I'm on the radio, and labeling things

I was interviewed for the internet radio show Jumping Monkeys with Meg Morrone and Leo Laporte! You can hear me and my flat Midwestern accent here. (I don't know if I should admit this: I said yes to the interview request but then forgot to go listen to all their other shows. So 5 minutes before the interview started I had this panicked thought of "What if they're the Ali G of internet radio shows with parent bloggers and are going to ask me a bunch of prank questions?" Fortunately, they are very nice, funny, sensible people who asked me genuine questions, none of which involved the words "punani" or "bum.")

In other news, let me give you all this important tip: Put your cell (mobile) phone number on all your kids' stuff. I wrote my cell number on the inside of my older one's school backpack (as I do with most of my kids' stuff), which then got left on a bench at the playground Friday afternoon. With his new Laptop Lunchbox inside (which yes, would mean that he lost it the very first day he used it) and all the weekend notes from the teacher, etc. But Saturday morning I got a call from a very nice lady who works at the playground telling me that she had the backpack.

One of my theories is that most people really do want to do the right thing, so putting my cell number on the kids' crap is a way to let people return things to us if they want to (you all know the frustration of finding an obviously-treasured child's item and not knowing how to return it). But this was the first time it was actually useful. I'm not at all surprised that the lady returned it to us, but I am grateful.

Of course, not everything is labeled as easily as a backpack is. For instance, plastic containers (like, say, Laptop Lunchboxes). And I'm not the only one wondering about this. Katherine writes:

"My daughter just started daycare & I have to label everything.  When I wrote her name on her sippy cups with a Sharpie it washed right off!  What do I do?"

I think certain kinds of plastic accept Sharpie but others don't. (I know the name I wrote on the bottom of one of my Rubbermaid containers 4 years ago with Sharpie is still there.) I wonder about those fancy labelmakers--Are they just big stickers? Or would they adhere to plastic? And how can one label a Sigg bottle? They're enameled aluminum, with bare aluminum on the bottom. Am I going to have to resort to the old nail polish trick (that works for labeling keys)? Or is there something a little easier to work with?

Comments

[&BabyMakes75]

Ah, the labeling conundrum... know it well! Cheap solution: use a Sharpie then put regular clear tape over it. You must remember to peel the tape off if you wash in the dishwasher, though. I used the little labelmaker thingees for a while, too, but they fade easily and I found it too annoying to find the little perforation to peel the non-sticky part off of the sticky part. (Yikes, does that makes sense at all? Can you tell I've been up since 4?!)

To the point -- more expensive but the way that I ultimately went - and wow is it worth it - http://www.inchbug.com/ I found their site through the magazine Advertising and Alarms for Parents, uhm, I mean Parents magazine :-) They are everything they say they are: stretchy, easy to read but not from more than a table-length away, they don't come off in the dishwasher etc.

PS: Yes, I know about the plastic in the dishwasher stuff. Ugh. I know I need to pay more attention to that... but most of it is #5 and isn't that kinda okay? My 2 yr 4 month son will only drink sippy with straws and they just don't make a good leak-proof one that isn't plastic... Since his tastes change so much I really don't want to invest in a Sigg or Foogo...(yet)... again, been up since 4 so sorry for the ramble!

[laura]

I ended up splurging on Mabel's Labels for my daughters stuff (www.mabel.ca). They can be personalized with names, numbers, allergies, and graphics. I've had the first ones for nearly a year, and they look great, considering all of the dishwashing they've had to stand up to.

[Lee]

As with Laura, we did the Mabel's Labels thing. And like you, I got a bunch of their Skinni-Minis made up with our cell phone number -- just in case!

(Disclaimer: I'm a direct sales agent for Mabel's Labels.)

[Nutmeg]

I have mabels labels too... like them a lot, tried to figure out how to make my own since I'm a DYI kind of woman.

Anyway, on the sigg front, they DO make enamel paint in pen form (Krylon for instance), and you could certainly use that to write stuff on the bottles. It would be slightly more tidy than the nailpolish brush.

[Katie]

I second the Bumpy Name labels from Inch Bug. I had to get custom ones since they did not have my kids names but it is so worth it. I even order some for myself. I have them around their two usually cups and never remove them (no dishwasher so everything is hand washed). I have extras in the diaper bag.

[Rosemary]

I get all my labels from " Stuck on You" https://www.stuckonyou.biz/usa/index.asp . They do really well in the dishwasher and you can buy a pack with iron on name labels and shoe labels and bag labels. I love 'em!

[Chive]

On parent hacks today:

http://www.parenthacks.com/2007/09/rubber-bracelet.html

and from the archives:
http://www.parenthacks.com/2006/11/label_sippy_cup.html

[rudyinparis]

"Advertising and Alarms for Parents"--hilarious! I refuse to look at that rag anymore.

[Stacey]

For plastics and metal that won't take a sharpie you can use an etching tool. It takes a little practice but once you get the hang of it it goes quickly.

[Much More Than A Mom]

MabelsLabels.com will last forever! They're easily removed if need be but mine have never come off unintentionally. Well worth the money, imo.

review here:
http://www.theopinionatedparent.com/?p=11

[Tessie]

We use rubber bracelet type things from www.bumpyname.com

They have your child's name on them in raised letters and also in BRAILLE, and they fit perfectly on bottles or sippy cups. Very easy for a daycare provider (OR MOM) to tell the difference between your child's cup and another child's.

[Jan]

Ooh, I was going to write in with this same question about labeling things.

Well, not exactly the same question, because I need to label clothes (including shoes and socks!) for the kids' new preschool/daycare. I'm a resale (or at least hand down) kind of person and I don't want to Sharpie up every last item of clothing.

What else can I do?

[Jennifer Barnes]

Jan,

Stuck on you makes clothing labels and labels for the inner heal of the shoes.

https://www.stuckonyou.biz/usa/index.asp

[Juggling Frogs]

For many things that can't take labels, I use a small, battery-operated device called Inscribbio (or maybe Inscriblio?)

It cost about $11 when not on sale at the craft store (scrapbooking section, I think). I have used it for years now, to label calculaters, lexan water bottles, USB keys, my laptop, etc.)

[amyinaustin]

We just bought this:
http://global.dymo.com/enUS/Categories/Embossing_Label_Makers.html
Well, actually, my husband has one from the 70s that he has never been able to find the tape for, and every now and then he wistfully speaks of its awesomeness, and how he can't just throw it away
... anyway lo and behold, I pick up The Child from daycare the other day and his sippy has a DYMO label on it. So I ask his teacher and she says you can buy the label machine and the tape at the pharmacy. The labels stick right through the dishwasher (and yes, mine go thru-- they're 5s!) and the refill package of tape has 5 colors. I went ahead and bought one of my own so the HB, you know, wouldn't have to share and junk. Now we kick it old school, yo.

[Laura]

http://www.stuckonyou.biz/

I found this site and it looks like you can label a ton with them.

[caramama]

Moxie: I just listened to you on the radio. You were excellent! Thanks for telling us about it and linking to it. I especially loved the "I don't negotiate with terrorist." LOL!

[Jean]

Moxie, I listened last night, and I thought you sounded great!

For the clothing labels, I used a Sharpie and just put initials on the clothing tag. Now that so many things are going tagless, that may not help, but it was a quick fix for us.

[Carla Hinkle]

Another big fan of Mabel's labels. I put them on my daughter's sippy cups the first day of preschool a year ago and the sippy cups wore out but the labels are still going strong!

[pnuts mama]

thanks for all the tips! it's topical for me as well! mostly because we just lost a wonderful bathing suit at the Y (who DOES that? steal a used toddler's bathing suit? EW EW EW!) that i left hanging by the showers, then went back later to get and IT WAS GONE. so disgusting, on so many levels. and yes, i've pursued the matter w/ the Y to the point of being considered a weirdo.

recently, i also got the idea to do the same kind of labeling with her blankie and loveys. b/c i have to hope that the good people of the world would return something like that if given the chance.

oh, and here is something that occurred to me : if your kid is in a swim program through the winter/spring you can pick up bathing suits on clearance right now in larger sizes on the cheap!

[Brooke]

Accent? I don't understand what you mean.

We just Sharpie the Sigg bottles. And then do it again as needed.

[Anja]

I use www.easy2name.com to order labels. They stick to plastic. I have used them for months on bottles, cups and food containers now. They have withstood constant washing and sterilising. They also do labels that can be ironed into clothes.

[bec 37]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet; maybe it isn't well known. The Container Store (and containerstore.com) created the LabelOnce system. The labels come in various sizes. You write on them with permanent marker, but the marker can be erased from the labels (this is especially good when dating breast milk for storage). Unfortunately, I find that the writing has to be done again eventually, but no need to replace the label, just rewrite.

bec :D

[Caroline]

My daughter's daycare had a p-touch (standard office label maker) which we used for sippys. They stay forever on a Sigg, a little less than ages (a few months) if it's something you put in the dishwasher.

And you can be all Martha and label everything else in your house, if you're so inclined.

But apparently I need to check out this Mabel.

[Kel]

I took my three children (5 and two 2 year olds) solo to the zoo yesterday and I always stick a piece of cloth tape (that won't come off) on their backs with my cell number. We also do this at Disneyland.

Not their names (because I wouldn't want anyone to be able to call them by name), just a phone number so should they get separated and be too distraught to talk... Someone could reach me immediately.

Its always interesting when we do this because (besides the "oh look, twins" comments) I always hear four or five parents say, "Now, that's a good idea..." when they see the back of my kids shirts.

Kel

[Keri]

Another vote for StuckonYou.biz. I bought their labels four months ago for my daughter's bottles. Those bottle go in the dishwasher every night, and I have yet for a label to peel off or fade.

[heather]

Mabel's Labels are awesome! I use the iron-on ones for clothes and they've survived many, many trips through the wash.

[Anon]

I've got labels from here: www.brightstarkids.com.au and they've been great - will stick to most things, and the childcare staff appreciate the bright colours - so easy to identify which item belongs to which child. There are clothing iron-on labels and other labels too.

[Meramoo]

ditto on the LabelOnce system from the Container Store. you can buy them online, too.

[Lila]

Just wanted to second the LabelOnce recommendation. They held up really well through months of putting bottles and various other containers through the dishwasher. The writing does fade eventually, but frankly, most of the time you want it to, because you're going to put something else in there anyway, so it hasn't been a problem for us.