Tool Drawer Labels

[BadMouth]

I'd like to make labels for my tool drawers. 
My uncle used the old plastic tape kind that punches the letters.
I kinda like that look, but figured I'd check out other options.

Was thinking about magnetic inkjet paper, but the surface would get dirty if not coated with something.

What are you guys using?

[Nephasth]

You're supposed to know what drawers your tools are in...

[ChadTower]

Doesn't matter when other people are always taking them and never putting anything away.

[Howard_Casto]

Chad, you need to lay down the law....  I don't let ANYBODY borrow my tools unless it's an emergency and I usually come with the tools to make sure they get back.

I use masking tape and a magic marker.  I'm constantly getting new tools and often my drawers need rearranging so it's pointless for me to use a more permentant solution.   

[ChadTower]

Hrm... let my sons learn to use the tools and work on projects of their own... or hoard my tools and beat the boys if they touch my stuff.

I went to google for a funny pic... and I swear to GOD... this is not my pic... 

[Nephasth]

Chad, you need to lay down the law....  I don't let ANYBODY borrow my tools unless it's an emergency and I usually come with the tools to make sure they get back.

Ditto. I would rather help someone with the work they need done, than let them borrow a tool.



And use the lock!

[t3design]

I'm with Chad. I've got 5 boys. They know the rules about using my tools. But....they are kids and they make mistakes and get distracted. Labels would help the tools find their way home. I like the tape and sharpie idea. Cheap, quick, and easy to implement and change.

[BadMouth]

I do already know where everything is at (it's just a small chest set).
I have a couple drawers that are getting overly full, so I picked up another middle section.
Thought I'd add labels as part of the reorganization....whenever I get around to it.

[Howard_Casto]

I'm with Chad. I've got 5 boys. They know the rules about using my tools. But....they are kids and they make mistakes and get distracted. Labels would help the tools find their way home.

Of course... that's why you buy them their own tools.  You get the cheapest stuff you can find as well because they'll most likely lose or trash half of it.  When they prove themselves THEN you can let em into the big-boy box. 

I guess it depends on what we are talking about though.  I'm actually fairly generous about helping people and letting them borrow stuff that they need with the exception of my tools.  It's not about the money or if they are lost or damaged either, it's because I frikkin need them.  My wrenches and rachets keep the cars going, My pipe fittings and plumbers wrenches take care of the leaks and my wood working tools allow me to do fun projects that silence the voices in my head and keep me from murdering those around me. 

So it isn't a matter of "oh he broke that, it'll cost me" it's the whole deal about it being 5 in the afternoon one winter, a pipe breaks and some jackass lost my plumbers wrench.  The good hardware store is about to close and I'm 45 min out, so I have to wait, without water, until the next day because somebody needed it to do something unimportant.

Aherm.... getting back on topic, the masking tape has worked for me for years so I stand by it.  If you are worried about how it looks, the thinner rolls of tape are just about the width of the stainless steel lip on your typical craftsman toolbox so if you write neatly it'll look nice.  I also reccomend Kool-aid plastic containers for your misc bits... they work just like the old mason jar trick except they are cheaper and aren't glass, so you don't have to worry about breaking them.  You can write on them with your markers as well. 

[ChadTower]

I do have 2-3 of the simpler tools like hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers.  Kids generally don't touch the tools they don't understand so the plumber's wrench is safe. 


What I do have to battle over is flashlights.  The kids take them, lose them, drop them, kill the batteries, etc.  Then when I need a flashlight I have to hunt them all down to find the batteries dead and half of them are broken.  I had to get myself some good strong LED headlamps and hide them.  I put one in my bedroom, one in my truck, one in the Asteroids Deluxe coin box, and one in the shed.   

[SavannahLion]

My middle child figured out how to change the batteries in the flashlights, my youngest knows where the battery cabinet is and that all batteries belong in said cabinet. My youngest is also a strong believer in fengshui and that nothing in the house is harmonized. So.... can you imagine what happens when the batteries in my mag dies and I need five matching D cells?

I stlll don't know where 2/3 of my silverware has gone off to.

[SavannahLion]

You want to talk about tool mooches? I learned they're grave robbers. After my father passed away, people we haven't spoken to in years showed up on our doorstep asking to have some of (now) my tools. My father was notorous for etching his name into everything possible and all of these ---uvulas--- wanted something to remember him by. I told them that if they wanted to remember him, their ass should've been there when our family was asking for help with his illness. I was furious, chased most of them off with a steel sledge/wedge/hammer thing my dad welded together only because I couldn't find the chainsaw.

One of them even had the gall to call the police. Didn't know it until later but my dad helped the sheriff's wife out of the snow when the family first moved and again when his daughter got hurt. Dad asked for nothing and refused payment. Sheriff paid us back.

As it was a few tools did go missing until I got wise and started leaving my dogs outdoors at night.

[ChadTower]

Furniture, too.  I've been through a couple of home cleanouts that was just awful that way.  An old lady, who barely anyone helped take care of, passes on and distant relatives come from all over the place to try and haul away her stuff.  I almost got into a throwdown once over a hutch that a cousin showed up to claim.  The problem wasn't even that I wouldn't let her take it - the problem was that the owner wasn't dead.  They heard the owner had died and ran right over to take things but didn't care enough to actually verify. 

The funny thing?  That time a bunch of cousins started fighting over couches and tables but not one person asked about her diamond ring. 

[Vigo]

To answer OP, everything in my house is labeled with one of these:



There are a bunch of label types you can get, but any of the the plastic labeling is perfect for tool drawers, parts bins, boxes, as it doesn't attract dust. If your tool cabinet is a lighter color, the clear plastic is the best. Those Dymo labelers make a worthwhile $20 range tool.