Temporary Fence Holders

Last week you may recall I was talking about fencing in the new fruit trees. I used t-posts and cattle panels, both inexpensive and sturdy. The only problem was the panels were attached to the posts with zip ties. That meant it would be a real chore to cut the ties to move the panels so the tree area could be mowed and then I would have to use more zip ties or twisted wire.

My original idea called for spring clips (like these). I have a few of those already laying around and tried them out. Well, turns out there was a problem with those that I hadn't anticipated. Once they are around the t-post they couldn't be opened to put the panel wires in.

My husband then suggested the large round "key chain holders". They have a hinge on one side and a clip that opens on the other. It took me a while to figure out what he was talking about but finally I "got it". Off to Lowe's I went in search of the circular key chain holder.

The obvious department to look for these was the hardware section, where the key machine was. There was nothing by the key machine. I wandered up and down the hardware aisles twice looking for the elusive rings. There were every size and type of nut, bolt, screw, nail, hook, wire, chain, rope, etc, but no rings that have a hinge.

Finally I asked a worker who had been called to make a key. He really didn't seem to know what I was talking about and gave the vague "if you don't see it here, we don't have it" answer.

I remembered a place further down the road called "Budget Bolt" and I knew they have all kinds of wierd things. I drove over there and asked the man behind the counter. He knew exactly what I was talking about but said he didn't sell them anymore because they weren't big movers. After he suggested Lowe's and I told him I'd already been there he told me to try Office Depot.

That was on the way home and right next to Home Depot so I thought I'd stop in to both places. Home Depot was first and I had the same results as with Lowe's: nothing. So I went into the Office Depot and after just a few minutes I found what I was looking for in the aisle that has the rubber bands, paper clips, thumb tacks, etc. They are called "binder clips".

I was very pleased to find they were way less expensive than the other clips I had been thinking of. They had two sizes of binder clips available. I knew the one size would be too small and I picked up two boxes of 2" clips, 12 in each box, for $2.00 per box.

You can see in the two pictures below that they do exactly what I had been hoping for.

They open easily and obviously I don't have to throw them away. They can be used again and again.

Now it's easy to get into the tree area to mow or take close ups like the next two pictures.

I just love it when we find simple, inexpensive solutions.