Using a foam packing peanut to hold a nail or screw in place is brilliant. I like to think of myself as a pretty mild-tempered person but any time anybody’s asked my wife about the most angry she’s ever seen me, she always tells the story of when we first moved into our apartment here in Boston and I went around the house hanging our window blinds. Shoulda used peanuts.
The universe was angry that day, my friends. Forces everywhere were conspiring against me. Every single screw that needed to be driven into a window frame wobbled violently and then fell to the ground. Over and over and over again.
I finally succumbed to using a power drill to bore starter holes where each of the screws would eventually go but, of course, I hadn’t properly charged the battery and couldn’t remember where I kept my drill bits. Basically, a project that should have taken an hour ended up consuming me with rage for the better part of what felt like eternity.
Anyhoo, I should have used foam peanuts. That’s the takeaway. Hold the screw in place, get it started far enough into the wall that it’s stable, and tear the foam away. Simple.
10 Uses for Foam Packing Peanuts [This Old House via Lifehacker]