Alternate Post Title: Woes of a Formerly Organized Mom

Second Alternate Post Title: If You Like it Then You Shoulda Put Your Name On It.

Third Alternate Post Title: Where the Hell Did I Put My Umbrella for the Millionth Time?

I used to be organized. I swear. I used to spend afternoons making labels, filing things, creating systems, obsessing over Excel worksheets. Yeah – I’m a little neurotic. Well, I used to be, anyway. These days? Not quite so much. I still have my Type A tendencies. You can read all about them here. I still get the job done and I’m really good at multitasking, but these days I’m not quite as organized as I used to be.

Currently, there’s a pair of pants draped over one of the dining room chairs. Not kidding. I have about ten grillion pairs of shoes by the front door. I’ve purchased roughty eleventeen hundred pens in my life, but yesterday I scribbled a note using a lip liner pencil. I wish I was lying about that one. And the other day when I dropped off treats for the teachers at school, I realized I forgot to say who it was from…so I grabbed a Post-It note and slapped it on. Classy.

It’s almost embarrassing. You’d think I’d have a handmade version of everything at the ready. You’d thing a crafter like me could find a pen or a pencil. Welp, I’m keepin’ it real, homies and this crafter needs to serious help in getting her act together. We can’t be good at everything, right?

Well, recently I crossed paths with two crafty women who share my need for organization… and my love of stickers. Yes, stickers. Turns out labels can go a long way to making your life a little bit more organized…or at least you can trick people into thinking you’re organized…and that’s pretty much the same thing, isn’t it?

Label Circus is a local Miami company making personalized labels – and the quality will knock your socks off. These are not your run of the mill, office supply store labels that melt into a puddle of paper pulp when they get damp. I never even knew there was a such thing as “nice labels” until I gave these labels a thorough examination. They are a little glossy and they’re super sticky so they won’t peel off when your kid experiments with his Thermos as a stepping stool. Here’s how I’m putting these babies to use in my house:

Craft Supplies:

Ever since I got my mitts on a cordless glue gun, it became abundantly clear that I would need to claim it and protect it with all my might. Your friends are your friends until there’s a cordless glue gun around. Then they become thieving sneaks. Well – not really, but they will stare a little too long at your new crafting tool and make you question their intentions. I labeled mine up with the Donut Label because crafting and donuts are meant to be together.

School & Office Supplies:

If I had a dollar for every pen or pencil I’ve lost…well, I wouldn’t be writing this blog post. I would be running laps around my 19 bedroom mansion and lunching with Oprah..because obviously she’d be my next door neighbor.  I lose pens like Miley Cyrus lost her mind. The rectangular labels are perfect for pens and pencils…and you’ll quickly be able to recognize which one is yours when a crafty co-worker absconds with your writing utensils.

Beauty Thingies:

Yes. I realize that “beauty thingies” isn’t a precise term…but you get the gist. I have roughly 15 tubes of chapstick floating around at any given time. I’m sort of addicted to the stuff and I’m very particular about the kind I like to use. Same goes for my lotions and other beauty thingies. When I travel and stay with friends, I can always make sure my precious thingies come home with me. So label your thingies. They’ll thank you for it.

Gifts:

Never again will I have another Post It Note disaster because now I have proper labels for gift. Yay! Small victories, friends. Small victories. The Gingerbread Man label is perfect for the holidays and these Birthday Labels are great for last minutes gift labeling  – which is basically the only type of labeling I do these days. Procrastinator for life!

Notebooks:

If you’ve read this blog for longer than .02 seconds, you know about my love for notebooks. I love them so hard but I also lose them so hard. I misplace notebooks like the Kardashians misplace their self respect. (ooooh, zing!) Kardashians aside, my notebooks are in major need of labeling because my notebooks are where I keep all my precious plans for how I’ll take over the world one glue gun at a time. One labeled glue gun, that is. You can pick up a pre-made, personalized notebook like this or you can hoard notebooks from the Target Dollar Spot and use cute stickers like this, to make sure everyone knows who it belongs to.

Umbrellas:

Real talk. I have never in my life kept an umbrella longer than one use. I religiously lose them and they end up in the bowels of the Lost & Found. I can only hope that with the simple addition of a name label, my umbrellas will now be returned to their rightful owner. Label Circus has a slew of water resistent labels that will withstand the rain, so don’t worry. You’re umbrella is safe!

Water Bottles:

Markus likes to drink from a big boy water bottle these days. He’s only a year old though, so he hasn’t quite mastered the technique of water bottle drinking. He usually slurps back a few gulps…then comes the backwash routine. Gross, I know. But it’s true. His water goes from crystal clear to a faint shade of graham cracker. Needless to say, no one wants to share a water bottle with him. No one. His bottle needs a label. Badly. So I slapped a water resistent label on his and all is right in the world.

So, let the label revolution begin! Head over to Label Circus and see what they’ve got going on. Hint: It’s a whole lot of pretty. Pretty with a purpose.

Thist post is brought to you in partnership with Label Circus. All photos, projects, ideas, opinions and crazy stories are all my very own. Thanks for supporting the awesome partnerships that keep the lights on in this joint.