Tips and Advice on Organizing with Labelers

A PRINTER AND LABELER IN ONE

You can buy a printer and labeler combination to have a machine at your fingertips that does it all. This type of equipment can perform multiple functions, depending on the model, including:

• • Brochure, label, and banner printing.
• • Customize labels with requested data (names, addresses, barcodes).
• • Negative and slide scanning (to restore fading photos).
• • Scan to a website, email, or fax (to share documents on the fly).
• • Connect wirelessly to print from laptops, tablets, and smartphones.
• • Integrate with e-commerce and shipping platforms.
• • Print barcodes and QR Codes.

INEXPENSIVE WAYS TO ORGANIZE YOUR CABLES AND WIRES

When you're dealing with home office organization, there's more to think about than file cabinets and making sure your workspace is dusted. There are cables to be organized. You should use wire management products like desk grommets, wraps, clips, and clamps. Desk grommets help if your cable clutter is mostly on your desk. Grommets allow you to organize your office desk by routing the cords from your phone, fax, and computer below the work surface and out of sight. Cable ties and clips, as well as VELCRO® One Wrap®, are just some of many options to organize wires. Labelers can place the finishing touches on these wires by identifying them, whether you choose a simple “turn and click” system, or portable label printer with mobile integration. Whatever you choose in the way of cable organization products: always buy more than you need. It is better to have extra storage materials on hand and not need them than vice versa.

USING LABELERS TO ORGANIZE PAPERWORK

Organizing paperwork and records at home can be as challenging as at an office. Even with the multitude of online records, you may still find you have plenty of papers to file. After all, so many kinds of paper items need to be kept updated, accessible, and secure: birth certificates and passports, health records, automotive repair records, insurance policies, warranties, instruction manuals, take-out menus, recipes, kids' immunization records, school forms, homework, school calendars, sports schedules, important phone numbers, chores, records for your pets, and more. Choose labelers or label printers to neaten up the appearance of file folders by identifying the items filed away in each one. The Organizer Xpress™ is a manual embosser that powers its way through administrative chores everywhere in your home with eye-catching labels. This embosser prints letters, numbers, and symbols quickly and clearly without batteries. The DYMO® Rhino® 4200 Label Printer is a sophisticated model that can print different types of labels for daily common tasks like filing. It also works for more complex ones at home or in the workplace.

EASY ORGANIZATION FOR A CHILD'S ROOM

Organizing a child's room or belongings has never been so easy. There are home organization products in the way of labelers that are ideal for your child's space. Some of these products are even user-friendly for children so your little one can help organize too. Use one to organize your child's binders, notebooks, and shelves. But purchasing the right labeling tool is only half the battle. You also need a plan for organizing your child's space. See the following simple tips to declutter and organize your child’s space:

• • Envision your child’s perspective. When you’re reorganizing their space, don’t do so for an adult’s world. It’s important to look from their eye level for their view, then assess their space overall, furnishings, closets, and all their other items.
• • Include your child. Children learn best when they are hands-on. It may be easiest to get it done yourself, but teaching your child how to organize is an important life skill. When you work as a team everything gets done faster. Your child will appreciate keeping an area clean because of the effort they made, with everything having a better likelihood of remaining in place.
• • Keep it simple. Be logical when you’re working on reorganizing. It’s important to purge if there are clothes and toys, for example, that your child is no longer wearing or using.
• • Control your clutter. Plastic shoebox containers work great for smaller toys. Use larger lidded bins for blocks, trucks, and cars. Cardboard records boxes are perfect for storing stuffed animals.
• • Teach them how easy it is to put things away. Show your child how little time it takes to put things in the right place. But make it challenging to get it out. It’s easier, for example, to have a sleeve-style book rack where they can drop items. This system makes it more challenging for them to pull out all the books at once versus a regular shelf, but faster to put books away.
• • Keep most used items lower. Since a child is smaller in height, it’s best for their abilities and safety to keep the things they use most frequently in areas where they can reach. Articles they don’t use as much can be placed higher.
• • Use labels everywhere. Before a child learns to read, they can still understand labels, that is if you use ones with simple graphics. For example, print a photo of a toy car and affix it to the box where those are stored, so they know where they go. As they learn to read (and this is one way to teach them) use labels from a label maker that can generate large print. You can also turn this into an organization game to help put away their items at the end of each day.
• • Make it fun for them to keep things neat. For example, turn your cleaning routine into a game with chores they complete each morning and night. Have your kids race the clock to put items away, then create a reward system for their positive habits.

STICK TO A HOUSEHOLD STORAGE PLAN

You've got your labeler in hand, but before you start labeling your home goods and putting them away, you need to figure out what to keep and what to get rid of. You need a household storage plan for efficient home organization.

Some experts suggest an A,B,C approach to storage that first includes assessing your items and where you plan to keep them. Next is to box things up. That doesn’t necessarily mean you will be keeping the item…boxing up may mean transporting it in a box or bag to a thrift store. You must sort through items you want to keep and store them away, then do the same for items you plan to take away. Lastly, you control your clutter. This is where you take whatever you have left and put it away. Many organizing gurus recommend clear containers so you can see what you’ve got inside and then properly label those storage vessels.

OTHER TIPS TO TAME YOUR CABLES

If you glance behind your home computer or entertainment system and see a complicated maze of wires and cables, you need a cable taming session. Not only is it an eyesore, but cable clutter can become a trip hazard that is additionally harmful to small children and pets. Use a label maker as well as various products and organization methods to get your wires in order. Keep in mind:

• • Your AC power cables should be set apart from your other cables. Keep these cables and speaker cables at right angles to stop any hum. Cover wires with metal and shielding braided sleeving to lessen that possibility of electromagnetic interference (EMI), radio frequency interference (RFI), and electrostatic discharge (ESD).
• • You reduce cable clutter with shorter cables. Use them whenever possible.
• • If you are unable to opt for shorter cables, use cable ties and cable clips to bundle groups of them.
• • Split braided sleeving is standard wrap-around flexible split tubing that safeguards cables with a semi-rigid construction. It can support existing wire harnesses and accommodate cable breakouts.
• • Use a wire duct. Some people call this item a “cable tunnel.” It mounts under a desk, onto a wall, along the ceiling, or in other places where you need to channel wires. There are tabs on the side of some wire duct models that can be removed to push wires through — or they fit through slots easily on their own.
• • Desk outlets are a way to eliminate cable clutter, keeping power centralized on top of your desktop or table. Some are removable, while others are built-in types. There are some that provide surge protection too.
• • Invest in USB hubs, and wireless charging stations to keep device wires to a minimum.

PROTECT YOUR EQUIPMENT WITH LABELS

Laptops and other electronics get stolen more often than you know. This theft can result in identity theft as well if thieves can access personal information within computers and other devices.

If you’re looking for a low-tech solution, slap a label on it. These are other places where label printers can come in handy. It's a good idea to label any expensive electronic equipment, whether it’s a phone, digital camera, video camera, or tablet. You should label items with your name, phone number, and email address, in hopes that if the item is lost, a person can return it to you.