Packing Supplies and Solutions

Consider this scenario: a little boy gets accidentally left home when the rest of his family leaves for vacation, and a couple of lowlifes decide to rob his house because he doesn’t have anyone there to help him or make them stop. Well, it turns out that this kid is incredibly talented in the art of self-preservation, and he completely booby-traps the home with some seriously genius inventions. One of them includes covering a doorway in stretch film, and then smearing the stretch film with glue. So that when Lowlife Number One tries to go through the doorway, which he assumes to be free and clear, he winds up walking right into the invisible wall and getting covered with sticky goo. Add a snowstorm of feathers and there isn’t too much left that the guys can withstand.

Okay, so that’s obviously from Home Alone, but it needs to be mentioned. Because I’m about to get into even more hidden benefits of stretch film, and by benefits I mean pranks. That is, pranks which can be accomplished using stretch film. I already mentioned how a band of young adult renegades (aka teenagers), all employed at the same restaurant, used one of the rolls of stretch film to wrap their manager’s car. It took the poor man about two hours to saw through the stuff using a Swiss army knife and a set of keys. This is not the only amazing prank, although it is definitely the largest and probably the best.

You’ve got the booby-trapped doorway, which doesn’t even need to include the whole glue and feathers situation. It’s good enough watching every great uncle and spoiled cousin flatten against it, their faces sliding all over the surface as they struggle to comprehend what is happening. This particular prank is usually makes up a decent percentage of the material sent to America’s Funniest Home Videos.

Another one, that I have never attempted and probably never will, and that I don’t even necessarily recommend but that many people swear by, is the one where you cover the toilet in stretch film. You can probably get the basic idea and therefore surmise why I think it goes under the category of “bad calls”. Basically, someone attempts to utilize the facilities and then begins to wonder at the mess growing all over the floor. I could personally laugh off the first two and not this last one, so make sure your mark is a good sport for sure. And, from now on, beware of stretch film!

So I think the theme of the week here is going to be its-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it slash post apocalypse. It probably has a lot do do with the fact that I recently started watching the Walking Dead again, and I’m feeling a little jumpy. I’ve said before how I’m not much of a “what if” kind of person.

I feel pretty grounded in my life and in my beliefs, but there is just something about watching a zombie show that gets me. The over-active imagination doesn’t need much help when being stimulated by something convincingly real. I then begin to think about what would be a beneficial product to have on hand during such a turn of events, and I have to say that stretch film is definitely one of them.

It might be a bit heavy to try dragging around, but that didn’t stop people from carrying around machine guns back in the day either. In a world where bullets and firepower are going to run out quick fast and in a hurry, it would behoove us to be prepared with alternatives. I’m convinced that stretch film is the answer. For one, I have this vision in my head of industrial strength film wrap wrapped around and around a section of trees, to kind of create an enclosed space, many feet higher than the tallest person.

Has anyone ever tried to puncture through heavy-duty industrial grade stretch film? It’s basically impossible. You would pale at the thought of using a sword, because the blade would probably bounce right off and slice through your neck or arm or something horrible. You could shoot it, sure, but if you are a zombie you wouldn’t know how to operate a gun and most people wouldn’t have a gun anyway.

Certain people would have insane amounts, and the rest would pretty much be grossly unarmed. Seriously, while “passing through” making a stretch film fort is a genius idea. You can light a fire and more or less not have to worry about approaching hoards. You could even use it to spin between tree branches and create a sort of spider web for sleeping in.

Any and all of your supplies could be tightly secured in stretch film, making an easily carried bundle and also protecting everything from dirt, pests, and moisture. Surely you have been convinced. I’m telling you guys, it’s time for us to stock up on some stretch film. Like now.

Ah yes, the five Ws. We’ve seen them before in the case of cheap cardboard boxes, and probably bin liners, and most certainly packaging tape. Now… now we see them in the case of stretch wrap film. What are the five Ws, you may ask? The who, what, when, where, and why of stretch wrap film, of course! Watch:

Who: In keeping with the times, stretch wrap film does not discriminate, and this means that it can be used by anyone and for anyone. Hand held rolls for the pallet wrapper (don’t forget the dispenser, which will make the job so very much easier, take my word for it), or machine grade size for the machine operator.

Polypropylene sheets that crinkle and twinkle for the gift basket maker. Saran wrap for the caterer or soup kitchen director or homemaker. Poly sheeting for the serial killer (I couldn’t help it. Dexter must have spent an absolute fortune on poly sheeting… and he still had to wind up going off to the woods and growing a beard…).

What: Stretch wrap film is pretty self-explanatory, but I will humor the W in the name of what is going on here. Stretch wrap film is that flexible and clingy plastic that can be saran wrap when dealing with food and pallet wrap when dealing with industrial things. Also belonging to the family is shrink film; or poly tubing, which you can make your own size packaging bags from if you have the correct accessories (namely, the heat sealer).

When: At this point I may be kind of repeating myself, but stretch wrap film is used in simple everyday situations (like trying to preserve your leftovers) and in not so simple everyday situations (like trying to secure a pallet of boxes). It is better to have the option of those chicken strips for tomorrow, or to reduce the hazard of losing thousands of dollars of product and safety concerns, too, is what I always say.

Where: at PackagingSupplies.com you can find all of the products with which to satisfy your stretch wrap film needs, amongst a host of other things.

Why: Don’t you like to dress up those gift baskets you hand out every Christmas? Don’t you want to save money on expensive cloth drop cloths and just use a piece of clear poly sheeting instead? The why is pretty simple, people. Preservation of any and all kinds: food, products, people, gifts… The list is endless.