I’ve long been on the hunt for a perfect label.
Everyone knows that duct tape leaves a mark, and blue painter’s tape can also be very hard to remove if left for too long. I tried using Post-it notes, but they don’t stick well to a lot of surfaces, and using them in a kitchen or bathroom is hopeless — moisture and Post-it notes are not friends. I heard an ominous tale about a home organizer who used pink stickers to label where items should be unpacked in the kitchen. When they removed the labels, there wasn’t adhesive but worse: The neon pink left a subtle stain on the custom millwork. I had no idea that labels had the potential to damage a cabinet before that, but thankfully I never even considered using stickers!
Recently, I was working with a family to help them set up and organize a new apartment they’d moved into on West End Avenue. When we were talking through the potential layout of the kitchen, the husband told me to try out his pad of Post-it Extreme Notes and to use a permanent marker with them. He explained that they’re extra sticky but don’t leave a residue, and also water-resistant, so perfect to use in a kitchen. When I tried them, I noticed that unlike with normal Post-it notes, the permanent marker didn’t bleed through onto the next sheet. These come with me to every project now.
My favorite way to use them at work is when I’m giving my client time to consider a new layout. Usually one family member meets with me, and we discuss how to make better use of the storage in a room. During the conversation, I’ll put Extreme Post-it notes on each space — like each cabinet in a kitchen, every drawer of a dresser, or each shelf in a closet — so it’s easier to discuss with the rest of the family at a later time. The Extreme Post-its get moved around to reflect what we discuss. I love that they don’t fall off.
After rearranging a space, keeping the Extreme Post-its on the outside of a drawer is helpful for the week or so it takes many of my clients to learn the new system. Occasionally, we’ll put more formal labels (which I make with a Brother P-touch Cube XP label-maker) on the outside of a drawer as a finishing touch.
When I’m organizing a wardrobe, we’ll often end up with items to be returned, repaired, or cleaned. Putting an Extreme Post-it note on a box or shopping bag can be the perfect visual cue for those tasks.
In my own home, I also use Extreme Post-its for labeling leftovers in the fridge since they can handle the moisture. Unlike masking tape, your writing can be big enough to read from a distance, and there’s enough space to include the date. Since the notes are so easy to remove, cute containers stay cute.
I’ve regrettably experimented with using them as a bookmark; they’re a bit too sticky to use on a single sheet of paper. For the same reason they’re not great as a bookmark, they’re excellent for creating a tab section in a notebook.
And they actually stay put outside. Every person without a doorman should have a pack of these for pasting onto the front door to let Amazon know to ring apartment 4 for the package for apartment 6, or the number to call because the buzzer isn’t working.
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