The Best Twist Ties

Few things have as many uses as a good twist tie. They’re so useful, you’ll often find them keeping bags closed in the bread section of the grocery store. In fact, if you’ve ever lost the twist tie on your bread, you probably know all too well how valuable having a replacement twist tie around the house can be.

You might not realize you can buy twist ties in varying quantities to have on hand. In addition to replacing the ones you lose from your loaves of bread, though, you can use them to hold cords in place or bind plants together in your garden until they can stand on their own. Buy a pack during the holidays and pair them with plastic bags to hold small quantities of baked goods and other items to hand out as gifts.

A good twist tie has a strong, but flexible inner wire, covered by a softer exterior. That exterior has traditionally been coated plastic in varying levels of quality. The ones you find in the grocery store typically won’t be as durable as those you can buy in packages. However, you’ll also find larger, thicker twist ties with an exterior made of rubber. The rubber ones are especially durable.

Size is an important factor when you’re choosing twist ties. You’ll find them in varying lengths, but four and five inches tend to be the most popular. You can also buy them in spools, cutting the exact length you need. That option is perfect if you’re buying thicker twist ties for use in your tool shop.

When it comes to twist ties, a sturdier option allows you to get multiple uses out of each one. This can be an eco-friendly alternative to buying less durable twist ties in larger quantities that you can only use one or two times before tossing them away. If you use twist ties regularly, it might be worth considering a lower quantity of ties you can use over and over.

• Usually, you’ll find ties come in a fixed length. However, you can find some packs that hold ties in a variety of lengths. This can offer more versatility than you’ll have with a pack that has dozens of ties in one fixed length.
• Twist ties are also available in packs featuring assorted colors. While this may seem solely for appearance purposes, color coding can be a great way to separate your projects. You can use one tie for the cables that go to your computer and another for the cables that go to your monitor, for instance.
• If you’re planning to use twist ties to bind bags that will hold gifts, consider ordering them in colors to match the festivities. Gold twist ties can be a nice touch for holiday gifts, for instance.
• It can be easy to focus on the exterior of the twist tie you’re holding, but the secret to its durability is the wire inside. Those that last the longest emphasize the strength of that wire, but it also needs to provide the flexibility required to easily twist it into place.
• Although you can find more durable ties for multiple uses, sometimes an all-purpose, thinner and smaller tie in large quantities is more reasonable. Your gift bags, for instance, won’t need a tie that can hold up through multiple uses since they’ll likely just be tossed in the trash by recipients.
• Some twist ties feature a flat design that allows them to more easily fit together in storage. If you’re squeezing them into a drawer or you have limited shelf space in your pantry, for instance, you might prefer this option.