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Organizing With Vinyl Labels

Organizing your home or office may not seem like the most enjoyable item on your “To Do” list — or maybe on the contrary. Some of us love to be neat freaks, while others do well amongst a bit of chaos. Whether you're wary of organizing your desk or take pride in your home DIY projects, creating vinyl storage labels makes it entertaining and stress-free. From consolidating your office papers and materials to labeling your laundry room products, you can design personalized labels for anything you need to construct a useful area.

Make vinyl pantry labels, tags for your kids’ school supplies and even tidy up the linen closet. Vinyl tags are a crafty organization idea to transform a cluttered space into one that’s functional and easy to access. Not only do labels help keep everything in its place, but the vinyl accents can also add a touch of style to your home or work area.

Vinyl Labeling 101

DIY vinyl labels are like stickers, but with a more practical purpose. Imagine everything in your life having a place — cups and plates, baking and cooking ingredients, pens and pencils and towels and sheets. When areas in your home have structure and organization, it makes your life simple. With efficient access to what you need, you won’t have to spend time mucking around looking for specific items.

Vinyl is an adhesive with a strong, long-lasting hold. It helps transfer your lettering or graphic to a permanent surface such as shelves, drawers and containers. With a pressure-sensitive backing and flexible qualities, vinyl sheets from Rvinyl won’t activate until you push the material onto another surface. We have vinyl sheets available in more than 100 colors and various patterns, so you can make organizing more exciting.

Although vinyl labels stick well to various surfaces and resist abrasion, they are not permanent. If you’re rearranging things or want to recreate the style of your designs, you can always remove your DIY stickers. Then, you can swap out different designs or start all over.

What You Can Label With Vinyl

Organizing with vinyl labels gives you an incredible amount of freedom. Do you want to consolidate your cooking books or candy jars? What about making the computer room tidy or having a place for everyone’s shoes in the mudroom? Vinyl labels can stick to anything and everything you can imagine. No matter what organizing you need help with, DIY vinyl stickers can get the job done with personalized and aesthetic labels for things such as:

  • Baby supplies
  • Backpack hooks
  • Baking cabinet
  • Bathroom caddy
  • Binder tabs
  • Book nook
  • Calendar
  • Cleaning supplies
  • Closets
  • Containers
  • Craft supplies
  • Food pantry
  • Garage toolboxes
  • Garden pots
  • Kitchen shelves
  • Laundry room
  • Makeup vanity
  • Menu board
  • Playroom
  • Refrigerator
  • Sports equipment
  • Storage room

As you can see, you can use vinyl labels to mark anything you can get your hands on. For example, you can use the stickers to determine whose stuff is whose like when it comes to chargers, electronic devices, water bottles and toys. When you want to renovate a muddled space into one that’s ship-shape and manageable, vinyl labels are your go-to.

Materials You Need for Your DIY Project

A DIY project is spot-on to its name because anyone who has the proper tools and materials can accomplish an incredible project. It especially holds true when working with vinyl whether you want to generate stickers for your movie collection or fashion vinyl kitchen labels.

You can use two methods when completing a DIY sticker project — by hand or by machine. Each technique uses the same materials, except for the die-cutting machine, of course. If you’re using the freehand procedure, you will need the following:

  • A design
  • Cutting mat
  • Pencil
  • Squeegee or application tool
  • Transfer tape
  • Vinyl sheet
  • X-ACTO knife or a weeding hook

In the case that you have a die-cutting machine, you can use specific software to download images and words. The program can help with sizing, fonts and colors. The device will yield precise vinyl decals with clean lines. No matter the make or model of your machine, consider working with the following materials:

  • Cutting machine software
  • Cutting mat
  • Electronic die-cutting machine
  • Squeegee or application tool
  • Transfer tape
  • Vinyl
  • X-ACTO knife or a weeding hook

When thinking of the label you want to design, it’s suggested to stray away from delicate fine fonts. They are tricky to handle during the weeding process and can be difficult to read. Rvinyl professionals recommend using bolder lettering to make the procedure easier and help your label stand out and be more readable.

Rvinyl also has an inventory of calendered vinyl film that is ideal for labeling. It’s thicker than cast vinyl, which makes for easier handling, and it performs well on flat surfaces, as well as simple curves like on a cup. Calendered decals also have a higher resistance to abrasion to increase the longevity of your sticker, especially to those that are on drawers or other high-traffic abrasion areas.

Quick Tips on How to Perfect Your Organization Decals

Making sure everything has its place is key to having a functional home or workspace. When you minimize the clutter and organize your things with vinyl labels, you can move from one task to the other without feeling stressed. Not only do organization decals help add some control to your life, but they also allow you to get creative.

Check out these additional tips to ensure a smooth and successful DIY project:

  • Make Sure to Work With a Clean Surface: Do this before applying your pressure-sensitive label. Dirt and grime can weaken the adhesive properties of your sticker and cause more work for you in the long run.
  • Figure out Where You Want to Place Your Label Beforehand: Stick your labels on anything from drawers and shelves to containers and tool boxes. But always determine where and at what angle before placing down your decal for precise positioning.
  • Avoid Touching the Back of the Vinyl: After you remove the paper backing off the vinyl, grasp it with a tool or on the edges. The more oil and dirt from your fingers that reach the adhesive, the less sticky it will be.
  • Use the Right Positioning Technique to Evade Bubbles: Setting your words can work by placing one end down on the surface and sliding the rest of it down in one sweep. You can also bend the vinyl decal, place the middle bump onto the area and flatten both sides using a credit card.
  • Don’t Rip the Backing off the Film: Always peel vinyl and tape at an angle to avoid rips and damage.

How to Make and Apply Vinyl Organization Labels

Even if you don’t have a vinyl cutting machine, you can still achieve a rad DIY label project to consolidate your desk, kitchen, pantry, bathroom, room and anywhere else you can think of. Both the free-hand and machine techniques give you clean results so you can organize what you need with an extra touch of personality and design. Think about finally tidying up your garage with a spot for your nuts, bolts, hammers, wrenches and electric tools. Or, imagine a pristine baking cupboard where you can see the flour, sprinkles and spices for any recipe.

The Free-Hand Vinyl Label Technique

Crafting a set of words to separate one item from another is simple and straightforward, even without a machine. Form words like “Snacks,” “Chargers,” “Boots” or “Pasta” to keep everything neat, here’s how to design vinyl labels by hand:

  1. Begin with a clean surface and hands
  2. Place your strip of vinyl on a flat surface and sketch out your lettering on the backside
  3. Cut out your words, remove the backing and place the sticker face down and backward onto your transfer tape
  4. Move your label to the desired surface and press
  5. Use a squeegee or other application tool to release any bubbles for full adherence
  6. Remove the tape by pulling at a 45-degree angle

Always remove the vinyl backing and transfer tape at a 45-degree angle for a clean and smooth result without any ripping. When you rush the process or pull without an angle, your project is more prone to rips and damages.

The Machine Method

No matter the make or model of your die-cutting apparatus, it can produce clean-cut organization labels. But depending on how much you will use the machine and the size of your projects, you may want to conduct some research. If you’re using the machine technique to make labels, follow these steps:

  1. Open the program software for your electronic cutting machine
  2. Measure the area in which you need a new label
  3. Type out the lettering to your desired font, spacing, color and size
  4. Weld fonts to make the weeding process easier
  5. Set blades to appropriate numbers
  6. Cut out the labels from your die-cutting machine
  7. Peel off the unwanted sections using an X-ACTO knife or weeding tool
  8. Place your vinyl piece face down onto transfer tape, then press and smooth the surface to remove bubbles using your application tool
  9. Take off the vinyl backing at a 45-degree angle
  10. Apply the transfer piece to your area and press on the center and edges to activate the adhesive
  11. Flatten with your tool and peel back the transfer tape

If you are feeling extra creative, you can apply your label to a background vinyl piece for a unique twist. You can even insert small decals along with your lettering for a customized design to match the style of your space. As a side note, thicker and bolder fonts are easier to read as opposed to thin and delicate ones. It would be best if you also tried to preserve your vinyl as much as possible by placing labels at the top left corner instead of in the middle of the sheet.

Removing Your Vinyl Labels

If you’re ready to rearrange your space or start the organization process over again, you can always get rid of your DIY vinyl stickers. Although the adhesive can withstand abrasion and has long-lasting properties, you can remove the label by following a few simple steps:

  1. Clean the label and section surrounding it with warm, soapy water.
  2. You can also warm up the sticker using a hairdryer. The heat will release the adhesive properties, allowing you to lift it.
  3. Using a razor blade or other tool, scrape underneath the decal and begin peeling at an angle. Be careful not to scratch off any paint on the surface or damage glass or plastic.
  4. If you’re having trouble removing the wording, use glue removal products. Let a glob of the glue set on the decal for about one minute, then remove it with soapy water.
  5. Once the vinyl label and paste are off, clean the surface once more.

Advantages of a DIY Label Project

Vinyl labels are removable, cost-effective and customizable. Instead of buying generic decals from the store, you have what you need at your fingertips and the freedom to create the exact design you have in mind. It’s up to you how you want to style the color, size, font, shape, pattern and width of your labels, whether you’re crafting stickers for your closet or organizing your calendar.

DIY stickers are temporary, and although you can remove it as needed, vinyl is durable and sturdy to last through different conditions. It’s even washable if your baking day gets a bit too messy or you touch the decals with greasy fingers in the garage. Sticker decals are a cost-effective way to keep everything neat and tidy while having an end product you can take pride in.

Shop Our Vinyl Options to Personalize Your Space

Rvinyl is all about providing DIY enthusiasts the right vinyl material to perfect your projects. With both style and affordability on the line, our products can turn a drab, cluttered pantry into one that’s easy to access and not an eye-sore. We specialize in customization, and our products aren’t permanent with a three-year warranty against cracking, peeling and fading. If you experience any defects in your vinyl, Rvinyl will replace it.

We also offer a rebate program when you submit photos of your work. Send in pictures of your organized garage or shoe shelf and get rewarded. Shop Rvinyl craft vinyl online and get free shipping on select orders. You won’t have a problem finding what you need — we have more than 100 colors of vinyl ranging from standard colors to more intriguing designs and patterns like satin films and velvet vinyl.

No matter what area of your home needs a little TLC, vinyl labels can help you improve your organizational skills and simplify your life.