You’re (mostly) organized and you know the value of a label. Maybe you’ve been using stickers, masking tape, markers, index cards and other methods of labeling, but you’re ready to step up your game. What you need is a label maker! But what’s the best label maker for home organization? As a professional organizer, you know I have opinions! Keep reading to hear about my favorites.
Why Use Labels
Labels are a great way to identify the contents of a bin, folder, or box that isn’t easily seen otherwise. It can also help others know where to locate items if multiple people use the space. Finally, labels are a great reminder of where an item’s home is—and you may experience a twinge of guilt at not putting an item away properly in its labeled home, which helps maintain your organization.
Ways to Label
There are a ton of ways to label your organizational systems. Many of them are free and some of them are an investment. I’m a firm believer that investing in your space and your organizational system is a worthwhile expense, and one that will help keep your home tidy.
Some of my favorite ways to label are with a label maker, vinyl decals, and chalkboard tape and white marker. This post shares 9 of the best ways to label anything and everything—go check it out for more details!
Why Buy a Label Maker?
So, if you can make labels for free using items you have around the house, why would you spend money on a label maker?
As I said above, investing in your home organization is one way is a kind of insurance that your home will stay organized—or at least a reminder of how it should be organized when it’s tidy.
Label maker labels are fairly inexpensive, usually waterproof, and provide a consistent look for your space. They’re easy to read, stick to a variety of surfaces, and usually remove cleanly (unless they’ve been stuck on for years).
Label maker labels look especially great on file folders in a filing cabinet.
The Best Label Makers for Home Organization
I have to admit, I had a few label makers before I ever became an organizer. My first was a dark green Brother PT 65 that I purchased in 2005 when I became a teacher. I can guarantee you I labeled every single item in my 2nd grade classroom. Then I brought it home and did the same.
Side note: I left mine at a client’s a few years ago and never got it back. Just looked it up on eBay and there are a ton for sale that still work and are selling for $20-$25—for a 17-year-old label maker!
Fast-forward to 2019, fourteen years later when I was starting my professional organizing business. Guess what I was still using? Yup. My trusty old Brother. While I have since upgraded to another Brother label maker—a much more expensive one with bells and whistles fitting for a professional organizer — my original label maker is still going strong. I’m a Brother fan (and no, this post isn’t sponsored).
Basic Label Maker for Home Organization—The P-Touch PT70BM
If you’re looking for a basic label maker for home organization, I’m confident almost any label maker from the Brother brand would meet your needs.
My tried-and-true label maker is still being produced, and it’s reasonably priced around $25, which includes one cartridge of label tape.
The Brother P-Touch PT70BM doesn’t have a ton of features, but it has a large QWERTY keypad that’s easy to type on, one font with different display options to choose from, and takes different color label tape.
Newer models are grey instead of turquoise and yellow like my old one. It can cut both 9-millimeter tape and 12-millimeter tape, but nothing larger than that. It’s powered with 4 AAA batteries, which last a while (at least mine did).
This label maker does not need to be plugged in or connected to another device and the label is cut with a manual trigger—which I like because it’s one less automatic thing that could break!
If you’re looking for a basic label maker to help you get organized and stay organized, the Brother P-Touch PT70BM will get the job done.
If you’re looking for a few more options and can pay a bit more, continue reading.
Mid-Range Label Maker for Home Organization
If you’re looking for an upgraded label maker to help you get organized, the Brother P-Touch PTD400AD may be a good option for you. While it looks similar to the label maker above, it has some additional features that make it an appealing option.
The PTD400AD has the same convenient QWERTY keyboard but can print small and larger labels — up to .75″ — which is SO functional.
Another great aspect of this label maker is that it has 14 different fonts to choose from, as well as symbols and frames.
It uses 6 AA batteries or an AC adapter — which is included (less expensive models do not include the adapter).
The upgraded features of PTD400AD will take your labeling style a bit further — but if it’s still not quite enough, keep reading!
Not-so-Basic Label Maker for Home Organization
Finally, we get to the fanciest label maker around.
When I became a professional organizer, I wanted to upgrade my label maker to a device that could print larger labels, which would be easier for my (disorganized) client to read. I wanted them to stand out and have some stylish font options.
The Brother P-Touch Cube Plus is the label maker I decided on. The Cube Plus (not to be confused with the Cube) connects wirelessly to a phone, where you use an app to design and print the label. It has a ton of font options built in—plus can be connected to a computer where it can print in any font you have there.
The app has templates with fun designs that provide a classy, finished look for everything from spice jars to kids’ folders.
As with the other label makers, the Cube Plus has tape that comes in a variety of color options—everything from clear to gold to black.
And finally—this was important to me—the Brother P-Touch Cube Plus prints labels that are up to 1” tall, which stand out boldly and firmly in a freshly organized closet.
I charge the Cube Plus via a USB port and the battery lasts a long time before charging—I’ve never even had the low battery warning come up and I’ve used the label maker for hours.
The only downside that I’ve found so far after using my Cube Plus for over two years is the waste of label tape. Every time I cut any label, the machine feeds out and cuts an extra 1/2” label—just because. I can’t figure out how to turn this setting off and it really is a waste of tape.
If you’re looking for a top of the line label maker with a ton of options, the Brother P-Touch Cube Plus will fit the bill!
Label Maker Replacement Tape
Speaking of label maker tape—it’s EXPENSIVE. Amazon has a ton of knock off labels—but that’s always a risk, especially because I don’t want to install faulty labels in my clients’ homes.
I tried out Label Kingdom’s replacement label tape and have been very happy. They have a variety of tape sizes and colors and sell for $5-6 per cartridge instead of $17 for the name brand ones.
Top Pick Label Makers for Home Organization
Do you need a label maker for home organization? No. You can be organized and create your own labels without them. But label makers can take your organization up a bit and provide a consistent, cohesive look, which reduces visual clutter and can help hold people accountable for putting things back where they belong.
So, which one are you going to get?
