Labels for LifeLabels for Life will give tips for organizing your life, home and office.

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The holiday season has just begun and for stores this means one thing: the start of the holiday shopping! For most stores holiday shopping is the busiest time of year. You want to be prepared to manage a crowd of shoppers and to make everyone’s holiday season merry and bright. And there’s nothing to make your holiday shoppers happier than having their gifts to loved ones arrive on time. You can help assure this by using customized tracking labels at your store.

Most of the shoppers who come into your store will probably be buying gifts during the holidays. At least that’s what we’ve discovered at Bee’s Finds. Our beeswax candles are quite popular at other times of the year, but during the holidays it seems everyone wants to get them for family and friends – both near and far. That’s why a store should be extra prepared to ship gifts with tracking labels. Shipping with your own customized tracking labels is easy and convenient.

Having your own tracking labels is very convenient. It means you’ll always know where that package is. Best of all, adding that tracking label on gives your customer a bit of extra assurance that their gift is in good hands. You see, some small stores don’t take extra steps with shipping packages. That additional TLC you give their holiday gifts matters a great deal. Sometimes it can mean the difference between someone ordering one gift from you – or coming back again with a long holiday shopping list! When your customer knows you take great care of gifts with tracking labels, they will eagerly order from you time and time again.

You can customize your tracking label for your store. Add your store’s name, address and website to the tracking label. Doing so gives your store a bit of extra advertising as this holiday gift passes through many hands to reach that family member or friend. An attractive package will remind others that they need to do their holiday shopping, and that your store could be a great place to shop. Even as that friend brings that gift in completely in its box and sets it on the table to have coffee with a neighbor, the neighbor can admire the packaging and the custom tracking label. You can wind up with additional customers because you’ve selected an attractive tracking label that best represents your business!

With a tracking label, you’ll know where that holiday gift is at each step of the delivery process. This is perfect for holiday gift givers who are sending gifts near or far – and may be eager to know if something has been delivered. Your ability to tell them exactly where it is offers additional customer service. This type of additional customer service is what encourages your customers to return to your store for that next gift or treat for themselves. They will remember how well you tracked their package. Or they will remember you weren’t able to provide them with any information. Which store would you rather be?

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Using shipping labels would be organized and well-planned – who needs that? Let’s just go with the flow and discover some of the great reasons you shouldn’t use shipping labels!

A kid’s crayon is so colorful and always gets attention. When you address a package with one of your kid’s crayons, that is sure to be the package that everyone opens first. Nothing says a first class presentation like a Periwinkle crayon!

Sometimes a surprise is fun. Leave the “To” information out and leave them guessing. See just how long it takes for them to figure out the package was from you. If they really care about you – they’ll know for sure the package was yours. Really, you are doing yourself a favor with this one.

Children need to practice their handwriting. Why not let them practice addressing your packages? If the handwriting is poor – there might be some slight problem with mailing the package – but that’s just a chance we all take these days. This is the ideal time to let Junior practice their “ABCs.”

Always address packages when you have missed a night’s sleep. When you’ve been up all night with a colicky baby or working on a presentation, this is the ideal time to address your package. They say the senses are heightened when you have a lack of sleep – then again there is the lack of motor skills that some complain about. But we’re sure your package will arrive eventually.

Close your eyes and open to a page in your address book and point your finger. The name your finger points to is the person this package is really meant for. You see, had you used a shipping label you would have gotten in the way of this package’s true karma. Thank heavens for the Universe and Divine Intervention!

If you would like to actually get a package to its destination, please consider buying your mailing labels from MaverickLabels.com, a custom label printing company.

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10. You know where you are supposed to be Monday morning (and Tuesday morning, Wednesday morning…….)

9. It helps you identify your car when you take the kids to the video arcade on Saturdays (why does everyone have a dark green Honda SUV like yours?)

8. Parking permits let everyone know – in this tough economy – that you are among the elite: the employed

7. It gives you the perfect excuse NOT to trade cars with your spouse, making them drive the oh so uncool station wagon – while you get the Jetta.

6. The parking sticker helps you know which other employees have arrived for work that day.

5. Your parking sticker lets your boss know in a subtle way that you’ve arrived for work early, late or that you’re simply a team player with 100% attendance record.

4. Getting a new parking sticker every month reminds you that you are not going to get laid off – otherwise HR wouldn’t bother giving you your parking sticker.

3. A parking sticker can be a great way to network with people in your community. They’ll know where you work – so you can ask them where you work.

2. Your commute may be stressful, the morning getting ready for work may be a drag – but you know exactly where you go when you arrive.

and the #1 reason to be glad for your parking stickers?

1. Your company cares enough to give you your own parking space at work!

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Some people say they “can’t be bothered” with getting organized. That getting organized takes time. Well staying messy actually takes even more time — and causes this person or family to feel much more stress! There are many ways you can learn to de-stress with easy organizing tips.

Try some of our favorites to help your family de-stress.

Always have a pair and a spare. Keys that is. No one should only have one set of keys. Keys get lost, purses and bags get lost. Things happen, even to the most with-it, well-organized person.
Having extra sets of keys means you can easily access your home or other belongings when you need to. If you have a long-term house guest you’ll also have keys you can give them. Just imagine the headache you’ll go through if you don’t have an extra key and the locks need to be changed!

Keep emergency contact information available and easy to read. Update emergency contact information either every six months or at least every school year. Each adult involved with a child’s life should have a copy of the emergency contact information and a copy should be laminated and placed on the refrigerator for fast reference. This way if you have a family friend or neighbor babysitting and your son brakes his arm, they will know exactly who your son’s doctor is and how to reach you and your husband at work immediately!

Have extra pet i.d. tags in your home. In most families, the family pet is a member of the family. When your cat or dog doesn’t have their tags — they run the risk of not being identified if they go missing or become lost. Getting new tags can take several weeks — weeks where your dog can run out the front door or off of his leash or your cat can get spooked by a bad storm running through town. Extra i.d. tags are very inexpensive and easy to get. You can also put custom stickers on all of your pet’s toys, in case they lose those.

For every purchase something needs to go out. When you buy your children toys or clothing – it is the perfect time to go through their clothing or toys to see what you can donate to charity or pass along to younger family members. Even selling their unwanted items at online auction can help bring in additional funds for more family fun! Simply accumulating more “stuff” should never be a family goal.

Always have a place to put: keys, cell phone and mail. More families spend time looking for their keys, cell phone and mail than just about any other belongings. Each of these belongings needs a specific “home” within your home that is all its very own. This way it will not go missing.

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Our gift shop opened this September and while owning our own business has been exciting, I’ll admit that there have been some learning lessons along the way. This very first holiday season certainly brought a very hard learning lesson when it comes to tracking labels. We didn’t use them at our gift shop – and quite a few gifts were not delivered or returned to us. This has been a very frustrating time at Cyndi’s Adorables Gifts!

Tracking labels tell you where a package is at all times. I never really thought about this – and I certainly wasn’t thinking about this as I mailed out holiday packages. Quite frankly, I just wanted to get them in the mail. My gift shop hasn’t done a lot of mailing – and I was excited to see our business pick up. I was expecting to see a lot of gift business because we are a gift shop – but I was not expecting all of the challenges and heartbreak that came our way because of these tracking labels – and our packages not having them.

Tracking labels are easy to attach and scan into a computer system. Using tracking labels in many ways reminds me of going to the supermarket. You know how every item “beeps” as it goes over the conveyer belt as its UPC code is read? That’s just like a tracking label! When your tracking label is read along the way as the package is shipped and delivered – you’ll be able to see where and exactly when your package was there. It’s that easy.

Not having tracking labels is not just careless – it’s very expensive. I did not realize just how much I was going to wish I had tracking labels on my packages. You would think that people mailing gifts to family and friends for the holidays would know the address they are sending things to – but sometimes they don’t have the correct address. This means your package can be undeliverable and wind up sitting somewhere in package limbo. If you have a tracking label – then you know exactly where it is. If you don’t – then you just have to wait for the package to be returned to you. It’s January now and I’m getting all kinds of returns from holiday packages people sent out. That’s not counting all of the angry calls I received from customers who wanted a gift sent to a family member or friend that didn’t make it there on time.

If you have a business – learn from my mistake and don’t make one of your own. Get tracking labels now before you get shipping orders. Your customers will be pleased even if they don’t realize the difference. Best of all, you’ll realize the difference. The cost alone makes it well worth the price. Tracking labels are so small many people don’t think about them. But they hold very important information that can really save the day. Order your tracking labels today – and make your customers happy. Or they may find another business that does!

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Beer enthusiasts usually end up collecting labels from their brews at some point in their drinking career and some collections have been generating interest from a commercial aspect as well; these collections do acquire a value over time and some collections are also extremely large!

While stripping off a beer label from a cold one is a traditional bar pastime, getting the collection arranged and displayed to best effect is not as simple as you may think. Some beer aficionados believe your beer label collection should be a personal history tour and take the reader on a personal pilgrimage through the owners introduction and education in the delights of this ancient brew (beer was originally invented by the ancient Egyptians). Others, with a more librarian bent of mind, believe any collection should be organized so it is easily searchable and arranged in a logical form which flows easily from one section to the next.

Believe it or not, there is quite a debate raging amongst collectors over which is the best method! Yes, believe it or not, George isn’t at home! This debate is alive and well and celebrating a night on the town.

Whether you go for the two-dimensional, Dewey decimal version of the personalized, scrap book style presentation, there is no getting away from the attraction collecting beer labels has for many people. Microbreweries have been cashing in on the growing trend as well by bringing out increasingly changed labels to celebrate their brews. The larger breweries have a brand image and stick to it pretty rigidly but smaller ones such as Saranac in upstate New York, change their labels almost monthly specifically for collectors.

Whether you like beer or not, collecting beer labels is fun and interesting but despite being essentially the same product – alcoholic, liquid refreshment – the labels used on bottles is extremely varied, often funny, frequently artistic and like the real thing, once you pick up a collection you are going to find it hard to put down again. Especially if you end up adding the infamous “Santa’s butt” label to your collection.

After you’ve begun collecting beer labels, you can expand into collecting and even printing wine labels.

Photo by adactio.

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Many men will say in a joking way that they are “scared” to look in their wives or girlfriend’s purse. There is something about a purse that seems to intimidate or put them off. But what women truly know is that keeping your purse organized is a lot harder than it seems.

Sometimes your purse just seems like a cavernous black hole where things disappear, never to surface again. Your lipstick, keys, cell phone and other valued items all go missing. How do you truly keep your purse organized and the items in it labeled properly?

Begin by taking everything out of your purse and cleaning your purse thoroughly. A lot of women discover through this exercise that they are a) either carrying way too many things or b) truly need a larger purse for needed items. This little exercise is the best way to discover.

Once you’ve got everything in front of you, it’s time to sort. Make three piles: must-keep, recycle/refuse and reconsider. The first two are probably quite easy. You are going to want your car keys and cell phone with you at all times. But do you need to carry your allergy medicine – when it is not allergy season? Or what about the sixteen lip glosses? Make the tough choices and lighten your load.

Refill your purse now will ONLY your must-have items. It will be such a treat to see that your purse is surprisingly light. But are you truly being honest with yourself? There may be other items that you need to carry – that you aren’t including. This exercise only works when you are including everything you really need or don’t need. Sometimes you discover you need a larger purse, which is a better discovery than to have to reorganize your purse again.

Understand that organizing your purse is an ongoing process. The savvy woman does light organizing of her purse every couple of days. She’ll add and subtract items as she needs them. She may also occasionally add personal id labels to certain items in her purse.

Many of us get busy and okay, a little forgetful of exactly what we’ve put in there. But getting rid of seasonal items or things you only use on weekends can truly do you a favor.

As you organize your purse, make sure to ICE your telephone and include the same info in your purse. ICE is In Case of Emergency contacts you add to your telephone. If anything happens this means someone can easily contact someone on your behalf. Add the same information to your purse on an index card (remember cell phones sometimes don’t have power).

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Many people have noticed that they simply have different organization personalities than other people. Why, you probably organize things differently from your sister, mother or best friend!
One reason for this could be your astrological sign.

Our astrological signs are determined by the placement of the sun at the time of our birth. In Western astrology there are 12 different signs. Try our AstroOrganizing to see exactly which sign you happen to be!

Aries (March 21st – April 22nd) The Ram is bold and brash. This organizer doesn’t stop with just putting a few labels in the kitchen or adding address labels to the luggage. The Aries organizer’s home is well organized – with great passion! You can always tell an Aries by their organizing because they are quick and a bit impulsive to come up with a system.

Taurus (April 23rd – May 22nd) The Bull is patient and gentle. This organizer is very easy going and likes to keep a beautiful home. While the Taurus’ home is well organized, most people will at first notice the beautiful objects and decor of their home. But their laundry room and basement – are simply divine and so organized!

Gemini (May 23rd – June 22nd) The Twins is the true social butterfly of the Zodiac. This organizer excells not simply at organizing – but at organizing personal information. The Gemini has a PDA or Rolodex that is so well organized they can find information quickly on any person they wish to reach. That’s good because the average Gemini has about 10,000 contacts!

Cancer (June 23rd – July 22nd) The Crab is a home lover and very nurturing. When we think of their organizational style, they are always thinking of how it will impact their family. So often they come of up systems that make things easy for their family and help improve life for their family.

Leo (July 23rd – August 22nd) The Lion is quite proud and regal, just as they should be! But the Leo does have a bit of a tendency to show off their ability to organize. Their favorite thing are gadgets and new technology that help you organize. The Roomba, the robot that vacuums your home is one of their favorite toys.

Virgo (August 23rd – September 22nd) The Virgin is probably best known for being the cleanest and most well-organized of the signs of the Zodiac! True to point, there are some that say that Virgos can be a little picky – but that’s only because they love us so much. Virgos are best known for coming up with innovative new organizing systems.

Libra (September 23rd – October 22nd) Libras are known for creating art and beauty wherever they go. whatever organization systems they come up with, will always be beautiful. Their file folders will be pretty and have their monogram on them. Libras are highly sensitive to their environments and everything must be “just right.”

Scorpio (October 23rd – November 22nd) The Scorpio has lots of passion and intensity when it comes to everything and this carries over into their organizing. This means that the Scorpio takes organizing to a great extreme — or they may not organize at all! The Scorpio will likely have their socks alphabetized and all of the extension cords labeled. Well that’s the way it should be.

Sagittarius (November 23rd – December 22nd) The Archer has a playful and fun attitude. Yes, they are well organized but they love to be active and full of life. You’ll see that their sports gear and travel things are kept well organized — and they are also well used!

Capricorn (December 23rd – January 22nd) The Goat is known for being an old soul and being the most mature in the Zodiac. This means when it comes to organizing, they likely started organizing at a very early age! Capricorns are very serious when it comes to being organized. They can be quite the perfectionist.

Aquarius (January 23rd – February 22nd) The Water Bearer is inventive and original. Aquarians do organize, but they typically do so in very different ways. Their systems are quite unusual and only they understand them. You’ll just have to take our words for it that Aquarians are organized!

Pisces (February 23rd – March 22nd) The Fish is sensitive and dreamy and sometimes has trouble staying organized. That’s because Pisces folks are known for being creative and love to start many projects. But they do well with simple systems that don’t overwhelm them. However you choose to organize, custom printed labels can only help.

I’m about to admit a real confession here: I have a serious addiction. Are you ready to hear about it?

I’m addicted to To Do lists!

To Do lists work. When you create a To Do list, somehow you just DO IT. There is no greater bliss than going about your day checking things off your To Do list. It gets to the point where checking things off your To Do list is just plain fun.

So how can you put all of this To Do magic to work in your life? Start by creating a To Do list the day or evening before your next day — to plan for the day’s events. This is probably one of the most classic To Do lists. Once you start creating this To Do list, you just won’t want to stop.

Write down everything you have to do on your To Do list, don’t edit yourself as you are writing. Once you’ve got everything down on paper – then go back through your list and start to prune.
Does everything truly need to be accomplished tomorrow? Is tomorrow the ideal day to listen to War and Peace on tape? Is that the best day to start your diet or look into the raw food movement? Only you will know the answers to these questions.

Begin to place items in order of importance, the order you want to get them done. So #1 will be done first and #2 will be done second. Continue through your list until you have gotten through your entire day.

The best To Do list adds in breaks for lunch and other practical breaks that you may take during the day for meetings, errands or other necessities. The best To DO lists are made with personalized labels to keep things organized.

Sometimes creating your To Do lists can teach you a great deal about your time management skills. You may discover you are trying to cram way, way too much into your day. Or that you are trying to do too much right after work or in the mornings. Making these To Do lists can help you understand how to be the most effective.

Photo by Mr. Jayel Aheram.

It is hard to buy a computer that does not have a CD/DVD drive capable of burning new disks and the cost of buying the kit to do this has dropped tremendously over the last couple of years. It is common for CD’s and DVD’s to be burned or ripped so the copy can be used to protect the original which makes sense, especially if you are using the disk on the move such as in the car and the normal wear and tear results in scratches and loss of quality.

One issue is having a stack of clunky looking home made disks; you never know which is which because you cannot readily distinguish one from the other. CD and DVD self-labeling kits are a quick, cheap and easy solution to labeling your copies and bringing a sense of individuality and style to your copied collection.

You can create labels which simply provide name and basic disk information or with very little effort, create your own disk designs including using your own photographs and images to create a highly personalized set of disk designs.

Labeling kits start from a few dollars through to the early hundred mark depending on exactly what you are looking for but for everyday personal use you should be looking at spending no more than $20 which will give you an imaging and label design software as well as a large number of templates and image management options. The labels themselves stick on the disk and better quality kits will have the same dimension, circular prepared labels included as well. When you are selecting your kit, be on the lookout for the cost of refills as some manufacturers provide a really cheap deal for the software but are very expensive on the labels themselves.