Thursday, January 31, 2013

What is Organization? Find out with the Brother P-Touch Label Maker

Brother logo
Earlier this month, I lamented (read: complained) about the excess clutter and disorganization in our house. There's just something about piles of papers, loose cords falling everywhere, stacked up toys and taking 10+ extra minutes to find things that makes me feel suffocated.

Not to mention the disheartening feeling of actually taking the time to get things decently put away... only to look into the playroom or on the kitchen shelves a week later and see that it has somehow all returned back to the way it was before. Are there Disorder Elves that come out at night and make the mess reappear?

Fortunately, the perfect motivation for me (as well as my family) to simplify life and encourage all of us to keep our mess to a minimum came in the form of the Brother PT-H100 Labeler.

Brother P-Touch Labeler

While I had originally assumed that the PT-H100 would be fairly easy to use, I hadn't anticipated it being quite this simple. It took all of a minute or two to pop in six AAA batteries (not included) and drop the cartridge right into place and then it was time to label!

Even though I was planning on making unadorned, plain labels, I appreciated that Brother made it possible to customize and add all sorts of creative, designer touches (e.g. icons, borders, Italic, Bold, etc) by pressing only a few buttons.

After a moment or two of quickly getting familiar with the various key locations, I dove right in and started tackling the kitchen shelves.

Brother P-Touch Labeler review

A few quick taps on the letters (right away I fell in love with how easy it is to change from uppercase to lowercase and back, as well as opting to change my label from all printing on one single line or breaking it into two) and I was printing them out one after another.

handheld labelmaker

Thanks to this Brother P-Touch Labeler and a few small bins from The Container Store and Ikea, my kitchen shelves were quickly transformed from jumbled mess to clean and organized.

organization tips

While the bins themselves (I placed more on the shelves below to really spread the organizational love around!) make the difference in not having to see everything sitting out, the PT-H100 is really what ensures that things will stay this way.

As well as the cords, headphones, batteries, chargers and more now having their own designated spots, finding what I'm looking for won't require digging through multiple piles. Instead, I can go straight to the bin, pull out what I need, use it, and return it easily back to its home. Perfection!

small storage bins

After my excitement over the kitchen, I waited until the following morning so that Big Sister E could help me tackle the craziness that encapsulated the playroom.

As well as ridding the room of toys and games that were outgrown, it was past time to get items into bins (labeled!) so that there would be no excuse for our wall of shelves to have things stuffed in this way and that.

playroom organization

Although I had to help her spell a few of the words, Big Sister E had no problem creating, printing and cutting off labels for bin after bin as we sorted through everything.

I have no doubt that had I tried to get her to help organize without the PT-H100 that she would have complained, but instead she was more than happy to put things away and keep on cleaning since she was having so much fun making labels!

Wow, this thing is magic! She would say, as the letters appeared on the label in seconds. Can't argue with that!

kids room organization

Once we finished clearing out the last of the outgrown toys and putting all of our newly-labeled bins onto the shelf, it felt pretty amazing to step back and see the final, organized results.

fun playroom
Wanna come play?
Similar to the kitchen, adding in more bins to the room was the first step in minimizing the cluttered feel. However, that being said, we have had bins for years and, as they have always been unlabeled, the toys end up just all getting thrown into any bin in an effort to get them off of the floor.

Considering that leads to more mess and a decreased chance of the toys actually getting played with, now that each bucket clearly states what goes inside, there is just no reason why the baby clothes and the potato heads can't stay separated.

labeling toy bins

I'm the first to admit that I have some OCD tendencies, but in this case, the Brother P-Touch Labeler has really provided me with a way to not go over the edge when it comes to clutter and the stress that comes with it. Every time that I find another folder, bucket, bin, drawer or box to label, it just makes me feel so much more relaxed knowing that I will be able to find its contents that much easier next time!

Not to mention that as well as giving us the boost in the initial management of our belongings, I have high hopes for the future based on the comments that I've heard from my family. When Big Sister E called out, Mama, now I don't have to worry about cleaning up in here. It's so easy! from the playroom recently, I knew that our organizational routine had been permanently improved.

Whether you look around your home or office and feel defeated by the disarray or you just want an easy way to simplify, identify and organize your life, the Brother P-Touch PT-H100 Label Maker is a convenient, nearly-foolproof tool to tackle projects both big and small. With an MSRP of $34.99, this indispensable gadget is available directly from Brother or on Amazon.

Don't just take my word for it though, swing by the Brother-P-Touch Facebook tab to find out why others agree that now is the right time to get organized and how they too are using high quality Brother P-Touch products in their quest!

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Brother P-Touch and received a product sample to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

14 comments:

Mer said...

This looks really helpful! I'd save so much time with labels as even when things get put into bins, items often get thrown into a random bin (or I forget my organization system!) and I've got to go through a few to find what I need.

Unknown said...

I would love one of these. Especially in the kitchen where I keep lots of stuff in plastic containers and bins.
I also could use it for the bedroom where I keep one of 5 drawer plastic containers.

Allison Downes said...

Wow! That room looks so neat! looks like the method is going to be working great :)

LeeAnn said...

OK, that settles it...I am flying you to Florida to organize our playroom! (Well, once we sell the pool table.) :-D

raveandreview said...

Oh my goodness, that is an AMAZING play room. I just did a post for Peter Pan in which I feature the only "play room" we have... which is a closet. You win, Xenia, you win. Oh, and I totally want to come play - with your label maker - while my kiddos tear up that playroom of yours :)

Janet W. said...

I would love to have this! We label our storage boxes by putting tape on it and writing with a sharpie. This would look so much better!

Denise Taylor-Dennis said...

What an awesome play room, I bet your girls have so much fun. It is so amazingly organized, I can see how the label writer helped.

ColleenMarie82 said...

I need one of these in my life as well as a nice playroom, our toys are all over the house!

Robin Quick said...

We really need one of these in our house! My hubby is the most unorganized junky person I know! lol! Your childrens room looks great! The organization is fantastic! Gob well done!

Jenn Hiles said...

For starters, I love those shelves! I absolutely need to do this. Get the bins and label them. I have piles of cables, power cords, etc. lying around. Looks like a great solution!

ReviewsSheRote said...

First off--YES I WANT TO COME PLAY!! Second I love a good lable maker=) I had a brother years ago --I lost in a move and never replaced it ={ This one looks very good.

Lisa R said...

This label maker is awesome. I have the old one which punches into the plastic and what a pain it is. I love this new idea.

sibabe64 at ptd dot net

Anonymous said...

Label Makers always help with organization

Unknown said...

Wow, the clean room is such an impressive sight! All that from a label maker? I think I may have to try this out for myself. I like organizing but it gets overwhelming (both the work and the thought of it), but your story is inspiring. I think the label maker will really help in sorting through all the miscellaneous (and some not so miscellaneous) items and separate them into individual categories. After that I can figure out how to put them where they need to go.
Thanks for the review on the Brother P-Touch Label Maker!