The Beauties of Shelf Paper

This is just a random thought out of no where. Somehow I found myself mulling it over. Shelf Paper. Why do we use it? Why should we use it? Have women just been doing it for centuries for no reason? Or a reason not valid anymore?

I had never really paid any attention to shelf paper before. I helped my Mom tear off the old paper and re-paint the kitchen shelves when we moved, but that was about all. Then I got an antique bedroom set. A bed, dresser and dressing table. It was in beautiful condition. As I polished and cleaned them, I suddenly knew I needed drawer liners! I just cringed thinking about my hairbrushes and makeup rattling around in the drawers. So there is one reason to use drawer liners (or shelf paper), Protection. This would also work for kitchen shelves too. Day after day all those plates and dishes going in and out, in and out. I know our painted shelves needed another coat of paint after a few years.

Then there is the question of cleanliness. When my sister moved into a new apartment, the management gave her shelf paper. And was she glad to have it! No matter how much we scrubbed those shelves, they didn't look clean. So out went the old paper in went the new paper. No more worries!

How about protecting dishes? Shelf paper protects dishes as well as the shelf. Especially if the shelf is painted. Ever go to move a dish that has been on a newly painted shelf for a few months? It is stuck!

Well, those are my reasons for using shelf paper! There is also the ascetic reason of course! Nothing is more cheerful than flowered shelf paper in the bottom of a drawer. It takes away that yawning hole look. And if you ever feel the need to wipe out your dresser drawers, you won't have to worry about ruining the wood with a little water.

I like to use wallpaper to line dresser drawers. A roll will do a couple of dressers and it has enough of a finish on it to be water proof. With shelves it is a little harder, as it really needs to stay in place. Most stores carry a self adhesive kind, but that tends to leave a sticky residue behind. There is also a waffle weave kind that stays in place by it's self that is nice for utensil drawers.

What do you think? Which side are you on? Have you ever used shelf paper?