Identity Crisis
Like with like. A place for everything and everything in its place.
Sure, everything in your house has a home, doesn’t it? OK, us neither, but in our efforts to try to keep up with the organizing Jones’, the SavvyMoms have developed a dependency on a little handheld electronic friend (not THAT kind!) that really helps—the personal labeling system.
Here’s the top ten reasons we’re in love with our labeler—and we’re sure you’ll come up with more.
10. File folders, video tapes, storage boxes—give them a label and save time down the road trying to find things when you’re looking for the Boys’ Clothes 6–12 Months, the car insurance policy or the footage of Jill’s first birthday.
9. Yack! Wrong jack! For rooms with multiple phone lines (like in your oh-so-glamorous small mom entrepreneur home office), label them with the right phone number to reduce communications errors
8. (If you can correctly answer this skill testing question right away, then ignore this tip.) Q: Which side of your car is your gas tank on?
If you’re not sure, we have a solution. A little label on your dash which says ‘Gas on Left’ (or ‘Right’ as the case may be) can help to avoid embarrassing gas station mommy moments.
7. Lost something valuable? Make it easy for the ‘finder’ to not keep it by marking your cameras, cell phones etc. with your phone number and the motivating words ‘Reward Offered if Returned’. (Speaking of valuables, you can also label toys that more than one sibling has so the kids know which belongs to whom and fights can be curtailed.)
6. Lights out? You can never be too clear in the fusebox about which fuse is for which light when you’re in the dark. Label them up for clarity.
5. The dreaded skim-homo mix-up? If your family uses bags of milk, label a section of your fridge for each type of milk. The equally dreaded flour-sugar-salt mix-up? Keep bulk staple items clearly marked in their containers. It’s always nice to have visual confirmation—in case the less savvy members of your household decide to cook!
4. Crazy enough to be having a garage sale? Print all your price tags from the comfort of your couch.
3. Office cord attack? Address the tangle of cords under your desk by wrapping and flagging cables and wires, identifying what everything is and where it should be plugged in. Invaluable for when the printer gets unplugged for the LiteBrite.
2. Label shelves/drawers/front hall cubbies for your kids’ clothes, hats, mitts etc. so everyone in the household knows where everything should go (not just mom).
1. Tag your kitchen and bathroom cords so you don’t pull the wrong one out—nothing worse than unplugging the clock radio when you meant to unplug the blowdryer (definitely a cause of marital dissent in one SavvyMom household until this solution was invented).
Labels in your home—admit it, you kind of like the idea. Just like when you are secretly relieved that name tags are required at events. It just makes sense.
Not too Neat-Freaked, Clean-Sweeped, Mission-Organized out by all this, and up for trying this at home? We like the new model from the Brother P-touch Electronic Labeling System, the PT-80 ($39.99, or less as rebates are often offered). It uses non-laminated tape which is great for indoor and short-term use. Widely available at office supply and hardware stores. For more advanced labeling (colors, different widths and laminated tapes which can handle more wear and outdoor applications), try the PT-1280 ($59.99).