Minor Sanding Without the Mess

Have you ever wondered if there's a good use for those return envelopes you get with junk mail sometimes? Have you ever avoided sanding down spackle on a wall because you didn't want to make a mess? Are you wondering how these two things are related??

This is how the floor used to look when I sanded:

Now, thanks to a lightly folded envelope (to keep it open) and a strip of blue painter's tape, even a project this big:

Is no longer messy!  (ok, it isn't huge but would have made lots of dust on the couch)

Just tape the envelope to the wall and sand down the dried spackle.

See, the mess is contained.

And the wall is ready for new paint!

Got any tips of your own? I'd love to hear them.

Thank you for reading,
Julie