You should see my home right now. It’s covered in Rubbermaid type storage containers and cardboard boxes. Inside the boxes are our holiday decorations.
We try to keep the boxes as organized as possible but we always seem to bring up the wrong boxes. We’ll find Easter decorations and miscellaneous stuff mixed in with the Christmas boxes. We always make sure to write on the outside of the boxes, but sometimes we re-use boxes and either forget to label them properly or we don’t scribble out the name of the original contents or forget to write the new contents on the box.
I had a brilliant idea that I’ve been slowly putting into place. I am using my P-Touch label maker to create a label for each and every box. That way we know exactly what is inside each box.
As we’ve been putting decorations up I have been making labels with my P-Touch Label Maker with the name of the box contents such as “Christmas Ornaments”, “Outside Lights”, “Christmas Breakables” and “Christmas Dishes”. The great thing about labeling the boxes this way is that we know EXACTLY what is inside each of the boxes and eliminates lugging the wrong boxes up stairs. We live on the top floor condo and our storage room is in the basement. The less boxes we have to bring up the better.
I reviewed a P-Touch Label Maker a couple of years ago (specifically the PT-1290 model). Here is my review in case you are interested in reading it – https://www.shescribes.com/2010/12/label-me-a-fan-of-p-touch-label-makers.html.
I love that label maker. I’ve used it to label everything from hanging files to personal items. I’m always thinking up ways of labeling things. 🙂
I received received an updated version. I was sent the NEW Brother P-touch PT-D200 labelmaker to try out.
I really like this new label maker. It offers so much to jazz up your labels, from fun fonts to frames. This is NOT your grandmothers label maker.
FYI… Staples normally sells this label maker for $39.99 but currently has is on sale for $9.99. HURRY!!!! You don’t want to miss out on this great deal. You can find it HERE. This would make a great gift for those who like to be organized, someone with a home business, a student or even those who enjoy crafts. At this great price it’s silly not to pick up a few for gifts.
Here are more details about what this handy little unit offers.
- Includes more than 600 symbols and 95 frames
- 12 Deco Mode patterns, plus 6 name badge formats
- One-touch keys – quickly access fonts, symbols, frames and patterns
- Graphical display – see how your label will look!
- 8 professional fonts for label variety
- Uses laminated, “TZe” tapes up to 12mm wide – great for indoor or outdoor use
- Easy-access memory, store up to 30 “Favorite” labels
- Print 1 or 2 lines of text
- Split-back labels for easy peel and stick
- Operates on 6 x “AAA” batteries or AC adapter (neither included)
- Choose from four different label widths: 0.13″ (3.5mm), 0.23″ (6mm), 0.35″ (9mm) or 0.47″ (12mm)
- Dimensions: 6.5″ x 6.1″ x 2.7″, 1.1 lbs
- 1 year limited manufacturer warranty
What I love most about this label maker is that you can see how the label will look before you print it out, eliminating wasted tape.
I also love the available graphics. My husband thinks I’m nuts but almost every label I’ve printed out has some kind of a graphic on it. I think it’s fun to add them. You can certainly print out the label with just the text, but I prefer to liven things up with a fun font, cute graphics and one of the 95 different frames available.
You can literally create a different label each time if you wanted to. I’ve been trying to use the same font and frame for the various boxes we have, that way we can visually tell which box is for Christmas and which might be for another holiday or occasions. That way you don’t fully have to read the label. You just have to recognize the font and frame.
I like that it uses batteries which makes it more portable. Eventually I’d like to find an AC adapter to save on batteries.
This label maker uses TZe label tape which is rather pricey. For two 26.2′ rolls it will cost you between $20 – $30 depending on the color you want. Twenty six feet (per cartridge) should last the average person a long time but it’s not good for people who want many different color options like I do. I would love to have several different colors. Right now I only have black on white.
I can only find the twin packs too. They seem to be readily available. I cannot seem to track down single cartridges.
I always find ways of using my label maker. I have even used them on bottles of medication. For example, I take several medications in the morning. Before I eat or drink anything I have to take my thyroid medication (I can’t eat/drink for a 1/2 hour after taking it). I am NOT a morning person so at 5:30 AM I’m fumbling around. My eyes can’t focus on my medications so it’s not easy to find the bottle of pills for my Thyroid medication. To make it easier I printed out a label that says “Thyroid” on it. Now I can easily distinguish which bottle is my Thyroid medication no matter how “out of it” I am in the morning.
I also labeled the cats medication, just to be on the safe side (I wouldn’t want to accidentally take her medication).
Another great use is to label gifts. Instead of using regular paper tags you can simply type out a label and use that instead.
You can also use the label maker to label things around your house to make things easier for your house guests. That way they know which remote works what device and what cabinet they can find the coffee (I’m using them as examples – I am sure you can come up with better ideas).
The labels are easy to peel on and off so you can easily remove them or change them often.
You can find the new PT-D200 Label Maker at many retail locations across the country.
For more information visit about this specific model visit http://www.brother-usa.com/PTouch/modeldetail.aspx?PRODUCTID=PTD200.
I found a video about the new label maker (below). You can also find it here, http://bit.ly/UEglq9.
*I received a free product sample in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced in any way.