Ok, Scotch is a brand of clear tape… but since the maker, 3M is just down the road and I’m Scottish… I’m partial to calling all clear tapes “Scotch tape” anyways. Now I’ve heard of some creative uses for Scotch tape before… well, actually… I haven’t. BUT, I did wander across this…

This is part of a gallery of Things Made From Scotch Tape over on Obscenely Bored. There’s another 16 shots over there you should check out.

Alright, this did come up because I did recently read about a good tip for using Scotch tape that I thought I would share. Unfortunately, I can’t find where I saw it… maybe Lifehacker? Anyways, if you use vanilla file folders and put labels on them… you know it’s a pain to reuse them. You can add more labels, and get a nice stacking effect. Or tear the old one off and take half the paperboard with it. Neither are great options… so next time, put a strip of Scotch tape on the folder tab BEFORE you put the label on, and when it comes time to reuse the folder, the label will peel right off!

And to add my own originaly tip to the mix (I had this posted on a previous version of my site, so yes.. I claim it as my own); for work I deal with a lot of papers that get 3-hole punched and put in binders. All too often one of two things happens… either a page pulls out, tearing one or more of the holes, or something happens when punching the holes in the first place and they’re not set where they should be… maybe too close to the edge, or the page shifted up so the holes are too low..? Well, Scotch tape to the rescue! Simple use a piece about 2 to 2-1/2 inches long and fold it over the edge of the paper, covering the ripped or incorrectly punched hole. You need to fold it over or you risk having exposed tape making pages stick together. Then just repunch the page. The tape helps reinforce ripped holes, or give you a whole new spot to punch if your original hole was a bit off.

Sure, you could use those fancy hole-reinforcers, but why buy those only to have them stuck away in a drawer when you probably have the tape handy on your desk anyways? And those reinforces do nothing for you if you punch the hole wrong.

So… there you have it. From fixing torn pages to creating statues… what you can do with Scotch tape is practically limitless! What else do YOU do with Scotch tape? Leave a comment to tell the world. Just keep it clean. (ooo… removing lint! there’s another use!)