Duct tape: A traveler’s friend

A few months ago I “waxed” poetic about the uses of dental floss. Duct tape can also be a traveler’s friend when it comes to fixing things that need fixing, or making the passage of time more interesting when you hit the road. The following ideas came from Debbie who writes Delicious Baby, a blog about traveling with babies (older kids included).

Debbie, a frequent traveler with her two young ones, doesn’t leave home without a small roll of duct tape tucked in her gear. Colored duct jazzes up the options. She suggests:

  1. Repair broken luggage with duct tape. (I actually had a zipper break once. Taping a suitcase closed is a great idea.)
  2. Outside of the U.S., and its regulations, tamper proof your suitcase by putting duct tape around it.
  3. Use duct tape to create a design on your suitcase to make it stand out on the conveyor belt so you can find it more easily.
  4. If you’re in a hotel room and the curtains won’t quite close to make the room dark, use the duct tape.
  5. Make an inside label for your suitcase by cutting a piece of duct tape and writing the label information in permanent marker on it.
  6. Seal a drain without a stopper with the tape so you can do laundry or take a bath.
  7. Make a hopscotch board or some other game with duct tape to keep yourself or kids entertained. Duct tape could be used to represent a highway for cars. ( I have a 6 year-old son. Great idea, Debbie!)
  8. If there is a fire, use the tape to seal the cracks around the door. Chances of this happening are less than in your own home, but good to know.
  9. Duct tape is a terrific addition to a First Aid kit. If you don’t have band aids, duct tape can work if you have cotton , some tissue, or a paper towel. (I actually made a band aid this way about a month ago, but with regular tape). You can get a splinter out with duct tape too. And you can make a splint with two Popsicle sticks.
  10. Check out baby proof your hotel room for some other ideas.

My idea: When I backpacked through Europe the first time, I had pitifully old sneakers and one of them ripped. I duct taped around the rip to hold it together. They were the only shoes I had and it was winter. So sad.