Measuring tapes - we all need 'em, and they are never easy to store! I have probably about a half-dozen of them swimming around my sewing room, and I only actively use one, sometimes two. (the others are for guests using my sewing room, extra-long tapes, etc.)
So I had this problem with tape measure storage! Hanging them anywhere is no good, I knock them off hooks and whatnot like it's going out of style, and throwing them into bins and drawers is a recipe for disaster.......here is what my drawer used to look like before the *BRAINFLASH*:
About a year ago, I came up with an easy way to keep these buggers contained. I'd used to try to keep rubber bands on them, but rubber bands are inconvenient, and can never be found when most needed. You know what is always around in my sewing room? Safety pins!
So, here is what you do:
1. Start the 'tail' (I start at the end of the tape) - and loop around thumb, leaving the tip close to your pinkie (this becomes important in later steps.
2. Do the "figure 8" wrappy thingy that guys do to their cords and whatnot:
3. Slide the figure 8 off your fingers, and using a large safety pin, and pinch the 'waist' of the figure 8 in the safety pin. (Note I'm not piercing the tape with the pin, just 'paper clipping' the whole thing) This is where the 'tail' comes in handy - with a 60" tape, and the size of my hands, each end is overlapping just enough to be caught fairly securely in the pin....you may need to adjust accordingly.
4. Pop your tape in a bin or drawer with far fewer tangles! (This method isn't *completely* foolproof.....if you do a lot of vigorous digging around, there is a chance it'll come loose, but I've not had it happen very often at all)
