/tick meds. And she's already doubled her allergy meds. Ooof, she is not a miser dog! However, the doctor heartily approved of the velcro sock strategy. So that at least is a frugal solution to a vexing problem.)
In case you want to see up close how she looks with her adorable sock on her foot, here it is.
And the sock/velcro strategy worked. With the sock on, she was a bit confused at first, but she quickly adjusted, and better yet, started ignoring her foot. She rested, the toe is healing, and we're sleeping at night. If the sock gets wet or dirty (nix that: when the sock gets wet or dirty), we just remove the velcro and use it on a clean sock.
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