I Love Labelmakers
I have a long standing love affair with labelmakers. I know, I could just use a sticker and a pen, but there is something magical about printing out adhesive labels with perfect font in different sizes. My friends joke with me that “You know you have a problem when you have a bin labeled “Label Maker” which was labeled by a labelmaker.” That’s probably true.
Why a Label Maker?
I use labelmakers for EVERYTHING. I am a big fan of organizing my garage and house with a standard set of “bins.” I like clear bins, so I can sort of see what is in them, and I have built most of the shelves in my house to accept specific bin sizes. This helps me, because if I want to reorganize, I just reshuffle bins! All of the closets in my house are built with shelves that accept a specific size bin, and my garage shelves and bolt bins are all standardized as well. Now, I don’t think it much matters what bins you choose, but pick something easy to find, and that you can get a LOT of. Read lower here for me to get sidetracked on bins…
Bins in my garage… labeled!
Label EVERYTHING
My old Snap-On tool chest I bought off Craigslist… Labeled!
I label all kinds of stuff. From leaving labels on bins (of course) to leaving jump start instructions stuck to the battery of the car, I really like using them both for organizing and for “notes to future self.”
There are, of course, lots of types of labels. In the old days, I used to have one of those DYMO labelmakers, where you twisted the dial, and “stamped” the raised letters in the tape. I loved that thing, but it took forever. There’s a certain vintage nostalgia in those, but I find them impractical.
An example you might like is that I used a labelmaker to remind myself (and my wife) how to best start the small Honda generator we have. And to remind myself (or rather my future self) whether that connector for the adapter I bought and installed was for propane or nat gas, etc.
“Choke ON to start - then immediately off”
Here’s an example of me labeling the stainless steel can opener (which has sharp blades which should NOT be in the dishwasher) to not be put there. Side note: That is a GREAT can opener. It is called a “Rosle” (no idea how to pronounce that) and cuts from the side, so there’s no sharp edge, which is much safer, and makes it so often we can use the cans for something else if needed.
No dishwasher. Seriously.
And here are some bins and bolt bins in my garage all labeled up for your viewing enjoyment. I have many, many more than this… it is bordering on an addiction. But I tell myself if everything is in a bin and it is labeled… it can’t possibly be hoarding… right? RIGHT?
Let’s Talk Labelmakers
Label makers have come a long, long way. And I have purchased and used different ones over time. There are the small handheld ones, the ones that connect to your computer and do fancy things, specific labelmakers for specific things (like wire, or whatever). Lots and LOTS of choices.
I myself fall in to the category of using a labelmaker enough to need specific things, but honestly I don’t do it all day everyday, like for work or something, so I don’t need anything too insane. My requirements for a label maker:
Needs to have easy to get replacement label cartridges
Needs to print relatively quickly
Needs to have a self-cutting feature (most do)
Needs to be battery operated. I am not gonna go turn my computer on to label a bin.
Needs to be easy to shift from upper to lowercase while typing. Some of them have A-a buttons that toggle, and I find it hard to type.
Needs to have a QWERTY keyboard, laid out that way, so I can type quickly.
Needs to print different sizes
The labels need to be easy (and I mean EASY) to peel. Some of them are full on nightmares. Picking at them with fingernails… that sucks.
My first legit labelmaker was this Dymo. I still have it, and it is sort of a backup I leave hanging in the garage in case my wife wants to use a label maker and mine is off some place.
I do not recommend this one, because it is too small, too slow, the labels are hard to peel, and it doesn’t have an easy way to type using a SHIFT key (upper and lowercase).
The labelmaker I have and really like is this Brother 1890. Unfortunately, they don’t sell this one any more, but the new version (with some more features) is probably better.
Here’s mine:
Trusty Old Standby! The Brother PT-1890
And here’s a link to the newer version of that one, The PTD-400. Notice it has SHIFT, a real keyboard, a built in cutter, and the ability to take different types of tape. I tend to just use the plastic white labels, btw. Keep it easy, and buy in bulk. But maybe you are more organized than I am an like different colors for different things!
I will also note that I DO actually have a bin labeled “Label Maker”. It has spares for all my labelmakers, and you can see the cartridge for my trusty PT-1890.
Specialty Label Makers
OK, so you should probably ignore this section, because most people simply won’t care, or will now KNOW I am crazy. Consider yourself warned. I love working on cars. Old cars. Not even necessarily super nice ones, I just like working on them. And I found myself always doing a lot of automotive wiring. And labeling wires is a whole special world of pain. Regular labels don’t work well, and the “flag” ones don’t work in automotive applications. You need a label maker to print the “long” way on the wire, and you need to carefully wrap them.
So, after many years of trying other things, a couple years ago I treated myself (and I do mean that) to a Brady Wire Labeler. (cue the dramatic music)!
This little beauty prints out (with special label tape you can see in the case there) absolutely EXCELLENT wire labels. They are a little hard to explain how they work, so I made a little video. But these have been absolutely excellent as I wired cars. And they are great for labeling electronic cables also. HUGE fan. They don’t give them away (click below for current price… inflation is real btw!) but they are superb.
Yes, I fully know that I have ranted off topic, and this isn’t related to preparedness. No one NEEDS a wire labeler. Forgive me.
The Bins I Like
Up above I wrote about standardizing on bins. For small bins, I absolutely LOVE are the Sterilite 6 QT (a little smaller than a shoebox). You can see one above in the label maker picture and the ones on the shelf are those also. I prefer the classic white top for all of them.
As you can see, I have bought a LOT of these in my life. You can also get Sterilite at Home Depot, so if you are doing a Home Depot run, consider that as well.
For the bigger ones (which wind up being more critical, because they are more of a commitment) I used to buy them at Costco in bulk (and I mean BULK) but they stopped carrying them after like a decade. So I now have to buy them online, and I cannot even find a current supplier, so I’ll need to update this later. Sigh.
You can often get bins at Home Depot, or other big box hardware type stores.
But expect lots of pictures of my bin collection over time. I am pretty committed.