Let’s Talk about Labels

April 8, 2023Admin0 Comments

Today I want to talk about a subject that seems to provoke strong emotions in clients that I have worked with as a professional organizer: Labels. Okay, strong emotions may be a bit melodramatic, but I will say that most clients I have worked with tend to have some sort of opinion about labels. As a professional organizer I believe it is my job to do much more than just “tidy up” a space and remove clutter. It is my job to create efficient systems which can be easily maintained by the client and this often involves grouping like objects into bins or containers. The space I am working tends to lend itself to whether or not the containers should be clear or can be opaque. In pantries and bathroom linen closets, it’s commonplace to use clear bins. When using clear bins, it is plausible to not have to label the bins since it can be obvious what objects should go into which bins. Oftentimes when we need large bins, it can be hard to find stylish large clear bins, so opaque bins tend to be used in these cases. Labels are almost always necessary on opaque bins, especially when the bins are on high shelves where one cannot see the contents.

The examples shown here are showing opaque bins that contain a relatively inexpensive labeling system. Both the black and the white labels shown here are plastic and they were purchased from Amazon. You can see that on the black labels, the wording is hand-written. This can be appealing to clients who do not want the hassle of a complicated system to change the label. In other words, if the contents of the basket change at some point, the client can simply erase the wording and write new wording on the label. In the example with the white labels, the client opted for computer typed wording. We purchased Avery labels and picked a pretty font on the computer. The Avery guide gave very straightforward instructions to print onto their clear labels. After we printed we affixed the label to the plastic white Amazon labels.

With the plastic Amazon labels, for around $20 you get 30 labels as well as 48 sticker tags and erasable chalk markers. I will caution that I have found when I write directly onto the labels, I have not had the easiest time “erasing” my work. So I have been writing on the stickers and attaching those to the labels. This way it’s very easy for a client to change the sticker if they use the bin in a different way in the future. To the right is a close-up picture of the Amazon labels. There are many variations of these labels on Amazon, some more ornate than others and they also come in various color schemes.

Another option for labels is to find them at the Container Store. This tends to be a much more pricey option, but the labels tend to look a little more upscale and there are different materials offered than plastic. You will find options such as metals, woods, and acrylic.

The Bin Clip Label from the Container Store is shown here in silver. It also comes in different colors of metal and even has an option that is wood. They cost $9.99 for a 3 pack. $3.33 for each label is a significantly higher cost than the Amazon options. However, they do look nicer and if you look at it as a one-time investment, then it may be seen as totally worth the expense. These labels come with paper card stock that you can either hand-write on or print onto to create labels. Another option can be to write directly on the label with a chalk pen. This should be erasable if you decide to change the contents of the bin.

There is one last consideration to think about when buying labels for your bins. You must consider how you will be affixing the label to the bin. In the examples shown so far, all of the labels are able to be clipped or hooked over the side of the bin. I have worked with bins that don’t allow for this to happen because of the thickness of the bin. This is something to be aware of! In this case, I have seen labels that have “hole punches” in their corners to allow for the label to be threaded through the bin. Here is an example from the Container Store of this kind of a label. These labels are also magnetic, which can be good for certain types of bins. They are called the Magnetic Or Tie-On Label and a pack of 3 costs $14.99.

Overall, there are several considerations to take into account when figuring what kinds of labels to attach to the bins you buy. There are cost considerations as well as aesthetic considerations and making those decisions can be overwhelming to some. This is where a professional organizer can assist with those decisions and do the research for you to find the best options for your needs.