HappyGrace Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Should I bother buying labels or just use a Sharpie laundry marker? Do labels have to be ironed in? Sounds like too much work! I want it to be as easy as possible and also cheap but not ruin things like sleeping bags or shoes (I don't care about the clothes.) And if it's easier to label, and you get good cheap labels somewhere, I'd love to know where, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Not sure of your budget but we love Mabel's Labels :) they also have allergy labels if you need those too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Fine tip sharpie on the bags of tags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Oh and Mables are washable stickers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OK Family Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Good question... I always buy this iron on fabric and make my own by writing on it with a special marker. However, the labels never stay. I'll check out Mabel labels too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I'm looking too. It's that time of year! Good question... I always buy this iron on fabric and make my own by writing on it with a special marker. However, the labels never stay. I'll check out Mabel labels too. That's what I did last time ds went to camp. I bought some stuff at Joann's and cut it into small piece. BUT I had to handwrite the information, and they were falling off by the time he got home. This time he's going for much longer, and the camp says every item must be labeled, so I'm looking for something better too. I don't care if they fall off after camp. But they need to survive at least three weeks! Do the Mabel's labels stay on well? I like that they have a non-iron kind. That sounds easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Dd1 has one on her backpack that has survived 4 months of kindergarten abuse and has been washed twice. She also has the shoe ones that have survived just as long. I also use one on her water bottle that she takes to school ( washed every other day and only replaced label once, and that's because she tried to peel it off) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saraswati Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 My mum had a stamp made for my oldest to use on her summer camp clothes. It was fantastic - I set out all of her clothes, stamped it and in the bag it went. Obviously it doesn't work on really dark clothing - so you'd need to iron in a white tag to stamp. I just avoided sending anything dark. Labeling 3 weeks of clothes right down to every last sock took me less than 5 minutes. It was something like this: http://www.everythingsummercamp.com/clothing-stamp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Personally, I got a black sharpie and wrote dd's initials on the care labels. Everything made it home again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Sharpie. Easiest, quickest and cheapest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhschool Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 black sharpie. not everything came back. but that's not the sharpie's fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plateau Mama Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I use sharpie on the tags. Black and silver for the darks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I use sharpie on the tags. Black and silver for the darks. That's what we do. The sharpie stays forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I use Sharpies on tags too—including sleeping bags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 How do you guys write a name on a clothing tag? There's barely any white space to write on. When my ds went to Boy Scout camp, everything had to be labelled with his name AND troop number. This year the camp doesn't specify what has to go on the label, so we could probably get away with an abbreviated name. But, alas, very few of his clothes have tags. I never noticed that before. I wonder if he specifically picks ones with no tags. He has a lot of those t-shirts made of thin, slippery material. I am crossing my fingers that the iron-on tags will stick to the fabric and not melt it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Library Momma Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I use sharpies too and I've never had a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted June 11, 2014 Author Share Posted June 11, 2014 Thanks, everyone-the labels sound great but out of my budget-will try the Sharpie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Did the camp give you instructions? Ours were really specific. Hopefully yours are more flexible. Just don't do what my grandparents did to my poor dad. They wrote his name in huge letters using day glow orange industrial markers (on everything). He was mortified. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Personally, I got a black sharpie and wrote dd's initials on the care labels. Everything made it home again. Same here. DD has a long first name so I go with First Initial. Last Name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I have some 10.00 off cards for Mabel's Labels if anyone wants to order, I forgot I had them :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlgirl Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I did not label. I figured I wouldn't send anything (other than my children) that I wouldn't be OK never seeing again. We have had interesting conversation. Me: Whose shirt is this? Them: I don't know the counselors??? Me: Why did we only bring one shoe home? You do realize it isn't even yours? Them: Don't worry mom I have her address. I spend five dollars to send the shoe. I never hear back. One month later we get an unexpected package with the shoe in it! :) It wasn't theirs either. So together we spent ten dollars shipping the stupid shoe around the country. More than it was worth most likely it was from Walmart. :) I think the best story was. Hi mom I lost my towel. I say no problem. They, ever eager to help, inform me that they have been using someone else's. No they don't know who it belongs to. Should they bring that home????? Sorry I guess that wasn't related to labels was it? Ducking out now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnificent_baby Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Thanks, everyone-the labels sound great but out of my budget-will try the Sharpie! I'm sure the Sharpie will work fine! If you change your mind in the future though, I love Mabel's labels. I put them on everything that goes to school and sports (that I want back). They have lasted through numerous washings (dishwasher and wash machine). Wasn't sure it was worth it, but have had many forgotten items returned to us, (hopefully!) due to the labels. I ordered our pack of labels several years ago, and still have about half left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plink Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I have some 10.00 off cards for Mabel's Labels if anyone wants to order, I forgot I had them :) I'd love one! Thanks for the generous offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Just pm me your address, I have a total of 5 cards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I used a sharpie marker and just wrote on the inside of the shirt if it had no tag. We had no specific rules so I just used our last name on everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okra Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I don't label everything...... I definitely label the most likely to be lost items. (water bottle, flashlight, sunscreen, shampoo, toothpaste). I do not label clothes. Basically, if I don't label something and it gets lost, then it has to be okay with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 On clothes where there is no place that a sharpie would show, I write on a piece of seam binding tape and sew it in. I usually send ds ( who loses stuff) with color coded things -- all his shorts are one color, all his shirts are another color. Otherwise sharpie. Non-clothing items are coded with a bright patterned duct tape, then a piece of yellow plastic tape with name, topped by clear packing tape. I keep all the camp stuff together, so this does not have to be done each year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammi K Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I use either a black or silver sharpie and label clothing along the inside collar or tag. Generally, for gear, the name is written neatly in a reasonable but otherwise out of the way location- generally along a lower back edge or the like for camping items and along the inside neck or on the bottom inside hem. I like the use of just a last name so it works with whomever is using it. The one thing I don't label is anything my kids would be embarrassed to 'get back' in a public setting. One year I went to camp with a girl who last name was Hiney. You can imagine the giggles and teasing when a counselor held up a pair of panties and ask who they belonged to and then saw the label and realized they "belonged on the hiney of Miss Hiney." So, underwear does not get labeled. If they loose it, we just replace it. I remember when I met my husband in college he was using an old military issue canvas backpack. It was a hand-off from his cousin. Right across the front of the backpack was written in black marker FIRSTname LASTname - not a neatly embroidered or screened name tag, but a sloppy hand written name in marker. Since he and his cousin shared a LASTname but had different FIRSTnames, he scribbled his cousin's name out and wrote his underneath. Really, who was the bigger dork? The one who wrote it first or the one who crossed it out and wrote it second. Seriously, if you need to label your backpack, do it one the side facing your back so you don't look like a giant dufus walking around with your name displayed in marker for all the collegiate world to see. And yet, I married the guy. Go figure. But heed the warning and don't do that to you kids. Really, just don't. :huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 I only send stuff to camp that won't upset me if it disappears. I don't send the (irreplaceable) troop t-shirt, the cutest pair of shorts or the expensive running shoes. I send the stuff that already has a stain, is about to be outgrown or was obtained at some random event that we barely remember. This year T will be sporting GW's hand-me-down cargo shorts, random t-shirts from triathlons, musicals and volleyball teams of the past, and her second string sneakers as part of our fashion-forward GS Camp Collection. If it all disappears, it will save me the trouble of bagging it up for fiber recycling. IME, however, it will all make it home because no one else will want this stuff either with or without her initials sharpied on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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