I hate manufactured labels on basically anything plastic or glass. I used to be really bad for a while, and I would take them off every.single.item. in the house. Sometimes even relabeling them once I got it off. Diaper wipe cases, peanut butter, bleach, cleaners, lotions etc.. I would scrub the words off of a large shampoo bottle with a scouring pad and then keep refilling that same bottle with the new shampoo to save time. CRAZY I know.
I slowly started to get control over it and narrowed it down to only taking the labels off things that were visible when the house was clean, like on the counters or table tops. That allowed me to shut the shower curtain and hide certain things like the shampoo and eventually I got over those types of items. It seems ridiculous to me now, but it used to just be a normal part of my life.
I was not like this as a kid. It started a little bit when I got my own apt where I was just trying to be perfect on my own and then it got progressively worse as I tried to maintain a clean home and appear as if everything was ok when my first marriage was falling apart. Oddly I would let the dishes sit for a week, but the labels were off of everything so it looked cleaner. *coo-coo, coo-coo*!
For some reason brightly colored brand labels catch my eye and make things look messy. Like the label on the dish soap. I hate it. It is one that I just really can't get over. It looks like clutter. Why did they have to make it so bold and in a color that clashes with my kitchen? To me, this just clutters up the room, and even if no one else notices, I feel that subconsciously it is bothering them, they just aren't as fine tuned as I am to notice that it's the label adding a wee bit of clutter/stress and if I eliminate those few things, everyone can be just a little more relaxed. I know it sounds crazy, and it's not healthy, but this is how it is in MY mind. Like feng shui. Labels disturb my feng shui lol
For dish soap, I have:
Taken the labels off of one container and refilled it each time I buy a new bottle. - the plastic bottle has a narrow opening and it's a pain in my rear.
Constantly put the bottle under the sink so it was out of view- This drove my husband batty. It is inconvenient.
And now it's in a glass olive oil bottle. It drizzles out extremely slow, but my husband can live with it and it makes me happier.
Now my compulsion never really hurts anyone, but it does have a dangerous side. If I remove the label from things like bleach, or other bottles with hazardous chemicals, I am asking for trouble. I used to remove the labels and then relabel them with a cleaner more eye-appealing (to me anyway) label. My Honey put his foot down and gently helped me stop removing labels from anything hazardous. He is a very kind spirited person and I am thankful for his gentle nudges. It has never come across as anything other than helpful. I felt the need to make that clear. lol
Anyway, recently for Christmas my husband got a label maker from his dad. I'm trying to keep it under control, but I could seriously label everything in the entire house with that thing. I LOVE it. I wish all products had a simple, clean line, no logo type label. It would be boring, but I would be happy and it's MY wish after all! So far I have not re-labeled anything that was already labeled. and that's kind of my signal. If I pull something off just to relabel it with a cleaner looking label then I've gone too far. (i.e. take off the jelly label just to stick JELLY back on it.
BUT I am having fun with it.
This puts a little grin on my face as I lay down at night, knowing my homemade laundry detergent looks this good.
Those are liquid oxyclean bottles btw, (used it in my carpet shampooer) and they are the perfect size @ about 2 quarts. The label came off really easy and my new labels went on like buttuh.. :) (note that my regular Oxy Clean is in a pretty glass jar, but I resisted labeling it!)
So much neater than Sharpie. My files have never looked so good.
See, just using it for things that need it right? I can finally keep the kids straight!
Nothing too crazy... :P
I love your label maker, I have always wanted one. I think its funny we all have things we do in cleaning that are so important to us but no one else notices.
ReplyDeleteI hate the hand soap labels when they are bold and bright. I often buy the Target soap just because I can get a color to match my room and its simple labeling. It bugs me to have a soap that does not coordinate with my room.