Welcome to Day Seven of the 31 Days of Organizing Tips series! I'm so glad you've joined me. Throughout this series I'll be sharing organizing ideas that I've found around the web that I love and that will help you on your journey from overwhelmed to organized. You'll find a complete list of all the posts in the 31 Days of Organizing Tips tab above, or at the end of this post.
Today's tip is on labels. I love labels! You've probably heard the saying "A place for everything and everything in its place". Labels help you designate a place for everything you own and that allows you to put everything where it belongs.
Here are some of the reasons labels are so helpful in organizing:
- Labels help you know what items are in a particular container which saves you time when you're searching for things.
- Labels help other people in your family see where items belong so they will be more likely to return things to the right spot. {Note: sometimes kids (and let's face it husbands!) will need some training and positive reinforcement to make this habit stick!}
- Labels limit how much of an item you have. You're less likely to overflow from one shelf or container into another one if that one is labelled for a different purpose.
- Labels make your containers or spaces look pretty, which, if you're like me, increases the chances that you'll use them :)
- Labels show that you value and respect your belongings because you've taken the time to create a special place for them.
There are lots of types of labels you can use. You can find lots online. Most are editable, so if you're like me and you
Here are a few of my favourite sources for labels:
Better Homes and Gardens has free downloadable labels that are really pretty. These are just a few examples of what they have available on their site (various shapes and colours available).
1. Organizing your pantry
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| Source: http://www.bhg.com/decorating/storage/organization-basics/free-printable-storage-labels/#page=9 |
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| Source: http://www.bhg.com/decorating/storage/organization-basics/free-printable-storage-labels/#page=13 |
3. Organizing baskets or bins
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| Source: http://www.bhg.com/decorating/storage/organization-basics/free-printable-storage-labels/#page=7 |
My friend Ginny at Organizing Homelife created some really cute labels and shared them on her blog. Here are just 2 of my favourites (there are several others on her blog too).
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| Source: http://www.organizinghomelife.com/archives/2687 |
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| Source: http://www.organizinghomelife.com/archives/2687 |
Aren't they cute?!
And you've probably seen the Martha Stewart office products series that is available at Staples. She has lot of different labels you can purchase. Some are editable and some are ones that you write on (or you can print a label with a label maker and stick it on if you don't like writing by hand on your labels!). {Note: I'm not being paid to promote these...Martha has no idea I exist...but I really love these labels and couldn't leave them off this list!}
[Update: Martha's labels are no longer available at Staples
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| Classic brown kraft labels |
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| Source: Elastinote Tags |
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| Oval labels with red border |
Please pin from the original source for all these pictures :)
If you don't have access to a printer or if buying labels isn't in your budget right now, you can also just use things you have around your house, like Post-it notes or even duct tape (depending on your surfaces). Be creative!
These are just a few examples of types of labels and ways you can use labels in your home to get organized and stay organized. You can be as creative or basic as you want to be with labels but the important thing is to label things!
There are actually SO many great label ideas that I'm going to do a few posts on them so I don't completely overwhelm you with labels! Tomorrow I'll show you chalkboard labels and the following day I'll show you some ways that you can make your own labels.
For Day Seven, label the containers you put things in yesterday. You can use some of the labels shown in this post!
And just a reminder that as the series progresses, I'll be sharing tips for various organizing challenges. Feel free to leave a comment with any particular areas you'd like me to cover. I look forward to going through this series with you and hearing your tips too!
How did you do with your containers yesterday? What are your favourite labels? What is the best organizing tip you've implemented?
Have a great day and happy organizing!
Here are all the posts in the series:
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