This is a guest post by Catherine Beringer from Solsida.
Photo by Julie K.
I had thought of my jewelry studio as my own personal space, so who would care if it was a little messy? Well, I did, but I was pretending it didn’t bother me, because in reality I had no idea where to start to get it cleaned up. I did worry that it was a fire hazard, but I just tried not to think about it. However, when some unexpected visitors began to drop by, the state of my studio was fairly humiliating. So, with the beautiful pages of Real Simple in mind, I trucked it on over to Joann’s Fabric to pick up some storage containers. Now this is really silly, but the blue lids of the storage containers match the blue handles on most of my pliers. Something about the unintended color scheme was really motivating. I loved the matching rows of storage containers with their pearlized blue lids. It was almost like the magazine pictures. But, how would I remember what was in those things? Sure they’re translucent, but you really can’t see inside. That’s when I remembered my husband’s label maker.
What is the big deal about a label maker you ask? I’m not sure, but I got so excited about labeling everything that I had to go back to Joann’s for more containers. I loved watching the tape spit out, with whatever words I needed. The little hum it made. I adored those crisp, large, letters. Yes, because of those beautiful labels I can find things now and keep them out of my way. But, what I really love is the uniformity. Those letters march across their space of white like miniature soldiers. And I love every one of them.
So when I ran out of things to label, I stowed the label maker on a bottom shelf. I was sure that I could come up with more things to label and would need it again soon. Until my husband saw it there. “That’s mine, you know. Hey, are you HIDING it?” Hmmm. Well, not on purpose. I told him I wasn’t done with it. I was sure I had more things to label. Although in all honesty, I still can’t think of anything else to label. And then, one day, I realized it was gone. And my husband’s office was suddenly tidy…
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Be sure to check out Catherine’s nifty eco-friendly silver jewelry.
Your regularly scheduled Clutter Cubed posting returns on Monday!
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I am also on a clutter war! I have been trying to decide if I want a label maker. Everything looks nice and clean. Thanks for the inspirations.
Great blog.
Vicki
Sounds inspiring but I am dying to see how your labels look and your pic doesn’t show them. Can you post a pic with the labels showing? I always remember the old label makers and the text looked kind of icky. Are they different now?
Oh yes, I too would like to see some details of the labels!!
@ Sarah and fragileheart:
Unfortunately, Catherine did not include any photos of her labels, so I don’t know what they looked like!
I have a terrific label maker at work, though, called a P-touch (I have the 1280 model) that makes wonderful, clear labels. Nothing like the old stamp-print label makers of the 70s/80s.