A couple of months ago when I began shopping for my college supplies I came across an amazing invention: Washi Tape!

I know for most people this cute decorative version of that classic blue painters tape is not news, but it was for me.

Now I use this stuff for everything! Seriously, my roommates make fun of me for it.

Why is washi tape anything special?

• It isn’t permanent.
• It doesn’t leave residue (which means I can use it in my college dorm!)
• It comes in an impressively wide variety of colors and patterns.
• It is inexpensive and can be found at common office supplies or convenience stores.
• It is a simple and quick way to personalize the blank spaces in your rooms.

Here’s some of simple things I did with washi tape in my dorm recently:

Decoration:

Desk & Shelves

Many desks come with shelves overhead, and I know that for most college desks this shelf is an ugly light brown wood. I decided to use my favorite pattern of washi tape, blue with red flowers on it, to color the edge of this shelf to add personality to it.

I also used the same pattern on the front edge of the desk so that the entire desk is matched.

  Hanging Pictures

One of the big ‘no-no’s’ in college is using tape on the walls that will leave residue. Since washi tape is pretty much just a patterned version of the classic blue Painter’s tape, it is known to not leave residue on the walls.

This makes it the perfect tape to use to hang pictures, posters, Polaroids, and signs on the walls while giving them the special splash of personality and color at the same time.

You can do this by putting the tape on the sides of the picture, the corners of the picture, or even outlining the picture to add more personality to it.

Organization

Color Coding & Labeling

Living in a small space with 3 other people means that you have to clearly define what belongs to you and what belongs to somebody else.

On move in day I showed my roommates all of my washi tape and had them each pick a color and pattern that they liked the most. Since then we have used these specific patterns to label what belongs to each person.

For example, In my dorm room’s bathroom we have a shelving corner unit with 6 shelves where we keep our toiletries. We each claimed a shelf and then I put a line of the tape on the bottom of the shelf to identify which shelf belongs to which person. We have done this same thing with different things throughout the room and it has come in handy.

Office Supplies

I have used washi tape to color code specific parts of my office supplies. From making my own notebook dividing tabs to personalizing the front of my date planner, I love the look that washi tape makes when combined with normal supplies.

Do you use washi tape for anything fun? Share some of your washi tape creations with me!