Photo by Transguyjay
Families know that it is summer camp time. Children look forward to this time and even parents look forward to it as a time when their children will develop new skills and make some new friends and just have some fun.

Whether your child goes away to camp or to a local camp, the “camp experience” involves great organization on the part of the camper and the family. It is so important that you get organized for your child ahead of time. Try our camp organization tips so your child will have a great summer.

1. When you register your child for camp – ask for the materials list. Many camps will mail it out as camp date gets closer, but most will provide it at your request earlier – which means you can get your shopping done earlier.
2. Labels in clothing are very important, especially for children attending a sleep-away camp. Add labels early – and remember if your child has a popular name and surname like Susan Smith to add their middle name too to avoid confusion.
3. Sending treats to sleep-away camp and day camp is a popular occurrence. Label snacks so campers know whose snacks are whose. Remember that many children today have peanut allergies – so don’t select snacks with peanuts in them.
4. Your child for sleep-away camp will have a large trunk to put all of their items in. Remember to put labels the actual trunk, both inside and outside so everyone knows whose trunk it is.
5. Many children are tempted to bring valuable items like a charm bracelet, favorite teddy bear or electronic devices to camp. This is often unwise as these items can become lost or sometimes “borrowed” by overeager campers. Sometimes these items are also hard to label – like a teddy bear or a piece of jewelry.
6. Give your child pre stamped stationary or postcards to write friends and family home while at sleep-away camp. Most sleep-away campers do have access to email. But many campers look forward to daily “mail call” and the best way to get mail is to send some of your own.

MaverickLabel.com They specialize in custom label printing and have cheap stickers and custom window decals for summer needs.

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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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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It won’t be long before March 21st is here. This means it is the perfect time to get a jump on your Spring cleaning duties. Labels help organize Spring cleaning easily and effortlessly. Try these 10 Uses for Labels for Spring cleaning, you’ll likely discover you’ve got plenty of time left over to loaf and relax and think about what you’d like to plant in your garden!

1. Winter clothes. Label all of your winter clothing boxes so you can easily pull them from your attic or storage for next year. While children will likely grow out of many of their clothing, adults know they can wear the same sweaters and coats again and again. Labeling means you save time and effort crawling around in your attic figuring out exactly which box does have your winter coat!

2. Donations for charity. Your Spring cleaning time is the ideal time to donate winter clothing and used toys to charity. Why not label your boxes and bags of donations so they are easier for the charity to sort through? You’ll save them some time and also make your own charity donation list easier to make.

3. The garage. ‘Nough said. The garage gets a real workout in the Spring thaw. Label the spaces where your tools go and even the spaces where the kids’ bikes are stored. Everything can be easily organized and there will be no more tripping over things in the garage. Using asset tags can also help.

4. Canning fruit. Just like Grandma or your favorite aunt, many families can fruit or even make their own jam in the spring. It is very important to label each of these jars so you know exactly what is in them! Your pretty label also helps you give this jar as a great gift to friends and family.

5. Kid’s room. Somehow it seems like your kid’s possessions seem to morph and mushroom all on their very own — without you doing or buying anything else! Spring cleaning is the perfect time to organize and label exactly where things go. This will help teach your kid where to put toys and clothing away. If you have a young kid it also encourages new reading and spelling skills.

6. Coat closet. “But we don’t wear coats in Spring!” you may protest. Well, you may be known to grab your rain slicker or a business dress coat before heading out to work. A well-organized coat closet means everyone finds their coats (and puts them back) so much easier.

7. The video cabinet. Every family has a video cabinet, filled with DVDs and video games everyone enjoys playing. Labeling everything can help you find this quickly. Creating sections such as “video games” or “comedies” can also mean DVDs and other vids are put back in a much more organized fashion.

8. The medicine cabinet. When you are Spring cleaning, this is the ideal time to get rid of old and expired medicine as it is unsafe to have in any home. This is also the perfect time to label what you do have, so your family can reach for what you do need. Labels placed in the medicine cabinet can remind family of basic care tips such as first aid or emergency numbers.

9. Spices and kitchenware. Every family has one of “those” kitchen cupboards that is like a junk drawer, with too many things in it and you can never find what you need. Spring cleaning is the ideal time to organize it. Use Spring cleaning as the perfect time to relabel all of your spices, as many of the labels fall off as you cook.

10. Under the kitchen sink. This is one of the best places to label while you are Spring cleaning, as most families keep their cleaning supplies here. You can label where your sponges and mop go and also where your different types of cleaning supplies go. Labels can also give family cleaning tips for different parts of the home.

All sorts of bar code labels can be customized for various ways in which you might use them.  From small sizes with just the bar codes to barcodes with images for your bottles or cans or various sized packages.

You can have labels for CDs you have for sale and for various products with your company name on them.  Such as:

For outdoor use waterproof labels can be customized in sizes required.

You may want to post hazard warning labels.

Or maybe you need promotion, business signs or custom bumper stickers.  These signs are now available in vinyl.  They are durable enough to endure outdoor conditions.  They are hardy and scuff and UV resistant.  Made as they are with flexible material, they work well even on curved surfaces.  The pressure sensitive adhesive used, make them durable with a minimum outdoor life of 3 to 5 years.  They can withstand a temperature range of -40º F to 176º F.  They are available in rugged white vinyl or transparent polyester with UV inks.  They can be used indoors or out on windows, signs, vehicles or your products.

Maverick Label can help with your barcode labels and all printing needs stated in this article.

New Years Day has come and gone. Are your resolutions intact? Did you resolve to straighten out that garage? Never fear! Here are some handy organizers for that unruly garage.

Unless you’re having Closets Unlimited to the entire job, you can get great use out of the deep shelves available these days for your garage. They are available in two depths. There are even corner shelves to make the most use of those corners. The heavy duty castors are available separately.

Another handy organizer, especially for those who have a lot of small items rather that large bulky stuff to store are  filebox systems. An entire garage with assorted paraphernalia can be stored and labeled and handily accessed as the need arises. Be sure to buy labels for your boxes. These systems are very easy to put together as well.

Bike Rack

For special stuff such as golf and other sports other organizers are also available. For bikes, of course there are various systems of storage to keep them readily available and off the floor.  Handy racks are available to store a couple of huge water bottles and for the uber-organized gift-wrap organizers.

Golf club Organizer

With all such storage readily available your garage should be spruced up in no time flat!

I was trying to structure my thoughts for a blog piece. Many ideas came to me. My objective was to expand on one idea at a time per blog. However there were so many connections. It was like a glimpse into the brain itself with synapses and neurons and all connected together in a jangle of nerves. How do I sort this out? How could I chart it out before the whole exercise becomes moot?

Aha! Serendipitously, someone had already gone through this very process and encapsulated a highly intuitive and innovative way of putting it all on paper. After all half the world’s ideas were germinated over a plain cup of joe shared with a friend or colleague and scribbled on the nearest paper napkin at hand. Why there is also a mind map created for de-cluttering!

This could be a terrific tool for any organizing one chooses to do. For authors and writers there is software specially for them but if ideas should occur in the field, as it were, why not chart them out and save for future use in a file labeled ideas?

That mad, morning scramble out the door sound familiar to you. It doesn’t have to be. Monday was chosen for a reason. You have extra hours on the weekend to make sure the next morning does not have to be frenetic.

Place a tote bag Sunday night with everything that needs to go out the door the next morning.

Stock up on dresses (of course, some tips are only targeted to the female of the species) so there are fewer separates to coordinate.

Have the next day’s fully accessorized outfit complete with jewelry in Ziploc bags hanging where it’s ready to reach Monday morning.

While you’re about it why not accessorize a week’s worth of outfits as well?

Organize your closet by color as well as category so everything is easy to locate.

Keep neutral shoes, hose and bags at hand to coordinate with simply everything.

Use a charging valet available to suit every pocket and taste. Organize the PDAs and/or cell phones of the entire household. Label each spot so the respective chargers can be identified. When you come home, or your phone needs charging, that’s where it’ll go and when you need it as you leave the house, that’s where you’ll find it……charged and waiting!.

Have a hook or a coat-rack where you can hang up the clothes that need to go to the laundry; so you can grab it as you head out the door. Now that’s thinking ahead!

No more squishing silky summer shirts between winter parka and wool slacks. Wools need to breathe. We need to make more room in your closet by stashing away your cottons and summer silks.

Not a good idea to store clothes in plastic garment bags or air-tight plastic boxes. Always discard the dry-cleaner bags as soon as you get home. Plastic keeps fabrics from breathing and can discolor and rot them. Whatever moisture remains in the fiber can help mold and mildew grow. Any gases emitted from the plastic can be absorbed by the fabric serving only to accelerate the aging process.

Empty the pockets of everything you’re putting away till spring. Launder or dry-clean everything before putting them away. This ensures that stains from sweat, perfume or spilled wine do not get set in the clothes. “Stains become a food source for carpet beetles and moths,” says Jonathan Scheer, president of J. Scheer & Co., a New York textile preservationist. “These bugs will eat through the fabric to get to the food.” That’s another reason putting away starched clothes is not a good idea. Starch will feed bugs and also weaken the fabric making it more brittle and can lead to permanent stains in humid environments.

Label storage boxes and trunks with their contents. It makes it easier all around come Spring.

Line your storage closet, trunk or drawer with cedar panels. Alternatively toss in a few cedar blocks. By sanding boards and block ever year or two you can effectively rejuvenate the cedar fragrance. The scent repels moths and discourages them from laying eggs.

Store fabric in a cool, dark and dry place. Garages, attics and unfinished basements is a poor place to store clothes.

Underutilized closets or chest of drawers in a spare room for instance is the ideal place to store your off-season clothes. You may consider offering to pay your cleaner $20 or $30 to store a season’s load of clothes for you just like expensive leathers and furs.