I’m Breaking Up With My Brother P-Touch Labeler

Let’s talk about the Brother P-Touch Labeler. The obsession of many an organizer. The talk of the town. And the belle of the ball no more! For me, at least.

Having toted this monstrosity around to my sessions for the better part of the year now, I’ve decided to retire this dinosaur for good. 

Initially, I thought I had to own a labeler the wear doctors wear stethoscopes. If you’re an organizer, you just print an label everything right? Wrong! So very wrong for me, at least. Why? In my mind, slapping printed labels on all of your stuff is just such an eyesore. Your organizing systems should blend seamlessly into your space. Besides, labels are not a surefire way to maintain an organized space. Some people are more visual learners, and the sight of a clear bin filled with paperclips is more compelling than an opaque bin labeled “paperclips.” 

If your pantry has a shelf clearly devoted to cereal, is there any reason why you should label that shelf cereal? If you can just designate zones in your space, whether it’s your fridge, pantry, or bathroom vanity, I don’t see the point in getting label-happy with your space. The one exception to the rule, I guess, is your office space. If your office is stocked with wires, electronics, and office supplies galore, it wouldn’t hurt to throw down a label or two in this department. 

If you absolutely must label some items in your kitchen, why not reach for a washable glass marker instead? You can scribble “almonds” on your mason jar, and when you’ve eaten all your almonds, you can wipe the marker off. Perhaps I’m just overly sensitive to visual clutter and stimuli, and labels are just one extra item for me to visually contend with. Regardless, I think labels are a real downer, and they interfere with the flow of the space. 

I think on some level, when you’re over-labeling everything, you’re essentially telling your home that you don’t trust it entirely to work for you. And similarly, you don’t trust yourself to navigate a space you’ve been living in for a long time now.

If you live and breathe labels to stay organized, then feel free to discard my opinion like the excess tape on a label. But ever since I retired my labeler and no longer lug the monstrosity around to sessions, I feel lighter and more sure of my philosophy as a home organizer.