Sticky residue from labels that don’t come off cleanly is the bane of my existance. Seriously. Nothing ruins a new book… or a new door… or a new cutting board…or a new apple… like a sticker that just won’t let go. Seriously. Why can’t manufacturers (or produce suppliers) figure out that the stickers are ruining their products. Have they never purchased anything? How do they not understand my pain?

So when this happened when I was trying to take the stickers off of Chester…

…I got all whiny and angry and huffy. And if you ask Wyatt, I even yelled a little. And I definitely got a lot more frustrated than needed.

Why??? Why stickers?

Especially because Hubs introduced me to Goo Gone.

And It’s magic.

But let me back up a little bit.

I started by simply trying to peel the impossibly stuck label off with my fingers. I managed to get all the paper off, leaving the sticky residue underneath, which I then tried to scrape off with my fingernail.

That lasted about five minutes before I gave up, got angry, and quit for the day.

Then, I did a little research online and decided to try some vinegar. (Hey, it worked for our wallpaper, so why not?)

But, after about ten minutes of that with little to no progress and a now-stinky bedroom, I gave up and got angry again.

This time, though, instead of giving up for the day, I got in the car and drove to Home Depot where I bought a bottle of Goo Gone and came home with high hopes and an anxious, doubtful feeling in the back of my belly.

But, I’m here to tell you that Goo Gone may have been the best $5 I’ve ever spent in my life. Okay, maybe not ever. But it was definitely worth every penny I paid.

I used a blue shop towel (the disposable, thick paper towels that feel like fabric) and just rubbed the oily Goo Gone into the sticker. At first, I was just using it to get the leftover adhesive residue off from under the paper sticker, which works like magic.

But later, when I was removing a few more big stickers from inside The Professor’s drawers (why stickers?? why???!!??), I used the Goo Gone to run into the sticker itself (no pre-peeling necessary). It really softens the sticker and helps you peel it off in much bigger chunks. (Without the Goo Gone, I was getting sliver-size pieces. Ick)

All in all, I estimate this little purchase saved me three or four hours of painful, angry torture. Totally worth it. Plus, I barely made a dent in the bottle, so I’m going to be removing stickers from everything from now on with a lot less yelling, cursing, and gnashing of teeth.

Of course, I wouldn’t have to remove stickers at all if the stupid manufacturers would just not put them on there in the first place!!

(*deep inhale* pause *slow exhale*)

Okay, it’s okay. I’m okay. It will all be okay. Goo Gone to the rescue (of my sanity).

What’s making you scream and shout lately? Any magic solutions up your sleeves? Have you used Goo Gone or are you going to run out and buy some right now?