My Duct Tape Confession

So, I don't know about you, but in my house with kids (and uhm, ahem, Mr. Lee) things just don't last like they used to.  I literally have things from when I was a 'tween & am wearing clothes from eons ago before Mr. Lee & I were married, but don't dare think that vacuum cleaner, phone, or whatchamacallit is going to last very long these days... sigh...

Enter in my deep respect & love for duct tape (AKA Duck Tape).  I don't have any of the fancy animal prints, neon colors, or pastels, but I do have the tried & true, SILVER duct tape... my FAVORITE!!  Anybody who knows me in real life (IRL) know that I have 3 things I tend to use and/or recommend as my tried & trues... vinegar, breastmilk, & duct tape... if at least one of them doesn't work, sorry, you are up a creek.. LOL... just kidding... or am I?! LOL

I have used duct tape for a number of things over the years... I have patched holes in my work jeans when I ran a garden center, I've held a corded wall phone together for YEARS & YEARS w/it (I know, I know WHAT is a CORDED wall phone?!), I patched a vacuum attachment hose, & so much more...

If I would answer our phone via the wall phone & the connection was bad, I used to have to tell people, "Hold on, I have to adjust the duct tape..." & they would LOL because they thought I was kidding... does THIS look like I was kidding?!

 If you step into my home it will be like you are going back in time... yes, people still have corded wall phones.  I honestly just like mine for the speaker phone option... you know, for the times when I am on hold for an hour trying to get through to a company who has outsourced their customer service & it takes ages to speak to a human being (hello, Dell computers...)?!  We are a pretty basic household...no laptop, no wifi, no iphone, no ipad, no tablet, no fancy electronic gadgets, etc. but we do now boast a new & improved corded wall speakerphone (sorry, no picture of it... but at least for the time being there is no duck tape on it).  Why would someone frugal replace the beautifully duct taped one in the picture?!  Well, remember how I said nothing lasts long with kids... ahem, well, a certain someone in our home knocked it off the wall... not once, but 2 times in 2 days... the 2nd time it was beyond hope... even with duct tape.  THAT is BAD when duct tape won't hold something together...

Unfortunately I had to splurge and spend $28 including tax for a new phone.  The good news is that I waited for so many years that for the $28 we actually got a phone that works well... when I tried to replace it some 6 years ago I was going to have to spend $50 + tax for a corded wall phone w/a speaker that actually had decent clarity.  Being a frugal mama, even back then, I returned the phone back & just decided to apply more duct tape.  Had a certain someone not knocked it off the wall it would have still be working to this day... man, I believe that phone was a good 12-14 years old... the new phone is black, so if this one gets knocked off the wall, I may get fancy & invest in some black duct tape, but no promises... part of using the duct tape is to remind the offender what the result of carelessness is... I know, I know, mean mommy... LOL.

What are YOUR tried & trues that you tend to use??  Do YOU also have a deep love for duct tape?!  Do YOU have a corded phone in your house??