Friday, January 21, 2011

Wondering if any good ever came out of Washington, D.C.

Sometimes I wonder if any good has ever come out of Washington, D.C. Well guess what?!?! One of my favorite things that I use so often and in many ways came from there.

What new law am I talking about, you may ask. I try to stay away from political subjects on my blog, and this is no exception. I am not talking about any new law or bill or policy.

Yesterday I talked about paper clips. Today, I am going to talk about a similar item, but one that I use so often and in so many different ways; much more than the lowly paper clip. Yes, I am talking about the “binder clip”. You already guessed that, right?


The binder clip comes in many different sizes (and colors, if that matters to you). I have them from small all the way up to large.



You ask what Washington, D.C. has to do with it. Well, the fellow who invented it in 1910 and patented it in 1915 lived there. He needed something to hold thick bundles of paper together and paper clips would not work and all the other ways were permanent and would disfigure the paper if removed. I thank this guy every day. Yes, I use binder clips every day, and no, not just for binding paper.

There use is limited only by your imagination. I carry them with me in the RV and always have them around my office and our kitchen. Most of what they do in my office is typical, like keeping related stuff clamped together, hanging notes up so I don’t forget, keeping wires our of the way, and lots of other things.

The list of uses is endless. You can use them to hold curtains back or closed, temporarily in place of a missing button, emergency arterial clamp, to keep food bags closed, money clip, hose clamp, and all sorts of things. Did you know that the handles are removable? That means you can remove the handles from one, slip them through another clip’s handles, and put it back together, giving you a double clip. This opens up a whole new field of possible uses. The sky is the limit.

Tell me, do you know any unique uses for binder clips? In what different ways do you use them?

10 comments:

  1. Love em,, like you. One thing I did with them. I had problems with birds eating my peaches, so I drilled a hole in an old the edge of a CD, ran a string through and tied it to the handle of the clip. Then clipped the clip around a tree limp. The CD reflecting the sun scares the birds off.

    ReplyDelete
  2. In my bus I use them to hold wires out of the way, shade pulls, chip bag closers, clamps when gluing, hanger for my head phones, to hold books or magazines open and to keep the screens in place in the windows. I use them as clothes pins when I need a really strong clothes pin. I keep a box of clothes pins on hand for light duty work.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree that the uses for binder clips is endless! Thanks for today's post.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Ben, that is a good idea. I have never heard of that.

    Oldfool, close pins are good, too. Binder clips are my favorite and my choice for almost all uses.

    Gypsy, You are correct. Endless, is that anything like infinity? Now don't go and get my head a spinning again. . .

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Dizzy-Dick,
    We use binder clips on Adoption Day, to hang a description of each animal on their cages.

    My main use for them here, is to attach some fabric over the top of my foster-cat's big cages, with a piece of paneling between the fabric and the cage.
    The cats are not locked up in their cages, except the few times I am grooming someone else's dog. But they love to sit up there and watch out of the windows.

    By the way, I have a CD hanging up with a string and a binder clip, as a toy for them.

    Yes, as Gypsy said, the uses are endless.
    Happy Trails, Penny, TX

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well let's just say nothing good has come out of Washington in out lifetimes.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Clipped on the side of a desk, they are a good place to keep all the computer cables straightened out.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Frann, You are so very right and that is a shame. I don't see anything good in the future either.

    Sixbears, Dang, that takes all the fun out fishing around to find a certain cable.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Now a days, the cord that feeds power to an electronic device is heavier than the device itself, due to it being made from light plastic rather than a more weighty substance like Bakelite.

    I use these binder clips on the edge of a table and pass the cords through the wire to prevent them from dragging the device off the table.

    I used up my last one on the computer mouse which continually tried to commit suicide by diving off the table onto the ceramic tile floor.

    Unused cords can be left at the ready, at the edge of the table for easy access.

    Gotta buy another bag full.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ernest, You are sure right about light weight devises with heavy cords. I have trouble with those cords that have the 110 to 12 volt converter half way from the inlet plug to the connection. A lot of weight in the middle that must be supported.

    ReplyDelete