Keep Track Of Your Stuff

**Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post for Kidecals.  I was compensated for this post with a set of custom labels.  All opinions are my own.**

So.  The people in my family, particularly the kids - they lose stuff.

And I mean they lose stuff as in “MOM WHERE DID YOU PUT MY WATER BOTTLE/ PHONE/HEADPHONES/RETAINER/IMPORTANT SCHOOL PAPER/WALLET/KEYS?

Okay.  Those last two items are things my husband loses, and he doesn’t call me Mom.  That would be weird, and is strictly forbidden.

The worst part of them losing stuff is that they blame me.  I don’t put those things anywhere.

My kids misplace so much stuff all over their world.  I really appreciate that each spring before school ends, hallway-length tables are set up at the schools with all the items that children leave there, allowing families to sift through and claim their belongings.

Problem is, I often don’t even know that my kids have lost anything in the first place.  They don't tell me, because they know I’d yell at them if I knew.

Well, maybe not yell, but you know what I mean.  Yeah – I mean yell. 

So I don’t even know what I’m looking for.  Let’s not talk about the fact that they have so much stuff that they can afford to leave it behind and we don’t miss it.  That’s another, more serious issue.  But each year I sift through the stuff and can’t recall if my kid had a shirt like that at the beginning of the year or not. Maybe he did.  But then again – let’s just leave it on the table.  It’s probably not ours.

The point is, their lost stuff would be easier to claim if it just had their names on it.  Which as their mother I guess it is my responsibility, but scrawling your name on your backpack with a Sharpie really isn’t that difficult now, is it?

No, it isn’t.

However, Sharpie wears off, despite its claim of permanence, and it’s hard to keep it looking nice and crisp and new and – most importantly – legible.

So, you know, if your son or daughter repeatedly leaves their lunchbag on the bus, and he or she has written his or her name in Sharpie and now it looks like a whiskey-fueled home tattoo, into the school hallway pile it goes, gone until next May.

And you’re yelling again.

So I was excited to try out Kidecals, which offers fully customizable, highly durable, and waterproof labels for your belongings that you can stick on your stuff to show the world that you mean business about wanting it back when you carelessly leave it somewhere.

Because that hoodie isn’t going to drive itself home when it’s been abandoned in the cafeteria.

The kids and I sat down one afternoon and scrolled through the hundreds of designs that Kidecals offers, and picked one that we would all be pumped to stick on our stuff, placed our order, and waited for them to arrive.

And when they did, we had a blast sticking those suckers on everything that might be left behind.

Like their backpacks.

And hoodies.

And water bottles.

And pencil pouches and binders.

And gym bags.

I even stuck one on my son’s golf bag, our travel mugs, and even one of our bookshelves at home, just because.

I may have gotten carried away with the labels.

Some of the labels have seen the inside of our washer and dryer and the dishwasher several times already, and all are as intact as the day they were stuck. 

This stuff ain’t never getting lost, people.

I decided against including a phone number or any other identifying information on our labels, because let’s face it, I don’t panic if we lose a water bottle or two.  But if one of my kids leaves something at school or on the bus, any one of their classmates could easily see whose it is and return it when they see my kid next. 

If I could get them to keep track of their stuff, it would be a good day.  Until then, I'm glad I have the Kidecals.

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Kidecals doesn’t just make labels for identifying purposes.  They also have food allergy alert labels, labels to dress up your computer keyboard, address labels, labels for teachers, for organization, for gifts, and just plain old cute stickers to stick up any old place.  They even make custom, personalized decals, if that’s your thing.  If you have a need, Kidecals has a label for it.  

Check out the website to search their designs and begin making your own custom labels.  

Best part: Shipping is FREE on all orders.