A gift to the inept DIY-ers

Oh, Command picture hanging strips ...

... what did I ever do without you?

Come to think of it, I have yet to hang any actual pictures with these aptly named 'picture hanging strips,' but I’m sure that’s only a matter of time.  Honestly, I wouldn’t mind shaking the hand of the person who came up with these little strips of gold because they really are a gift to those of us who are 1) home 99% of the time; 2) see a million and one things that need to be done immediately; and 3) have no drilling and very limited nail-hanging skills.

They also allegedly come off of all surfaces without any ‘gunk’ (for lack of a better word) left behind.  But in this house, these typically temporary place-holders are all still doing their job and I plan to keep it that way as long as possible.

For those of you who haven’t used these tools (in the loosest sense of the word), the strips function like two pieces of very strong Velcro – one sticks to the wall or surface, the other sticks to whatever object you would like to hang up.  No ugly nail marks in the wall and the ability to continually readjust how straight the wall hanging is placed?  Sign me up!

I first used them on our master bedroom full-length mirror:

Well, full-length for all 5’3” of me.  It’s more of a ‘how’s my lower half looking’ mirror for Will.

For several years (I kid you not), this $10 Target mirror sat propped up against the wall next to my side of the bed.  I knew I wanted to hang it near the closet, but I didn’t want to impale our nice, white door with huge nail holes that would also very likely fracture the (let’s admit it) cheapo mirror in the process.  So, beside the bed it sat … and sat … until I heard about these little Velcro strips.  Genius, I tell you.

A mediocre view of the Velcro strip and a great view of the hole already in our door.

Fast forward a year or so when I purchased a shoe organizer to house our ever-growing collection of cords (sometimes paired up with the correct electronic device; sometimes not).  The organizer advertised itself as ‘easy to install and guaranteed to fit over any door,’ which in this household usually means ‘any door except the one that you intend it to fit.’

A shot of the metal hanger holes that just weren't meant to be.

Velcro strips to the rescue.

Finally, just yesterday I was able to better affix Frances’s height chart in her room, which for years had been held up by thumb tacks (very child-friendly, I know, particularly when one of them would dislodge from the wall on what seemed like a weekly basis and bury itself into the matching white carpet.  Tetanus, anyone?).

The scene of the crime - the thumb tack hole.

As George likes to say, “ta-da!”

And speaking of George and Frances, this post is brought to you (in part) by our next door neighbors who are paving their driveway today.

There is nothing like a crew of 10 men, several bulldozers and one very large dump truck to keep two preschoolers occupied long enough for one harried mother to use her picture hanging strips.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!