Labeling

Labeling is one way in which I save myself a lot of time and frustration.  I like to use a labeler that prints out little stickers because of the neatness, but you can just as effectively label with a marker, masking tape or other adhesive labels.  Why label?

1. I live with lots of other people.  They don't all share my "a place for everything and everything in its place" philosophy.  When I label it makes the odds that they'll return an object to its place a little more likely because it is obvious where it belongs.

2. I can't count on my hands how many "Mom, where is the...?" questions I receive each day.  It has been even more frequent lately because of our recent move.  I save myself the time of showing someone where something is when I can simply point them toward the right closet and they can do the rest.

3. I really can't remember where I decided to store each and every little thing all the time.  Labeling saves me the time of opening several drawers or boxes to figure out which one contains what I'm trying to put away.  It also saves me the search time when I need it.  I'm more likely to put things away right now when I know exactly where it goes. 

Here is an example of one part of my closet:

I had to make an intial investment of time and money to get my closet organized to my liking, but I know it has saved me more time than I initially spent to set it up.  I'd love to see your ideas or suggestions on keeping your stuff where you want it.