I HEART MY LABEL MAKER

Is it possible for someone to LOVE an inanimate object?  <3


I am absolutely in love with my Brother P -Touch PT-1280 Label Maker.  I should probably purchase stock in the company, as well as some in Staples, where I get the label tape.  It was a Black Friday special a few years ago - that I actually got for super cheap (I think it was $5-10 with another purchase.  At that point, it came with two cartridges of white tape/black ink.  I only purchased one, and Santa delivered it under the tree.  Other than my coffee maker, I think it might have been my only present that year. I wish Santa was twice as nice - I could have one at home and at school...

I was pretty boring putting it to use; mostly to label storage bins in the attic with "Halloween Costumes", "Camping Gear", "First Aid", and "Kid Clothes: Winter".  Effective... but BORING!  There was a label everywhere in my house.  Bathroom closet, pantry, kitchen drawers, bedroom drawers.  On any surface I could find - But of course, it allowed for every item to have a home.  The most difficult part was training the family to REPLACE things into those respective places!  The youngest in the family is still as the 'pile' mentality - then complains when he has no socks (they're stuffed in the drawer labeled shirts... and yes, he is old enough to tell the difference!)

When summer came and I had to put my name on EVERYTHING in my classroom for the custodians to know where to move the furniture, not only did the label maker come in handy (and the kids helped put the labels on EVERYTHING) but I discovered COLOR TAPE!   My room became LIME GREEN.  It made things very easy for the staff to identify which tables and file cabinets were mine.  They appreciate, and it lasted several years intact.  Time Saved!  I'll have to take some pictures next week at school to truly give the scope of how my obsession has carried over into the workplace.  That will be in a future post :)

Over the past 12 months, I also have taken charge of the home office and the family finances.  Organization here is both an overwhelming and a necessary task.  The committing to labeling both file folders, dividers, and binders forces me to categorize, purge, and design efficient and appropriate systems for tracking all that paper.   Still a work in progress, but MUCH better than in the past.

For extra-curricular activities, mostly stored in the garage, accuracy in the items as well as creative containers did the trick.  Originally, most of these were labeled with Sharpies on the outside of the recycled or re-purposed container, but as their roles were more solidified, I committed to the printed label.  This will also allow me to hand-off the containers to the future leaders of our Scout Pack, with the instructions/activity/event easily visible.  My favorite containers are the plastic coffee cans.  I have both the sizes in primary Blue and Red (compliments of Maxwell House and Folgers) that also add my color pallet in my classroom.  The larger ones also have molded handles which small hands can easily pour, scoop, or grab.  This works GREAT as storage for toilet paper on campouts (with the lid, it stays dry) or for extra twine balls for tarps or twine (drill a small hole in the lid and pull the twine through).  I hope that my planning can be appreciated by the next leader that follows...

But in the time that has passed, I have been enlightened with the wide variety of COLOR TAPE and have had more stability in my filing systems to actually commit to labeling my materials rather than just writing in a Sharpie. (Combined with my lousy handwriting, and my envious nature of a colleague with 'Font-Ready' print, this was the answer to my prayers!).  It's a bit more expensive, and sometimes only available online (which adds to cost with shipping... unless you can time a savvy deal), but it also comes in a RAINBOW of colors!  I currently have yellow for some of my binders at school (mostly templates in storage) and am searching for a sale on Blue and Purple for my new curriculum series.  My favorite for my Thirty-One Gifts Business has been the Berry Pink Tape with White Print.  I can sharpen up a boring folder with a splash of PINK - and who can't use a little pink in their life!

 

So even though I sometimes I feel overwhelmed with the paper clutter in my home, it does appear that I am making 'effective progress'.  Do you have similar issues?  Do you have a favorite labeling product?  Comment below and share your thoughts!

Top 5: Ways to Share My Stuff!

After almost 20 years of teaching, I have learned one thing.  I have too much stuff.  Stuff in my desk drawers.  Stuff in my closet shelves.  Stuff on my hard drive.  Stuff in my head.

There must me a way to share this STUFF with others before I drown in my clutter!!!

So I have come across several ways to SHARE THE STUFF in my most appropriate Top 5 list!

First, Craiglist is my first line of defense.  I have both sold and purchased items on Craigslist and have had some very positive exchanges.  It's great to have a local resource and as long as you do your own research and contact, you can find someone who wants YOUR STUFF!  I have purchased a great repurposed coffee table, closet shelving, sturdy bookshelves and some great Halloween decorations at very reasonable prices.  It's an online tag sale where you can find exactly what you want!  I also have been able to sell off extra roofing shingles, paint, a Pinball Machine, several bikes, a couch, car replacement headlight bulbs (for a car I no longer have), Cub Scout books and uniforms, and computer manuals I no longer need but a college student wanted them for $2 each!  It's all cash transactions, but someone's trash is someone else's treasure.

Secondly, Ebay has been my second line of defense.  This is for specialized items, that may not be for the general public.  I have posted several subject specific books, teaching manuals from my personal collection, DVDs and VHS tapes (yes, people still want VHS - especially old Kid Cartoons!) and Fisher Price toys and clothes after my kids had outgrown them but they still had lots of life left.  I also have been able to find specific items, either antiqued or collectible, for both personal and gift-giving.  It can be quite addictive.  But if you are willing to investigate shipping methods and costs, it can be quite lucrative.  I have gotten burned, however.  Mostly due to my own poor calculations.  The worst one was an antique movie projector I had gotten for free, that I sold for a reasonable price, but didn't specify additional charge for shipping overseas.  My customer, in SPAIN, was the recipient of a great item, with me having to eat the additional cost to ship to him.  Lesson learned.

Next, is TeachersPayTeachers.  This is a relatively new find for me, but something that I am excited about the ability to share my KNOWLEDGE and PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT with my colleagues.  This is something I've done within my own school and district before, but not on a larger basis.  I haven't even done a presentation at a Regional or National Conference, but feel like I have 'been around the block' enough that I should be able to!  Maybe this is the stepping stone I need.  TeachersPayTeachers is a marketplace where individuals can post their work electronically for purchase by others.  This is a HUGE resource for me - a simple search on the site for Interactive Notebooks got me TONS of resources and allowed me to take the leap that I had wanted to for so long (can you tell I'm psyched!).   I have my own store now, with a few items uploaded awaiting other eager beavers to find them and give them a try.  The toughest thing for me with this now is getting the packets/worksheets/assessments that I've made over the years into a streamlined, uniform format that will represent me.  And have a key for everything.  I think that's my downfall - I ALWAYS recreated my answer key every time I gave a worksheet.  That way, I had to think about the questions from my student's perspective.  However, I don't seem to have answer keys for anything!  Might have to search for more... Check out my store HERE!  I think the challenge is going to be throwing the paper copy of something away once I get it digitized...



An off-shoot of this is Pinterest, but not so much as an income possiblity, but from a sharing-of-ideas way to share my stuff.  Though this is VERY EASY to get sucked into and not have much to show for... but I do get a lot of cool thinks pinned for later (when I have time...ha ha).  I've pulled out my past craft, scout, and school pictures and posted a few.  It's a great way to share ideas without having to have all the directions, materials, or procedure (unless you want to).  Although I don't know how much clutter I really am getting rid of with this one, it sure is FUN!

And to round out the top 5, I've jammed the rest into the STAND-BY category.  I still have the old stand-bys of a tag sale (or yard sale, barn sale, garage sale, flea market or whatever you call it) and our Town Dump has a 'Swap Shop' where you can bring something and swap it out for something else rather than throwing it away (I've gotten LOTS of dishware and garden pots here, my kids used to like looking for toys).  Goodwill and Salvation Army also are helpful for clothing and other linens that still have lots of wear in them.  Our local Boy Scout Troop just had an Electronics Recycling Fundraiser where, for a small fee, residents could bring their old/broken appliances and they would haul them to the scrap metal yard.  I was able to finally clear space in my garage from a broken dishwasher, a dead air-conditioner, and an old washer and dryer that had been there for over 9 months!  Yay!  Of course, this is helpful to get stuff OUT OF THE HOUSE, which is part of the idea in the first place.  I would like to reclaim my garage, my basement, and my dining room table from the chaos that is my life.  It's a step in the right direction.

What is YOUR favorite method of sharing your goodies?