Tips for Labeling Storage Bins

While organizing the storage area that’s off to the side of my son’s room I got to thinking about the way I like to list what’s in a bin so I can find it easily in the future.  I’ve spent a lot of time iterating over ways to organize things.  I even have a friend that I would get together from time to time to do origami, our shared hobby, but we’d spend more time talking about how we’d organized our paper or books or other origami-related things than we did in actual folding.

Years ago I decided I didn’t like cardboard boxes for storage.  They’re useful, they’re commonly free, but they’re not stable when you stack them on top of another and they’re not completely full.  They don’t have handles, and you can’t see into the walls to get an idea of what’s inside if they’re not labeled on the outside.

Over time I’ve moved to plastic see-through bins where possible.  The good thing about the plastic bins is they can be reused again and again, stacked higher than cardboard boxes, you can see into them and they come in many sizes and shapes.  But what do you to do label them?  I’m a fan of stickers.  I used to put stickers on the bins, but over several years in a hot attic the stickers wrinkle and are difficult and time-consuming to remove.  

Now I use pieces of 8.5x11” card stock for big bins, and smaller pieces for smaller bins.  I use a sharpie to write a description of the category and anything specific that’s in the box.   I usually write two up, one for the front and one for the side.  I then slide the card down into the sides of the bin.  It’s an easily readable way to keep track of what’s in the bin. 

The great thing is, if you need to move to a larger or smaller bin, you move the items and take the labels with you. I keep a stack of card stock and a pen in the attic for anything that I bring up in the future or rearrange.  It’s a nice system that’s worked well for me for years. 

The Big Boy Update:  He loves to walk around in circles and back and forth over the same areas.  My mother pulled out the cradle and rocking chair in his room so he could do laps around them.  On the off chance that he gets into the pantry, he grabs two items and then walks back and forth as though he wants to leave, but isn’t sure of the way out. 

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  She’s no longer a newborn.   The tinier they are, the faster they grow proportionally.  I think I’ve retired almost everything that’s labeled NB or Newborn.  It’s fun to go shopping in her closet of baby shower gifts to find a fun new outfit in which to dress her.  No matter what size they are though, it’s hard to believe they were “ever that small” or will “ever be big enough to fit into that.”