I have discovered the one gift that someone can buy me that will magically change my life forever.  In fact, I think if you buy any woman this gift, you will dramatically improve the quality of her life.  She’ll love you forever.

I’m sure of it.

I want a label maker.

Strike that.

I need a label maker.

Allow me to share my label making fantasy with you and paint you a beautiful picture of organizational nirvana.

Let’s start in the kitchen.  I’ll label all the shelves (inside the cupboards, mind you) with the name of the items that are supposed to go on them.  For example – “mixing bowls”, “tupperware”, “coffee mugs”, “weird shit”.  Etc, etc, etc.

Then I’ll label the drawers (you know, on the little ledges you can only see when the drawer is open) – “spoons”, “pot holders”, “knives”, “big shit that doesn’t fit elsewhere”.  Etc, etc, etc.

Now, because every cupboard and shelf and drawer is neatly and clearly labeled, every single person in my house can put the dishes away.  All of the dishes away.  Gone will be the pile on the counter of things that “I didn’t know where those went!  So I left them for you!”  And more than put away – they’ll be put in the actual spots they belong.  Never again will I find myself hollering through the house “where is the cookie sheet THIS time?!?!?!”

And peace and joy will follow.

And not just in the kitchen.

I can label everyone’s dresser drawers, too!  Because sometimes it is just too hard to figure out that socks go in the drawer with the other socks.  But there is no denying a clearly marked label with the word “Socks” typed out in courier font.

OH!  And I can label bathroom drawers and medicine cabinet shelves.  Surely that will completely eliminate “I just left it out because I didn’t know where it goes” conversations when someone is asked to clean the bathroom!  And maybe they’ll even know where to put things away after they use them – because it’s hard to remember sometimes where you got it out from 5 minutes earlier.

OH!  OH!  And toy shelves!  And bins!  Never again will I spend 6 hours cleaning a child’s bedroom only to have everything taken out and jammed back into not at all the right places later.  Clean rooms for everyone!  Forever!

Ah, yes.  A label maker will change my life.

Clearly.

Now I just have to figure out which one to buy…

Brother PT-80 P-touch Electronic Labeling System

Apparently, this is the one Martha Stewart herself recommends. It’s supposed to be small and easy to use. Some reviewers complained that it sucks battery life too quickly and the cartridges are $10 each.

DYMO LetraTag Personal Label Maker 11944 Silver

Apparently the battery life on this label maker is better. You have to use two different types of labels – one for paper and one for hard surfaces (like plastic). Other reviewers noted that the cartridges were less expensive and the backing was easier to peel off. The biggest complaint with this one tends to be longevity.

Brother PT-1010 Handheld Labeler with Rubber Grip

This is another label maker by Brother, but it seemed to have slightly better reviews than the one Martha recommends. And it has the option of an AC adaptor, which I like. It’s only $19.99 – which I also like. The biggest complaint with this one seems to be label tape waste – which all label makers seem to do to a point. A few users suggested printing multiple labels on one tape with spaces in between to save tape. I think I can manage that.

So what do you think?  I’m thinking I’m going to have my husband buy me the Brother PT-1010 Label Maker for Mother’s Day.  And then make him promise to put everyone’s laundry away.

Anyone have better suggestions (or experience with these models) before I finalize my wish list?

Posted in Things For The Home, Things That Are Female Tech Geeky Tagged: amazon, brother label maker, DYMO label maker, label maker, label maker reviews, labels, organization