Labeling is a fantastic technique that not only allows for easy identification, but also helps to encourage the maintenance of organization. If it’s marked with a big, fat label reading “CHOCOLATE,” it’s a lot less likely that you’ll feel okay about shoving say, a pebble or a tin of shoe polish inside.

Labels are most (and/or only) effective if you can see them. Don’t laugh; such juicy tidbits aren’t obvious to everyone. Especially as it concerns smaller objects–which necessarily belong to a larger collection of items, all of which look nearly identical–it’s crucial that you situate things so as to be able to see the labels at first glance, without having to move anything around.

Take as a for instance a bunch of lipsticks. If you have many shades by the same company, or even a large and varied collection of lip colors, it’s impossible to quickly identify any color from the other if they’re stored right side up, thereby hiding the handy labels found on the bottom of the lipstick tubes. Why does this matter? Well, yeah, it’s not the stuff of rocket science or hangers, but trust me and any other woman who has had to rush to apply her makeup: a. there is a right color for every occasion and mood and b. those seconds it takes to turn all the tubes upside down to find that chosen shade are precious instances, in the absence of which, the lady might otherwise be already out the door.

Another common example is the spice drawer. If you’re keen on making use of the labels found on the front of the jars then your storage method must provide you access to those labels–a shallow drawer with a spice organizer insert, or tiered shelves for a pantry. If you’re keeping spices standing up in a deep drawer or a glide out shelf then continuing to rely on the front labels is dumb. In that case, get busy and apply labels to the top of the jars.

You’ve gotta see the labels for the labels to work. Bam. There it is. Your One Tip Tuesday.

Cheerio.