Growing up, I knew of these as telephone ties. My Dad was an equipment installer for the Bells, so always had these things lying around the garage. Now that I'm older, I use them too! They seem to take on different names according to what they are being used for(cable ties, fence ties, cat toys....). We use a variety of sizes all around the farm and inside the house. There's always a bunch in the junk drawer for when we need a quick fastener or two. Here are some ways that we have recently used them:

Step 1: Cheap Cat Toy

Cat video!

Our cat loves zip ties, especially when you connect 2 or 3 into a chain.

Step 2: Missing Napkin Ring

I don't like blowing my nose with sniffies(stiffies), those printed mini tissues, so I used them for a (very)casual napkin. The one with the zip tie is for the boy. He likes it, and we think it's pretty funny.