Picture hanging strips
In my continuing search for apartment-friendly organizing solutions, I’ve found a sturdy product from 3M that can help renters from having to put nails into the wall.
Picture Hanging Strips (12 pack) are like heavy-duty velcro. You adhere one strip to the wall and one strip to the back of whatever it is you wish to hang. When it’s time to move, pull the release strip and cleanly remove the adhesive from the wall:
They would be perfect to hold a tiny landing strip for next to an apartment door:
3M also makes Poster Strips (48 strips), which are very similar to other adhesives already on the market.
41 comments posted
Posted by Monica - 05/28/2009
Oh, I am such a fan of these picture hanging strips! They were such a life saver in my previous apartments and dorm room. I love how easily they come off of the wall… no touch-up needed. Great find.
Posted by Karolina - 05/28/2009
If you do use nails, and have white walls: when you move out, pull out the nail. Then, put a small piece of white-out correction tape over the hole left behind. It adheres very well to the wall, and even if there’s a small color difference, it’s not noticeable from far away.
Posted by Carol - 05/28/2009
I saw, on 3M’s website, they have picture hooks as well. Does anyone know how much weight they hold?
In a little over a week I’ll be moving to a small duplex with plaster walls and I really need a “safe” way to hang heavier pictures.
Posted by Erin Doland - 05/28/2009
I also meant to add that these are great for using in an office or cubicle.
Posted by Rory - 05/28/2009
These aren’t just for little things. We have a giant 9lbs frame/photo hanging on four of these. It has been up for over 6 months and hasn’t shifted even a little bit.
Posted by Tom - 05/28/2009
I use these a bit. I have had problems using them to hold flexible things to the wall. I have a clock where the body would flex so I couldn’t get the Velcro to stick together.
Posted by Meredith - 05/28/2009
These are lovely when nails/pushpins are impossible. My dorm room has walls that are essentially painted cinderblock. 3M also makes hooks that use the same sort of adhesive that I love.
Posted by Amanda - 05/28/2009
Just a thanks for continuing to look for apartment style options
Posted by Sue G. - 05/28/2009
I love these 3M-strip products. They work great in the short term, but I had the larger hooks (strip backing) for about two years on plaster walls and one of them tore a huge chunk out of the wall when I was taking them down to move (yes, I was being careful). So in general they work well, but be careful. Maybe it’s worth the $2 to re-adhere with new strips every year or so? Maybe that experience was an anomaly (crossing fingers).
Posted by Sheena - 05/28/2009
I am moving into a new apartment in the next two week and these are very helpful tips. Hopefully there will be more tips that I can use as well. I will have to pick up some of these.
Posted by Brainst0rms - 05/28/2009
Did you see the review on Amazon for the poster strips? (Have to go to the single pack item, not value pack) Said it damaged both the wall and the poster. Surprised there aren’t more reviews of the product.
Posted by Marci@OvercomingBusy - 05/28/2009
I use various 3M Command products for hanging Christmas wreaths and pictures in places I don’t normally hang things. They work great! You can’t even tell where we had them on the wall. I just used these strips this week to hang chip board letters on my son’s wall.
Posted by Melissa A. - 05/28/2009
I love 3M Command Strips. I only wish they were cheaper up here in Canada.
Posted by Autumn K. - 05/28/2009
I had used these at my last apartment, and when I tried to remove the strips after 6 months, they pulled off the paint.
Posted by Ellen - 05/28/2009
I’ve had good luck with the hooks and picture hanging strips. Here’s a link to three Command coupons: one for the hooks, one for the strips, and one for any Command products.
http://www.3m.com/us/home_leis.....coupon.pdf
Posted by Kirstin - 05/28/2009
I love those Command Strips! I used them to hang framed artwork on my gray cubicle wall and it really brightened things up without damaging the company’s property.
Posted by infmom - 05/28/2009
If you live in an older house or apartment, look up. If there is molding around the top of the wall, you’ve got a very good chance it’s picture molding. Look and see if there’s a little space between the top of the wall and the top of the molding, that will tell you for sure.
Hardware stores sell hooks that slip neatly over that, and you can then hang anything you want from the molding without damaging your walls.
Posted by Amphritrite - 05/28/2009
I have an automatic air freshener that I’ve hung above the kitty box with one of these for well over a year now; it sprays every thirty minutes and doesn’t fall off the wall and onto my kitties’ heads, so I’m happy!
Posted by LG - 05/28/2009
I’ve used these both successfully and unsuccessfully. Over painted cinderblock, it worked well. My husband used it and despite careful removal, it pulled chunks of paint off the wall. A commenter mentioned that it was a longer time frame that caused the pulling, but my husband used the strips for about 6 months before peeling and still had the chunks pulled off.
I wonder if it depends on the paint type/surface that is painted?
Posted by Another Deb - 05/28/2009
I just took two off of the painted wooden bookshelf in my classroom and they did pull some paint with them. They had been adhered for two years. Yes, I followed the removal directions.
Posted by Andy - 05/28/2009
These work reasonably well (though, yes, they can remove paint), but they’re outrageously expensive. To hang three pictures (two sets of strips on each), they’re about $7 (US) at Target. Even more so when you consider that you can buy a whole 20pk of picture hooks for a couple of dollars, and when wall-preservation can’t be guaranteed with the strips, anyway.
The only thing I do like about the strips is that you can reposition your picture slightly if it’s not perfectly straight the first time.
Posted by John Lacey - 05/28/2009
Those are really cool. I use them all the time.
Posted by ns - 05/28/2009
They also make 3M strips expressly for hanging pictures, which have hooks on them.
However, I have a note of caution: I have used these religiously (being careful to stick to stated weight limits), and last week one fell right off the wall, breaking my frame and shattering the glass. The sticky just lost its stick. I love this idea but that experience makes me think of switching back to the ol’ hole in the wall.
Posted by JustMeJosh - 05/28/2009
I’ve been using the Command line for years–they’re right up there with sliced bread and oxygen. I’ve never had a single problem when removing them, and I’ve never had one fail on me (even when not obeying the instructions to the letter).
Posted by jrochest - 05/28/2009
I’ve had things fall off the wall with these too: they’re great for calendars, light pictures and decorations, but I’d not trust them for anything substantial or fragile.
Posted by Wilhelm Scream - 05/29/2009
These look interesting but I’m not aure about them. I have a question for anyone who’s used them – how are they supposed to be strong enough to stay stuck to the wall yet weak enough to peel away easily? There seems something odd about that claim.
Posted by Catherine - 05/29/2009
I used these in college, and they were a nightmare. They ripped off parts of the drywall everytime (and I dutifully followed all of the directions on the package when applying and removing).
Posted by Standrewsfall - 05/29/2009
These look great – does anyone know where I can get them in the Netherlands?
Posted by Jacki Hollywood Brown - 05/29/2009
I love these! I use them to hang Christmas decorations. Easy on & easy off. We’re a military family too and by using these it certainly saves us from patching holes in the walls.
If you have a house/apt. with cheap drywall & cheaper paint (@Catherine) they may tear chunks off the walls. In that case I’d use tiny brass picture hooks with small nails which leave minimal holes – great for drywall but terrible for plaster.
Posted by Rue - 05/29/2009
Never tried these before…might give them a try in my next place.
But for those of you who are good old fashioned hole-in-the-wall people, if your walls are white, you can easily fill the holes with white wood filler. Works great for the size holes the brass/metal picture hangers leave. It doesn’t work as well for large holes, though.
I used a plastic knife to push the filler into the hole and a paper towel to smooth it out. If the walls are painted a color and you have some touch-up paint, you can fill the holes in with any color wood filler, smooth it out, and paint over it. Easy peasy!
Posted by Miracle Maxine - 05/29/2009
A miraculous coincidence? an divine intervention by the deity of uncluttering, who has started listening to my prayers the more I worshipped her? Just this morning Mr. Miracle was complaining about the annoying bit of sunlight that was streaming from between the curtain and the window frame. I promised I’ll find some kind of velcro to fasten the curtain to the frame of wall. An hour later I log on to Unclutterer and here it is.
Posted by njp - 05/29/2009
These have been really hit or miss for us. Half the time they stuck great, right from the beginning. Half the time they didn’t. (And if they don’t work right off the bat, they’re done. They’ll never re-adhere.)
They did damage the wall and remove paint taking them off, so we’ve stopped using this entire line. (Yes, we followed instructions about waiting before you put any weight on them and for removing them.)
Posted by Tabitha in CA - 05/29/2009
Well this is ironic timing. I love the poster hanging strips. But I use them for hanging those pictures frames with the clear glass matting. I had a hard time finding any other way to hang these particular frames, without it showing through the glass part of the frame. These Velcro strips have worked very well. They’ve been up for over a year at a time. But just this morning one fell down, sadly enough. But I have had enough satisfaction with them that I’m headed to the store to buy replacement sticky part.
Posted by Tatiana - 05/30/2009
I have used Scotch Clear Mounting Squares, which sound a lot like the poster hanging strips others have mentioned. I love them – they work great for attaching paper items to walls and I’ve never had a problem removing them.
I’ve also used the clear 3m hooks for several items, including holiday decorations, and never had issues with them falling off or removing paint.
Posted by lvana - 05/30/2009
When I took these off my wall the paint came with it, I wish I had just used a proper picture hanger, they leave tiny barely noticable holes.
Posted by Jenny - 05/31/2009
In my experience, these are the PERFECT poster-hanging strips, and no others work as well. As a college student, I used them to decorate my dorm. As a teacher, now I use them all the time to decorate my classroom. They really hold things up, AND they leave no residue when removed.
Posted by KC - 06/03/2009
I used 6 of the velcro-type ones to hang an 18″ x 24″ mirror (plain $15 one from DIY store) over my hall bathroom sink. It worked great and I didn’t have to put holes in the wall for those plastic clips you normally hang mirrors with. I plan to later trim the mirror out with frame molding to give it a more finished look.
Posted by Elaine - 06/14/2009
I also had a framed photo fall off the wall, and was lucky it did not break. Took maybe 3 or 4 months to do so — and would be careful about using the hooks that supposedly hold up objects within a certain # of pounds.. Also had 3 poster-type ones holding up a foam board on my wall, which also came down. I’m wondering if it’s because I’m in California and the air is too dry here?
Posted by Marie - 05/27/2010
I was delighted when I found this product having just moved w/ freshly painted walls. I followed the instructions to the letter and all was great for 1 month then my pictures began to fall off the walls. Nothing I hung was over the recommended weights. Out of 15 different wall hangings 8 have fallen off the wall. In the process the glass shattered on three of the frames, two decorative plates were broken beyond repair and my new hard wood floors were damaged and the paint on the walls has been chipped. It is going to be a rather expensive to pay for all the damage caused by this product not performing as advertised. My advice DO NOT PURCHASE.
Posted by nanajan - 06/01/2010
We had used this product as well to hang a picture and after almost 8 yrs, it fell seconds after the grandchild went down the stairs and just missed being showered by broken glass etc. We are not using them for anything of any value any more. One has to realize that they dont last forever. I wondered about excess humidity causing failure? not dryness as the Californian postured. I use nails now.
Posted by Jann Schott - 06/02/2010
I’ve used these off and on for a few years. I’m looking at a hook right now that’s on the textured wall. (It’s holding a calendar.) Have 2 holding up a lightweight bulletin board. I have the clear ones hanging on either side of my computer hutch for USB cables, back scratcher, headphones & fly swatter.
What’s strange is that in the place where I used to live (house rental), I hung a hook on the back of the bathroom door. It fell repeatedly. I figured the surface was too ‘slick’ and moved the hook to a nearby wall. Never fell after that.
I just hate when I have to remove the tape…pulling it straight down, when it FINALLY releases, it usually smacks me in the hand from the rebound! Yeouch!
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