‘Museum Gel’ Is the Junk Drawer Hero Everyone Needs

When I was little, my mom used some kind of blue tacky material to secure basically everything around our house: My posters got hung with the stuff. Our drawer dividers got stuck in place with it. And although it worked, it left behind a blue stain and sticky texture that was almost impossible to remove, so we eventually stopped using it altogether and settled for drawers that shifted their contents around whenever they were opened and closed. I never really thought about it again-until I started seeing a much better alternative cropping up on social media. It's called museum gel and it's going to add the perfect finishing touch to all your organizing and displaying.

Ready America 33111 Museum Gel, Clear $11.46 at Amazon Learn More Learn More $11.46 at Amazon What is museum gel?

It's a clear gel that comes in a jar and can be used to hold relatively light items in place. It peels off of walls and surfaces easily, doesn't leave any marks behind, and can even be reused. It is the stronger, more evolved descendant of the blue stuff my mom used in the '90s. In fact, I'm probably going to ship her some. I hadn't ever heard of this stuff before happening upon a bunch of TikTok videos that hype it up. Here's a great example:

How you can use museum gel in your home

I am always going on about how important it is to use containers to keep your possessions organized by category. This is especially true in drawers, where you likely store a variety of small items in dividers, boxes, and specialty organizers. All of those work fabulously for keeping your categories separate, but the trouble starts when you close the drawer, causing everything to shift around. If museum gel is nothing else, it is the solution to that problem. A pea-sized bit of gel under the corners of each organizer or container will stop them from moving when you open and close the drawer.

But it can do even more: You can use museum gel for an easy way to hang light papers, like a kid's drawings, or add extra security and straightening power to heavier frames on the wall. This isn't going to replace nails for holding up the heavy stuff, but it will help that some items stay straight and secure on the wall. Also consider it for anything you keep displayed on shelves or flat surfaces, like figurines, picture frames, clocks, or sentimental or valuable items. Stick it under your candles for some extra safety, too. There are a lot of possibilities here and, luckily, a jar of this stuff is only $11, so you're free to explore them all.