The Magical Trick That Can Help You Measure Items without a Tape Measure
Your tape measure is one of the most precious items to have on hand for buying furniture, installing shelves, and so much more. But on the rare occasions when you may forget it, it’s good to rely on a few handy tricks and to remember that the key to measuring without a standard instrument is knowing the length of certain everyday items that are easily within reach.
Some of those things will be variable — for instance, measuring something with reference to your height — but some remain consistent. All you’ll need otherwise is a pencil to mark the end point of your measuring tool; that way, if you have to use a few of them to get the total length, you’ll be able to keep track.
Easy measuring devices with variable measurements:
Your hand:
Measure from the line at the base of your wrist to the tip of your middle finger. This is helpful for measuring larger surfaces you touch with your hands, like tables and cushions.
Your pinky finger:
Though not the longest, the pinky finger is handiest because it’s on the outside of your hand and has a clear start and end, unlike thumbs.
Your stride:
Your stride can be a handy way to measure room lengths. When measuring your stride in advance, lay a measuring tape on the floor and have someone else watch you walk at a normal, natural pace. You might have to do it a few times to make sure you’re not changing your gait wildly each time.
Your foot:
With this one, it helps to know your European shoe size: size 35 equals 9 inches, size 40 equals 10 inches, and size 45 equals 11 inches. This is more accurate but more time-consuming than using your stride to measure a space, as you must walk toe to the heel of your next foot.
Your height:
Sure, you could compel a perfectly 6-foot-tall person to lay on the floor to get a room dimension before, but it’s not necessary to go to that trouble. The distance between your fingertips with your arms stretched to the sides is roughly the same as your height.
Easy measuring devices with standardized measurements:
A credit card:
A standard credit card is 3.375 inches long by 2.125 inches wide — a very particular measurement that might not be all that helpful if you need to be ultraprecise. But if you’re just looking to ballpark a measurement, consider credit cards to be about 3 1/4 inches wide and 2 inches long.
A penny:
A U.S. penny is 3/4 of an inch in diameter, making it useful for measuring smaller items.
A dollar bill:
A dollar bill is exactly 6 inches long and 2.5 inches wide and can be folded to get the smaller measurements within those.
A piece of standard printer paper:
The kind you’d use in a printer is 8.5×11 inches. But make sure the piece you’re using is American standard printer paper or that you know its specific measurements if not.
A baking pan:
If you’re at home and simply can’t find your tape measure, a baking pan can help since the size of the pan is often marked on the bottom.
A 9×13 baking pan is a go-to, but as long you know the size of your pan, you can use it as a measuring device.
A longneck beer bottle:
The kind of bottle you’re most likely to see in stores is about 9 inches tall, and its base is just short of 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
An envelope:
A #10 envelope, the most common type used for business mail, is 4 1/8 inches wide and 9 1/2 inches long.
While handy, these tricks aren’t enough to make you want to ditch your trusty tape measure on a daily basis. (For what it’s worth, the Komelon SELFLock is a favorite — it automatically sticks where you extend it, and you use the button to unlock it instead of vice versa. A tiny keychain tape measure is another smart item to add to your keys if you’re a frequent thrifter.)
But these tricks can keep you from panicking if you forget your measuring tape at home!
