Downtime: the archnemesis of uptime. When your packaging and shipping department experiences downtime, it can bring your entire operations to a screeching halt. This, in turn, results in prolonged deliveries, customer dissatisfaction, and a significant loss to your bottom line.

Packaging downtime is an unfortunate inevitability for any company. However, there are several ways you can minimize downtime so your business can perform at the optimum level. In this highly functional article, we will cover four ways you can keep packaging downtime at bay.

Practice Preventive Maintenance

A common phrase you’ll hear in health care is “prevention is better than cure”. The same principle applies to your company’s packaging operations: preventing downtime is a lot easier—and cheaper—than resolving it.

Like with any machinery, your packaging equipment can only run continuously for so long before they start to develop problems. And if you’ve got older equipment, they’ll develop their problems sooner than later. To combat this, schedule inspections on a weekly to monthly basis to examine the condition of your equipment.

Make sure you also set up comprehensive maintenance checklists so that each and every component of your equipment is verified to be in top working order. At the same time, make sure your maintenance team is given enough time to thoroughly check over the machines and provide detailed records of their maintenance checks.

Measure Optimum Output During Uptime

You may learn more from your failures than your successes, but your successes still provide some worthy insight into how your operations should function. When your packaging and shipping operations are running smoothly, develop some key performance indicators (KPIs) and take measurements on how things are performing.

When developing your KPIs, ask yourself the essential questions: how many packages or pallets are shipped out an hour, or a day? How long does it take for an item to go through the entire packaging department? Are there any areas or systems that can be improved to increase your output?

With a solid set of KPIs and careful measurement of your operations, you can determine what optimal output looks like so that when downtime strikes, you’ll notice it immediately and then determine the source of the downtime more easily.

Have Spare Parts Stocked Up

Even the best-made plans can go awry. Machine parts, especially those in constant motion, will wear down over time. These old and faulty parts will impair the machine’s performance, or worse, break it. When your parts are well past their prime, they need to be replaced.

A stockpile of spare parts can be a lifesaver in moments of downtime. Thankfully, most manufacturers of industrial equipment are more than willing to sell replacement parts for their machines. Just make sure you have the manual or reference guide with parts numbers at the ready so that you can request the right parts.

Plan Your Budget for Upgrades

Nothing lasts forever, especially not industrial machinery. When your packaging equipment reaches the end of its operational lifespan, it needs to be replaced. However, industrial equipment can be incredibly expensive and perhaps unfeasible if you cannot budget for it.

If maintenance discovers that a piece of equipment is on its way out during a routine maintenance inspection, or the equipment is getting close to the manufacturer’s recommended lifespan, plan early for expensive upgrades. At the beginning of the fiscal year, set aside a percentage of the yearly budget to go exclusively to upgrades and repairs.

A new piece of industrial equipment can be costly, but a critical failure will be costlier.

Cut Down Your Downtime

Life comes with three guarantees: death, taxes, and downtime. Even the world’s most successful businesses, like Amazon, Apple, and General Motors, will encounter packaging downtime that can stop operations in their tracks. The name of the game isn’t making sure you never have downtime—it’s keeping downtime to an absolute minimum.

Preventative maintenance and spare parts are crucial for addressing downtime in the heat of the moment. At the same time, taking measurements during uptime and planning for upgrades can go a long way toward staving off future downtime as much as possible. Your ability to handle downtime all comes down to how prepared you are for it.

For further reading on managing your packaging operations, be sure to check out our article on why you may need to improve your operations with a stretch wrap machine.

It’s easy to underestimate the importance of a good morning routine. Many people will give themselves just enough time to wake up, slug back a cup of coffee, dress for the day, and hit the road. And while this tight and bare-bones routine may work for some, it won’t work for everyone.

A good morning routine that works for you will not only boost your energy and productivity for the day, but will also give you an opportunity to take care of things you may not otherwise have the time for. On top of this, it just feels good. Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, here are some basic steps you can take to ensure that you’re primed and ready for your day.

Prepare the Night Before

Did you know that a good morning routine starts the night before? After all, your nighttime habits don’t just impact your morning—they affect your whole day. You should establish a healthy end-of-day routine to calm your mind and ready yourself for a good night’s sleep.

For starters, avoid eating within 2-3 hours before going to bed. This will give your body enough time to digest your food, thereby calming your stomach so it doesn’t bother you throughout the night. You definitely need to watch out for sugar, caffeine, and alcohol, as these can be very disruptive to your sleep.

Similarly, you should avoid using your phone or watching TV 2-3 hours before bedtime. Not only do these devices keep your mind stimulated with an unending stream of engaging content, but the blue light they emit inhibits the body’s ability to produce sleep-inducing melatonin.

Lastly, develop some habits to let your brain know that it’s time to go to sleep. Whether it’s putting on a comfortable set of pajamas, brewing a calming herbal tea, or spending an hour reading your favorite book, establishing a healthy pattern for ending your day reminds your brain that it’s time to go to bed.

Get a Good Night of Sleep

A good night’s sleep is essential to your health and well-being. For one, good sleep improves your mood, focus, and productivity going into the day.

But more importantly, sleep is critical for your mental and physical health. A good night of sleep keeps your heart healthy, your immune system strong, and your metabolism in excellent condition. Furthermore, good sleep helps in managing depression and anxiety.

Make sure your bedroom is conducive to good sleep. Keep the room dark and at a regulated temperature, around 65°F (18.3°C) for adults. Also, you ought to keep your phone, laptop, and other similar electronics in another room. If you use your phone as your alarm, you may want to consider purchasing a standalone alarm clock.

Avoid the Snooze Button

You’ve likely heard this advice a thousand times over, but you’d be surprised how risky hitting snooze can be. You may be in a state of deep sleep right when your alarm wakes you. Although you may intend to get an extra five minutes by hitting snooze, your body is determined to get more and you may end up sleeping a lot longer than you intended.

But even if you avoid oversleeping, staying in bed longer than necessary can induce grogginess and fatigue that you’ll have to carry with you through the whole day. On top of this, you may be disturbing your body’s natural sleep cycle and setting yourself up for sleep deprivation later that night.

Drink Some Water

There’s nothing wrong with a hot cup of coffee or tea to start your day. In fact, many will tell you that the warm beverage and spot of caffeine helps to wake you up and stimulate your mind. However, you should consider chasing that hot cup with a refreshing glass of water.

Firstly, a glass of water helps to replenish your body’s fluids. Throughout the night, your natural bodily functions will slowly but surely dehydrate you. This dehydration is compounded by nighttime visits to the bathroom or a round of drinks the night before. Restoring your bodily fluids keeps the fatigue that dehydration induces at bay.

Additionally, water in the morning helps to stimulate your mind and digestive system. For more information on the health benefits of a glass of water in the morning, check out this article from Real Simple.

Breakfast or Not?

Is it the most important meal of the day? This is actually quite the subject of debate, with supporters on either side making their case.

Those in favor of breakfast in the morning proclaim that it jumpstarts the body’s metabolism, literally “breaking the fast”, and giving the body the vitamins and nutrients it needs to have that energy boost early in the day. Furthermore, those who regularly start their day with breakfast are reported to be at a lower risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke.

However, an increasing percentage of adults are choosing to skip breakfast. These people often participate in intermittent fasting, where they restrict themselves to eating during a designated period of the day, then fasting for the majority of it. Intermittent fasting reportedly boosts fat burning, repairs damaged cells, fights inflammation, and help manage symptoms of type 2 diabetes.

In the end, there’s no clear-cut answer. If you think eating breakfast helps start your day, stick with it. If not, skip it. If you want, you can try starting some days with breakfast and some days without and see what works for you.

Get Moving

When you’re fresh out of bed in the morning, you may not enjoy the thought of moving around all that much, let alone a full-on workout. But a session of light exercise can do wonders for waking you up and getting you ready for the day.

Exercising early in the day increases your body’s blood flow and quickly delivers oxygen to the brain, which promptly kickstarts your metabolism and cardiovascular system and fights off the morning grog. Furthermore, morning exercise encourages a healthy and active lifestyle.

If you can afford the time, a morning jog or yoga session is a great way to start the day. However, if you’re crunched for time, try out this 10-minute exercise routine from HealthXchange.

Meditate

Mornings seem to be focused on the “get up and go”, but our mornings can also be a moment to briefly stop and breathe. Practicing stillness and mindfulness at the start of the day can go on to lower your stress, focus your thoughts, and manage your emotions.

Your morning meditation can be as simple as putting on some calming music and going over some positive affirmations (I am enough, I am grateful for the life I have, I have the power to achieve my dreams). There are also countless guided meditations on YouTube and mindfulness apps like Calm and Headspace that you can try.

At the same time, you may want to avoid the news and social media in the early morning. These can be sources of carefully curated negativity that can greatly impact your mental state going into your day.

Plan Your Day

“Plan your work and work your plan”, as they say. Planning for the day ahead of you gives you a sense of purpose and a set of tasks to focus on, whether you’re at work or you have the day off. Is there an important project you need to chip away at? Is there something you’ve been putting off? Is there an idea you’ve had for a while? This is the time to decide what your day will look like.

Making a to-do list can help to regiment your day. With this list, you can assign certain parts of the day to certain tasks, helping you both stay on schedule and give you a concrete sense of accomplishment. It can also deal with more frivolous decision-making, such as when you’re taking your coffee break or what you’re going to have for lunch.

“Eat the Frog”

No, we’re not asking you to literally eat frogs, unless you’re a professional connoisseur of frog legs. This phrase comes from a quote by the author Mark Twain: “If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.”

Frogs, in this instance, are tasks and responsibilities. In essence, Twain declares that it’s best to do your hardest task first thing in the morning. That way, the most difficult part of your day will quickly be behind you. After waking your mind and body up with your morning routine, go ahead and tackle that burdensome report or financial statement and get it out of the way. You’ll thank yourself in the afternoon.

Rise and Shine

Mornings are something many of us don’t give much thought to—it’s simply a transitional period between night and day. However, our mornings are incredibly important. Put simply, a good or bad morning can make the difference between a good or bad day. And a strong morning routine helps us make the most of it.

We’re not all going to have the same morning routine. After all, we’re all unique individuals, mentally and physically. But that’s also the beauty of it: we can custom-tailor our mornings to meet our specific needs. Whether or not you eat breakfast, or you have a particular time of day that your body is most accustomed to waking up at, you can create a morning routine that works just for you.

For further reading on establishing a healthy lifestyle, check out our article about staying active at work.

Packaging can be quite stressful, but perhaps not in the way you’re thinking. While you may be dealing with the stresses of deadlines, customer demands, and daily operations, your packing tape will encounter a different kind of stress: adhesive stress.

Adhesive stress refers to how the adhesive bond is pulled, stretched, and otherwise deformed when acted upon by external forces. In this sticky article, we will go over the five types of stress your tape will face throughout packaging and shipping.

Tensile Stress

Tensile stress occurs when the adhesive bond is elongated or pulled apart by external forces moving away from each other. The direction of the pulling is perpendicular to the bond and the stress is distributed evenly across the surface.

Compression Stress

This is the inverse of tensile stress, where the bond is compressed or smushed by external forces moving toward each other. Like tensile, the direction of the stress is perpendicular to the bond and is distributed evenly.

Shear Stress

Unlike the previous two, shear stress involves external forces moving across each other, parallel to the bond surface. This stress stretches the adhesive bond laterally. Despite the change in direction, the stress is still evenly distributed across the bond surface.

Cleavage Stress

Cleavage stress involves external forces pulling apart one side of the bond while the other side experiences little to no stress. While the previous three stresses are evenly distributed across the entire area of the bond, this stress is uneven and concentrated on a single side.

Peel Stress

Peel stress is similar to cleavage, as the external forces pull apart one side and leave the other side alone, putting uneven stress on the bond. In this instance, however, at least one of the surfaces is flexible, such as a tape backing. This results in greater stress in the area getting pulled apart, making it a more extreme form of cleavage stress.

Stress Management

Adhesive stress is the challenge all tapes must face. Whether it’s sealing boxes, hanging decorations, or making repairs, tapes must be able to stand up to the forces trying to pull them apart.

At the same time, some specialty tapes, like masking and painter’s tape, are specifically formulated to easily give way to peel and shear stresses so they can be removed quickly and cleanly. So the next time you need to use some tape, consider what you’re using it for and what kind of adhesive strength you need.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our selection of tape products, available in a wide variety of tensile and shear strengths. All our tapes come with free shipping, so you can tackle the challenges of adhesive stress today.

For more information on adhesives, take a look at our article comparing pressure-sensitive and water-activated tapes.

Whether you’re a construction worker on the jobsite, or a DIY-er looking to improve their home, you want to keep the areas you’re not working on safe from the areas you are working on. The last thing you need when you’re in the middle of a project is your floors getting stained or damaged. That, and a devastating apocalyptic event.

Luckily for you, surface protection tape is available to answer your safeguarding needs. This adhesive film is easily unrolled onto your floors and keeps them safe from debris, stains, scrapes, and other kinds of common damage. However, some important steps need to be taken to ensure that your hard surface or carpet protection tape stays in place and works properly.

Clean the Surface

Before you apply an inch of tape, you need to clean the surfaces you intend to protect. For hard surfaces, dust and sweep to get rid of loose specks and particles. Then, mop your hard surfaces and let them dry before applying the tape.

For carpets, thoroughly vacuum every inch of the surface you’ll be covering with protection tape. If you think you need to, steam clean or shampoo your carpeting and wait until it’s completely dried before placing the tape down. Covering still-moist carpets with this tape can run the risk of developing mildew.

Wear Shoe Covers

Rubber soles and high-traction footwear can pull on surface protection tape and dislodge it from where it was placed. To avoid this, put shoe covers over your footwear.

These plastic coverings have less grip than your shoes, ensuring that your surface protection tape stays in place. Furthermore, shoe covers keep you from tracking dust, dirt, and other contaminants into your work area.

Apply It Carefully

Surface protection tape works in the same way any roll of pressure-sensitive tape does: unwind it and stick it to your surface. However, this kind of tape can be 2 feet wide or more, making it a cumbersome object to deal with.

We recommend two people for this job: one to hold the roll of tape steady and the other to unwind it and press it onto the surface. Make sure you’re both wearing shoe covers and avoid walking on the freshly applied tape as much as possible to give it a chance to effectively bond with the surface. Let the tape set for 48 hours before working and walking on it.

If you’re by yourself, you may want to get yourself a surface protection film applicator, which essentially works like an oversized paint roller.

Can’t Tape It? Wrap It

Surface protection tape isn’t just for floors. In fact, this tape can be used on a wide variety of surfaces, including tables, countertops, large appliances, and more. However, when it comes to small and/or oddly shaped items, surface protection tape may not be up to the task.

In these instances, a roll of hand stretch wrap or mini bundling wrap will do the job. All you have to do is tightly wrap these objects all over in three or four layers of stretch film and they’ll be adequately protected from debris, moisture, and other contaminants. The plastic film clings to itself, so there’s no need for tapes, adhesives, or any other binder to keep it in place.

Don’t Leave It for Long

The acrylic adhesive used in hard surface and carpet protection tape is formulated to not leave an adhesive residue behind upon its removal. However, this only works within 45 days of applying the tape. After that, the bond will have solidified enough to impart a residue on your surface.

Make sure you keep track of when you applied your tape and how long it’s been there to keep your carpeting and hard surfaces free from unsightly residue.

No Scratching the Surface

Surface protection tape is essential for painting projects, renovations, construction, and more. Its light but firm adhesive held by its puncture-resistant plastic backing safeguards floors, carpeting, and other surfaces from unwelcome stains and scrapes. As long as you clean your surfaces, apply the tape carefully, wear shoe covers, and remove it within 45 days, you can keep unnecessary surface restoration off your to-do list.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our selection of surface protection tapes, available in carpet and hard surface varieties. All these products come with free shipping, so you can get to protecting your surfaces right away.

For further reading on protective tapes, take a look at our article comparing masking tape to painter’s tape.

On Monday, August 8^th, 2024, the moon will pass directly in front of the sun and create a total solar eclipse. Those in the path of totality for the so-called “Great North American Eclipse” will get to witness a potentially once-in-a-lifetime event:

Hopefully, you’ve already stocked up on CE and ISO-certified 12312-2 solar eclipse glasses that block harmful infrared and ultraviolet rays when you watch the eclipse. But there’s more to the eclipse than just what’s in the sky; in fact, there are plenty of phenomena happening all around that you can’t miss out on. With the help of our very own packaging supplies, here are three solar eclipse experiments you can perform to make the most of it.

Pinhole Projection

If you have a flat object with a pinhole cut out of it, you will see a perfectly circular dot of light in the shadow of the object. That is because both the top and bottom of the sun can beam through the pinhole and form the circular dot, as seen in the top half of the image below:

However, as the moon moves in front of the sun in a solar eclipse, it forms a solar crescent that projects a crescent shape through the pinhole, as seen in the bottom half of the above image.

This effect is best captured with a surface that is thin and sturdy, such as our rigid photo mailers. Get yourself an order of our rigid mailers and punch out any pattern of pinholes you desire. You can even spell out your name with pinholes and see how your name turns into little crescents as the eclipse approaches totality.

Sharp & Fuzzy Shadows

Immediately before and after totality, the crescent-shaped sun will impart a strange effect on shadows. In short, the sides of an object that are parallel to the shape of the crescent will retain some sharpness, while the sides that are perpendicular to the crescent shape will be significantly blurrier, as the image below demonstrates:

Normal sunlight acts as an extended source of light, meaning it is a wide light source that illuminates objects with all of its sides – top, middle, and bottom. The shadows we see every day look the way they do because of this extended light source.

When the moon passes in front of the sun and forms a solar crescent, it changes the sun into a linear source of light, a narrower and more concentrated beam of light. Sides of objects in line, or parallel, to this light source appear sharper while the perpendicular sides are much blurrier.

This effect works best with objects with perfect 90° angles. Our rigid photo mailers are once again ideal for this, but most of our mailing envelopes will work just as well.

For more information on this phenomenon, check out this article from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

Purkinje Effect

Have you ever noticed that colors in the evening look less…colorful? This is because when our eyes adapt to darker conditions, they become more sensitive to blue colors and less sensitive to reds and greens. This natural anomaly is known as the Purkinje Effect.

You are guaranteed to witness this effect occur during the solar eclipse. To make the most of it, stock up on some red and green tape and create a pattern or design to your heart’s content. Then, on the day of this eclipse, take your red and green creation outside and watch as the colors slowly but surely desaturate as the moon moves in front of the sun.

EclipseSuppliesByMail

Total solar eclipses are a rarity. The next time the path of totality will cross the contiguous United States won’t be until 2045, traveling from California and moving southeast into Alabama and Florida. The northeast, on the other hand, won’t see another total solar eclipse until 2099! Alongside your eclipse glasses, don’t forget to stock up on some of our rigid photo mailers and colored tape to try your hand at some solar eclipse experiments and maximize your once-in-a-lifetime experience.

At the same time, as we watch these gigantic cosmic bodies perform their celestial dance above us, we should take this moment to reflect. Despite our earthly burdens of bills and deadlines, the universe continues on its silent and graceful course. Let us, in this extraordinary moment, take a breath and embrace the feeling of being alive here and now. After all, “the cosmos,” as Carl Sagan has said, “is within us. We are made of star-tuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”

Glove Actually

It’s an anthology of sanitary love! Set during the holidays in Nitri-London, we follow a series of interconnected stories of love, sorrow, and self-discovery. The Polyethylene Minister develops feelings for a PVC dotted glove working in his household staff. A deadbeat synthetic-vinyl rockstar attempts to rekindle his stalled career with a holiday song about keeping your hands safe. A food service glove and mother of two suspects her string knit husband is unfaithful. A recently-single brown jersey glove forms a close friendship with his latex housekeeper, eventually discovering that he wants to be more than friends. And that’s only a couple of the stories in this elaborate tale of glove romance! Can the people of Nitri-London find true love by the year’s end? Just watch out for that Joni Mitchell album.

The Corrugated Box Office reports: “I saw the movie title come onto the screen, then there was darkness, then I saw the credits roll. Where am I?”

Starring Emma TPE Vinal and Directed by Richard Coated with Polyurethane

Rated R for Resistant to cuts

Cast-ablanca

It’s 1941 and Rick Supplychain is the owner of “Rick’s Depot Américain”, the most popular packaging supply store in the town of Cast-ablanca. This seedy, yet bustling establishment attracts all kinds of customers, especially refugees seeking freedom and the villains preying on them. Rick confronts a customer after hearing the song “As Tinted Wrap Goes By” only to discover it was requested by his former lover, Ilsa Laundrywrap. Ilsa and her husband VCI Laszlo are both refugees and they’ve heard that Rick has letters of transit that can help them escape. At first, Rick refuses to hand over the letters, still bitter after Ilsa suddenly abandoned him in High Perform-France a year ago. However, when Ilsa explains that Laszlo went missing around that time and that she regrets leaving without saying why, Rick’s cold heart softens. Will Rick Supplychain be able to get Ilsa and Laszlo to freedom before the villains of Cast-blanca get to them? No matter what, you’d better round up the usual stretch wraps because this is the beginning of beautiful free shipping.

Entertainment Biweekly raves: “Pretentious and trite, an exercise in self-aggrandizement, but the theater had popcorn with the cheese powder so I ended up enjoying the experience.”

Starring Handwrap Bogart and Directed by Machinewrap Curtiz

Rated NC-17 for No Cast film under 17 gauge sold

Beauty and the Beard Covers

Bouffant Cap is a young woman in a small village who dreams of something greater. Despite advances from the local hunk and hunter Hard Hat-ston, Bouffant finds refuge in the safety manuals at the library and her eccentric inventor father, Mob Cap. When her father goes missing one night, Bouffant journeys to the remote and cursed Disposable Castle to find him imprisoned by the claws of the Beard Cover Beast. Bouffant offers to take her father’s place as the Beast’s prisoner, which the Beast accepts. Over the next few weeks, slowly yet surely, Bouffant and the Beard Cover Beast develop a rapport with each other that soon turns into love. However, Hard Hat-ston eventually discovers their love and, enraged with jealousy, stirs up an angry mob to storm the castle. Can the Disposable Castle fend off the OSHA-violating mob of villagers? Will Bouffant and the Beard Cover Beast’s love persevere? This Valentine’s Day, be our guest and put our safety supplies to the test!

Variety Fair declares: “I am a Nigerian prince and if you could kindly provide me your bank account information, I will transfer $20 million to your checking or savings account.”

Starring Jerry Oversleevesbach and Directed by Sydney Polypropylene

Rated G for Great safety supplies only at PackagingSuppliesByMail

Sometimes it feels like we just don’t have enough time in the day for a proper workout. With our jobs taking up a large chunk of our day and a slew of responsibilities waiting for us when we get back home, many people choose to skip working out simply because they think they have no time to do so.

If you’re interested in getting fit but feel you don’t have the time for it, you may want to consider doing some fitness on the clock. While we can’t recommend running a marathon or pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion while at your job, there are steps you can take to lead a healthier and more active lifestyle. In this incredibly swole article, we’ve compiled some of the best advice on how to be active at work so your gains won’t be such a pain.

Bike or Walk to Work

If you live close enough to work, leave the car in the garage and take your bike to work. If you’re really close, you can probably just walk it. Not only does biking or walking to work save on gas money, but it also introduces some early-morning cardio that can help stimulate your brain through the first half of the day. Besides, you won’t have to deal with all of that bumper-to-bumper, rush hour traffic.

Unfortunately, not all of us live close enough to our jobs to make this a feasible option. At the same time, most people will easily overestimate the time it takes to bike or walk, so you may want to test the commute time on the weekend just to be sure.

Park in the Back

You’ve probably heard this before. Why park right up at the front of the parking lot when you could park in the back instead? This way, you can get some extra steps in on the way to your desk. You are also making the front spots available for employees who need them more, such as the elderly, pregnant women, those with disabilities, and those dealing with an emergency.

Take the Stairs

Here’s another common piece of advice. Waiting to stuff yourself in a crowded elevator does little good for the body. Alternatively, you can opt for the flight of stairs. The stairs are a great way of strengthening your leg muscles and getting in some light cardio.

Take a Break and Move

Desk jobs are defined by long periods of sitting in one place. Unfortunately, this kind of sustained physical inactivity is detrimental to your health, significantly increasing your personal risk of heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, and even cancer and stroke.

After spending 30 to 60 minutes sitting at your desk, give yourself a moment to stand up and move around. You can take a lap around the office, or you can go up and down a few flights of stairs. This not only keeps those nasty health risks at bay, but it also minimizes fatigue and keeps you stimulated throughout your day.

Stretch at Your Desk

Sometimes, however, we can’t just get up from our desks whenever we want. Whether we’re stuck in a long meeting or we have a lot of work due by the end of the day, sometimes our jobs necessitate sitting at our desks for extended periods.

If this is the case for you, you can still get some physical activity in by stretching at your desk. Healthline has a great article covering a variety of stretches you can perform without having to leave your seat. These stretches work on key areas of the body, including the arms, shoulders, and most importantly, the back.

Walk Instead of Calling or Messaging

You know what doesn’t burn calories? Making calls and sending messages while seated at your desk. You know what does burn calories? Getting up, walking over to the coworker you need to talk to, and delivering the message in person.

While this method isn’t as immediate as an email or a text message, it involves a lot more physical activity. This also gives you an opportunity to meet your coworkers face-to-face and build rapport at the office.

Try a Sit-Stand Desk

Depending on your position and where you work, this isn’t always an option. However, if your workplace will allow it, consider replacing your regular desk with a sit-stand desk. This popular and versatile piece of office furniture allows you to switch between sitting and standing as you perform the duties of your job, inducing some healthy fidgeting as you change your position throughout the day.

Make the Most of Your Lunch

Lunchtime is the perfect time for getting in some physical activity. If you’ve got half an hour or more to spare, consider leaving the building and taking a walk around the neighborhood. Perhaps you can find a quiet park to calm your mind, or you can distract yourself by browsing the local shops. Those who took the bike to work can squeeze in some extra cycling time at lunch.

If your lunchtime is more limited, try to do some exercise with the space and time you have available. This can take the form of going up and down a couple flights of stairs, taking a lap or two around the building, or doing some stretches/yoga in the break room. Your lunch is your free time at work, so use it to your advantage. Just don’t forget to eat!

Walking Meetings

Few things bring on the fatigue like a droning Zoom meeting where you’re stuck at your desk. Therefore, make your meetings more lively by having them on the move. Walking meetings keep you alert and focused on the subject at hand. Moreover, by getting on your feet and moving around, you allow your brain to generate fresh, new ideas more naturally.

Office Fitness Challenge

Why make exercise an individual endeavor when it could be a company-wide goal? For instance, you can buy pedometers for everyone in the office and offer a prize to whoever can get the most steps in within a certain amount of time. Or you can plan for company outings with ample physical activity, such as pickleball or golf.

At the same time, you ought to be careful when creating your fitness challenges. You don’t want a challenge that’s too easy or a reward that’s too plain so that nobody is interested. On the other hand, if you make the challenge too hard or the reward too desirable, your employees may push themselves beyond what is healthy, like the characters in The Office during the weight loss episodes.

Cooling Down

Fitness is so important for so many reasons. It helps us sleep, it supports our immune system, it keeps our muscles strong, it keeps our minds sharp, and frankly, it keeps us alive. However, many of us feel like every second of our day is taken up by errands, responsibilities, and other obligations. Until we can find a way to set time aside for exercise, we need to maximize our daily routine.

Some of these tips can be quite the commitment, such as biking to work or purchasing a sit-stand desk. Yet other tips, such as parking in the back of the lot and delivering your messages in person, are more than doable and can easily be integrated into our day-to-day lives. Lifestyle changes don’t always have to be big and dramatic; sometimes they can be small and gradual. All it takes from you is a dedication toward working on yourself.

You’ve probably heard this joke before: Something isn’t moving and it should? Use lubricant. Something is moving and it shouldn’t? Use duct tape.

While this “advice” isn’t applicable to all situations, it does speak to the power of duct tape. Since its invention in the 1940s, duct tape has been a staple in homes and workspaces alike. It’s been used by repairmen, the military, and even by astronauts.

But we’re not repairing space shuttles or helicopters. Rather, we fight the battle of the homefront: household repairs and quick fixes that only duct tape can solve. In this durable and sticky article, we will go over some of the most common uses of duct tape, including some you may have never heard of before.

Patching Garden Hoses

There’s no doubt that you’re familiar with duct tape’s ability to repair things. However, when it comes to garden hoses and other objects that come into contact with water, duct tape shines. Duct tape’s powerful rubber adhesive and plastic cloth backing are more than capable of standing up to high-moisture situations, ensuring that holes stay patched and leaks are prevented.

Temporary Hemming

Got an irresistible pair of pants, but the legs are too long? Duct tape is great for making a quick hem. Adjust your pants legs to your desired length and set them in place with a couple of strips of duct tape. Then when you get the time, take your pants to the tailor and get a proper hemming.

Get Rid of Warts

This may seem strange, but many people stand by this. Simply place a strip of duct tape over the wart and let it stay there for a few days. Then remove it, clean the wart, and apply another strip of duct tape. The duct tape essentially starves the wart of oxygen and within a month, most common warts will disappear. In fact, according to JAMA Pediatrics, duct tape is a significantly more effective wart-remover than standard cryotherapy.

Fly Paper

Getting bugged by bugs? Use duct tape as temporary fly paper. Portion off 1 to 2-foot strips of duct tape and hang them from your ceiling. If you’re outside, you can hang them from the tree branches. Duct tape’s robust rubber adhesive ensures that things stick and don’t unstick.

Lint Roller

We love our pets almost as much as our pets’ hairs love sticking to our clothes. Before you go out into the world peppered with little hairs, grab a strip of duct tape and remove the lint from your clothes. Duct tape is also much sticker than your standard lint roller, so it can grab those persistent, hard-to-get hairs.

Remove Splinters

Splinters can be a real pain in the finger, but not if you have duct tape on hand. Place a piece of duct tape over the splinter and pull it out. Depending on the size and depth of the splinter, you’ll either want to yank it out quickly, or slowly, carefully pull it out.

Water/Cold-Proof Your Footwear

Dry cold is quite unpleasant, but wet cold is dangerous, as it exponentially increases your chances of getting hypothermia. If you’re going on a chilly hike, protect your toes by thoroughly wrapping your shoes and socks in layers of duct tape. You especially want to seal off the top of your shoes or boots to prevent water and ice from seeping in.

Furniture Pads

The last thing your floors need are a bunch of scrapes and scuffs. Show your floors some love by putting pieces of duct tape on the bottom of your chair legs, table legs, and all the other legs of your furniture. You’ll be so impressed by how well the plastic cloth backing protects your surfaces, you’ll be floored.

Stop Wood From Splitting

Messy edges are the bane of carpenters around the world. If clean lines and edges are the name of your game, consider putting duct tape on the areas you need to cut. The tape will hold the particles and fibers in place, so you won’t be splitting wood or splitting hairs.

Final Thoughts

You know what’s crazy? Despite listing 10 different applications for duct tape, we’ve barely scratched the surface of what this stuff can do. People like the Duct Tape Guys and Red Green have practically dedicated their careers toward using duct tape in any and every possible situation. It seems the only limits are your budget and your imagination.

While you’re here, don’t forget to take a look at our selection of duct tapes, available in a variety of widths and colors. All of our duct tape products come with free shipping, so you can start discovering new and exciting uses for duct tape today!

If you’re interested in using tape for more aesthetic purposes, be sure to check out our article covering creative ways to use tape.

These are two types of stretch wrap.

 Stretch wrap is very cool.