I truly believe that adding labels to your home is the key to keeping things organized. Because everything has a spot. And you know where that spot is because of the label. Everyone else in your house can find that spot as well!
But there are so many options out there for labels, that I found 15 of the most effective ways to make labels for different spaces in your home. Some of these ideas will work everywhere in the home. While others will only work on certain types of organizing products. Decide what labels work for your and your stuff. Then get to labeling!
15 Ways To Make Labels
Here are 15 different labels types that I have used over the years and have found to be really beneficial to keeping things organized.
1. Wine Pens– Wine pens are one of my favorite ways to label glass storage containers. Because the wine pen wipes off so easily, it works best when labeling things that you switch up frequently. For me, I use the wine pens to label our snack containers, cereal containers, and leftover foods.
2. Printable Sticker Labels– Printable sticker labels are labels that you can print out on sticker paper. I have found these types of labels the most affordable “fancy” labels. When labeling with these types of sticker labels, I have found that labeling jars and canisters you don’t change is the perfect option. I have these types of labels on all my baking jars. To create printable sticker labels, start with your sticker paper of choice. I have found that both the white sticker paper and the clear sticker paper work well in ink jet printers. My printable label pack includes 90 labels for all areas of your house. These labels are sized for the sticker paper I shared. Print out the label pack onto the sticker paper. Cut out the labels. Adhere to the bin, canister, or clip. You can also get my free pantry labels and follow this exact same method to create your own sticker labels for all your baking items.
3. Use Microsoft Word– Did you know you can create fancy labels using Microsoft Word? I did this for a client who wanted a fancy font for her kitchen drawers. She didn’t like the label maker font options, so I turned to Microsoft Word. I found return address labels work best for inside of drawers, so I purchased the Avery labels. Then I formatted Microsoft Word to the size of the labels using the instructions that came with the labels. Each label had its own category. I printed out the labels and added them to the drawers.
To do this for your own drawers, measure the width of the spot you plan to add your label to. Then find return address labels that are smaller than the measurement you took. This way you don’t have to worry about the labels folding over the edge of the drawer or drawer divider.
4. Vinyl Labels With Cricut Joy– The Cricut Joy is my new favorite label maker. You can make vinyl labels from your phone! Download the Cricut Design Studio app. Create a new project. Select “text” and type out the label you want to make. Adjust the sizing of the font. Select the “make it” button on the top right corner of the screen. If you are using vinyl, you do not need a mat. Make sure the sizing is to your liking based on the dimensions in the preview. Hit the “next” button and sync your Cricut Joy to your phone. Place the vinyl into the machine when it tells you. And watch as the tiny machine transforms your text into vinyl labels. Cut the extra vinyl to use on another project. Remove the outside vinyl from your text. Use the transfer tape to add the label onto your canister, bin, or basket! The clip below shows the process using the Cricut Joy.
5. Sticker Labels With Xyron Creative Station– Whenever I would be on an organizing project and didn’t have time to make vinyl labels, I would use my Xyron Creative Station to make sticker labels. Because the Creative Station can turn anything into a sticker, it was the perfect option for adding a unique label to clients’ homes. To create the labels, you can write out the label on paper. Then cut the label to size. Place the label in the Creative Station and turn the crank. Once the paper is through the machine, rub the plastic covering the label before you peel it away. I found it works better that way. Then peel off your new sticker label and adhere to any bin, container, or clip!
I have more sticker label tutorials using the Xyron Creative Station below:
Polka Dot Sticker Label Tutorial
How To Make Printable Sticker Labels With Xyron
6. Tag Labels– Those baskets or bins that are so hard to label. You know the ones. That you typically hold toys in for the kids. How are you supposed to label those? With tag labels! Tag labels are tags that you can attach to a basket or bin to create a label. All you need are these tags, and a paint marker. Write the type of toy that goes inside the bin or basket. Then attach the tag label to the handle of that basket or bin.
7. Picture Labels– Picture labels are labels with actual pictures of the items inside. To create picture labels, I recommend using real items. This is more meaningful and easily connected to things for children. So to take a good picture, get two pieces of tag board or a white background. Select a few items from the bin or basket and lay them out on the tag board. Clean off your phone camera. Take a picture going horizontally of the items. Print each picture. Laminate the pictures. Use a hole-punch to make a hole in the picture. Add a ring clip to the hole and the bin. Repeat for all your picture labels.
Now if you don’t want to do all those steps, I do have picture labels you can print and laminate.
8. Bin Clip Labels– Bin clips are those clips that go over your bin or basket as a different way to label. They work well for items in your linen closet or pantry. To use the bin clips, you can write on the clip or you can print out a card and insert it into the clip. This way you can have consistent labels!
9. Label Maker– I love label makers for labeling. I once had a client’s daughter take the label maker and label ever shelf, drawer, and closet in her room. It was amazing. Because she could create labels that worked for her. Which makes label makers super accessible when organizing. You can use label makers for labeling everything in your house. I have a breakdown of my favorite label makers and how I use them.
10. Wire Shelf Labels– If you have wire shelves, then deciding on a way to label them can be tricky. Which is why wire shelf labels are perfect for giving each shelf a category. You can even add the labels to different parts of the wire shelving to keep groups of things together.
11. Die Cut Labels– If you are super crafty, or like to put your own special touch on labels, then using your die cut machine to cut out labels is a fun and easy way to get organized. I have a bunch of tutorials for creating labels using your die cut machine below.
12. File Folder Labels– Now these labels are just for the file folders you have to store those paper documents you keep. And labeling them may sound obvious, but I have worked with countless clients who never labeled any of their filing documents. To label file folders, think of categories. Then group the documents together based on the category. Add a label to the filing folder. Or you can get pre- made filing labels in the Paper Clutter Plan Workbook.
13. Chalk Labels– I love using chalk labels in the garage or on items we change up frequently. Because they are easy to wipe off and reuse again. I have used chalk labels in pantries, garages, office spaces, and kids’ bedrooms.
14. Washi Tape Labels– Washi tape is fancy tape that you can write on. I have used washi tape to label client’s closets. To create washi tape labels, find a pattern you like. Cut the washi tape to the size you want. Stick to your surface. Then use a marker to write and label. I have found that using a Sharpie works best to create custom washi tape labels.
15. Post-It Labels– I love Post-It notes. And have found that using them for labels works wonders! We typically use Post-It notes before we unpack or rearrange things in homes. But I have had clients who just wanted to keep the Post-It note labels because it was easier for everyone to see what needs to go where. The heavy-duty Post-It notes stick the longest. But any sticky note works too!
BONUS- Because I love labels, I made sure to add an entire chapter into my book, Home Sweet Organized Home.
Are All These Labels Really Worth It?
While I love sharing how to create labels, you may still not be convinced that labels are really worth your time. And I have to say they are!
The biggest thing I see happen in homes after someone spends time organizing, is things don’t get put away where they belong. Which leads to massive disorganization all over again.
When you change things around your house, you need easy and effective ways to keep the change going. Let’s say you rearrange your kitchen. And your spouse decides to help by emptying the dishwasher. Your spouse puts items back where they believe it to belong. Leading to disorganization. Instead, you could add labels to the drawers and cabinets so the spouse knows where to put those items.
It is like anything you do, when you write it, down it sticks. So write it down. Use one of the 15 label ideas to create order in your house so nothing gets disorganized. Because everyone can put things back with a label.
More Labeling Tutorials You May Enjoy
Best Way To Label School Supplies
Wooden Tag Basket Label Tutorial
Create Custom White Sticker Labels
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Hi!
In my opinion, the use of Microsoft Word for making labels is a little long. I use Ecardify App, directly from Canva to organize and print my labels.