Ever been in a shop where you’re completely lost unless you’ve memorized the unique location of every item? (If this is your shop, you don’t have to answer.) I admit to being a “cluttery” person, but the wisdom of more organized friends and, most importantly, a decent label maker, have saved the day more than once.
Electronic label makers like the Dymo LetraTag Plus LT-100T, shown above, are a good bet for organizing all those drawers, shelves, and buckets (think Mythbusters’ ever-present labeled boxes o’ stuff in the background). For around $30, the LT-100T is a solid, mid-range label printer that offers two-line printing, five fonts sizes, seven text styles, date stamps, a a graphical display to let you see it before you print it (some rolls of label tape can run as much as the printers themselves).
The Dymo also works with labels made of paper, plastic, iron-on, metallic, and (here’s the good part) magnetic labels. It comes with a 1/2″ roll of white and a 1/2″ roll of clear labels, so anything else you’ll have to order separately. The magnetic kind are great for metal tool cabinets, file and storage cabinets, and white boards, though we just stick the white labels on the drawers of the good ole’ red Craftsman tool chest. Face it: When your home alarm system is wigging out, your dog’s going crazy with the noise, and you need that one specific hand tool — you don’t want to be wandering around the shop opening drawers and thinking, “one down, thirty-nine to go!”
I’d be interested to see how other Toolmongers organize their tools — let us know in comments, or if you’ve got a photo of your own great solution, post it in the Flickr pool!
Thanks to mtneer_man at Flickr.com for the great cc-licensed photo!
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Dymo LetraTag Plus LT-T100 [Manufacturer's Site]