This has probably happened to you at least once: you weren’t able to find an item you needed that you knew you had somewhere around the house or office. Maybe you chose to wait and keep looking, even if it meant not having the particular item for a while, or maybe you elected to bite the bullet and buy another one, despite the time you spent searching and the cost of getting a duplicate.
This happened to me a few months ago. I needed to replace part of a small appliance, and I knew I had the spare parts, but I couldn’t find it. I looked in all of the storage boxes that would make sense. One of the ways I stay organized is by keeping similar things together, so I was confident I could find the item. For some reason, though, I couldn’t find the part anywhere.
I was getting desperate, but was also so annoyed at not remembering where I had placed this particular item that I was reluctant to order another one from the manufacturer. I searched everywhere, more than once. I ended up borrowing the spare part from a friend, promising her a replacement once I’d found the one I knew I had. Lo and behold, I found the item: carefully stored with related items in a hall drawer I hadn’t even bothered to look in during my searching. That was a thwack-on-my-forehead moment!
I use those hallway drawers so seldom that I had forgotten what I placed there. They were organized as neatly as ever but because I use them for items that I don’t deal with on a regular basis, simply organizing them carefully had not been enough when I really needed to find something. That day I labeled every drawer. Labeling the drawers has already helped me save time when I needed another rarely-used item quickly.
I’ve always helped clients label their storage boxes and drawers when designing new storage system with them, but this time I also realized how beneficial it is to label my own that are already in use, especially those that are not used on a regular basis. That’s usually when we forget what’s in those drawers, boxes or shelves. The labels can just be simple words or images to help you remember. If it’s something you share with your partner, family members or roommates, make sure they know what the symbols or words mean as well, to save them time when you’re not available.
What was the best label message you used that was a major lifesaver for you, in term of time or money?