Clothes pin/pegs for household use

[bcla]

I have a lot of these around the house. I rarely use them for any clothes use. A lot is to clip opened food packages, chips, etc., while others are just to keep things together. They work great for camping too, especially clipping things to my tent or maybe to secure something like a flashlight.

My favorite was from a bag of multicolor ones from an Italian company called Tontarelli. Further research is that this is the Minimollet model, which is a single piece of plastic with a metal spring. I bought them a long, long time ago where I found them randomly at an independent grocery store near where I worked. I still have the occasional one in the house, but I can't find any place I can buy them outside of ordering from Europe. On Amazon, the only items I can find from the company are various baskets.

https://www.tontarelli.shop/products/133217237657155/minimollet-o-bag-1-x-36/?from=category

I do wish I could find these again somewhere, but I guess where found them was really just a random thing as I've never seen them again in the United States. I found something similar from Ikea, but they were only in black and the grip was rather poor for just clipping a bag opening shut.

I've been making do with these clothes pins from the Japanese "100 yen" shop Daiso. Most items are $1.50 in the US, and the size I like is 40 in a package. They seem to come in random color patterns with different ones available at different times. I think I bought of these 4 color packs, but more recently it's been other colors like blue/white and dark/light gray. These actually have two plastic segments are are held together by the tension of a steel wire spring.

So who else uses these things just around the house for almost anything? Occasionally I'll make do with a binder clip, but it's generally not as effective.

 

[chickapin parterre]

goodwill will have the standard plastic clips on the the on the peg bag wall and on dollar day I will purchase them. large and small bag clips. like socks in the wash, the clips tend to disappear. we use them on chips. nothing at goodwill like the photos above and here on the Mexico border, plastic has a life span of 2 years if left in the garage.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I remember years ago ( and I mean years ago - like almost 50 years ago) when I was teaching first grade. It was standardized testing time and one of the questions on the test had a picture of an old clothespin. The type without the spring. The one you just push down over the clothes and the laundry line. None of the kids in the class had ever seen one of those. They didn't know what it was used for.

 

[Southernmiss]

We have colored plastic ones that I use all the time for various things.

 

[DisneyOma]

I've always used the wooden spring loaded ones. I painted a bunch of them once, fun, bright colors, and then used paint pens to give them polka dots. They are used all around the house - for laundry on the clothesline, to close bags of chips, rice, sugar, flour, etc.

 

[bcla]

I remember years ago ( and I mean years ago - like almost 50 years ago) when I was teaching first grade. It was standardized testing time and one of the questions on the test had a picture of an old clothespin. The type without the spring. The one you just push down over the clothes and the laundry line. None of the kids in the class had ever seen one of those. They didn't know what it was used for.

I knew what those were from watching cartoons. Usually where one got placed on the nose to supposedly keep out some really, really bad smell. By the time I was watching those cartoons, most clothespins were two pieces of wood with a wire spring.

The French Laundry restaurant in Napa Valley uses traditional one-piece clothespins on their napkins. Seems rather appropriate.

 

[AppleDumpling]

I do use the traditional wooden ones with springs for laundry. I have two clothes lines in my basement laundry room and there are certain items I like to hang rather than put in the dryer. Also sometimes use them as chip clips. Not sure about plastic ones, but around here the wooden ones aren’t too hard to find. I got mine from a local hardware store, but I know of several other places that carry them, including Target, Walmart and Home Depot. I’ve also seen the non-spring wooden type in crafts stores like Michael’s.

I haven’t seen a plastic style like the Tontarelli ones in OP, however DH has something similar that are actually mini plastic clamps, which I believe he got at Harbor Freight.

 

[NotUrsula]

There are similar ones, metal, that are listed on Etsy, but they are really pricey, more than $1/clip. https://www.etsy.com/listing/697046869/50-sustainable-clothespins-in-durable?ref=reviews

These look like they might be good quality: https://www.hegsclothespins.com/?gc...7DWk_6eu8xd-R14_8E99lJO3uuUfuEcYaAnHPEALw_wcB

 

[RedAngie]

I had a heck of a time trying to find the non-spring wooden clothespins. I finally ordered them online. I have some spring ones too.

Decades ago I read that the state of Maine was the Wooden Clothespin Capital of the World.

As kids we used the non spring ones as dolls. Put eyes and a face on the “head” with a pen.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

I have a ton of the old wood kind - they are older than me !! I use them around the house for all kinds of things including closing bag chips
Try finding big safety pins - or big cloth diaper pins - nope I have not been able to locate those in years
New tech is nice but sometimes I want the old stuff

 

[Owlpost23]

Clothespins are great for keeping blackout curtains closed.

 

[bcla]

I had a heck of a time trying to find the non-spring wooden clothespins. I finally ordered them online. I have some spring ones too.

Decades ago I read that the state of Maine was the Wooden Clothespin Capital of the World.

As kids we used the non spring ones as dolls. Put eyes and a face on the “head” with a pen.

French Laundry. I'm pretty sure they'll let customers keep the clothespin.

BTW - found these for sale on eBay. Forster was probably better known for toothpicks. Diamond also had toothpicks, but they were really better known for their matches. Forster seems to be out of business. I remember their toothpicks that were squared in the center to make them easier to handle. And Diamond no longer manufactures in the US. They were the last match manufacturer in the US.

 

[RedAngie]

French Laundry. I'm pretty sure they'll let customers keep the clothespin.

BTW - found these for sale on eBay. Forster was probably better known for toothpicks. Diamond also had toothpicks, but they were really better known for their matches. Forster seems to be out of business. I remember their toothpicks that were squared in the center to make them easier to handle. And Diamond no longer manufactures in the US. They were the last match manufacturer in the US.

I think mine are Diamond brand, but it’s been about 12 years since I bought them online.