My Nametags blog about name labels, name tags and other important matters

Monthly archives "June"

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Meet our new partner, Uniformerly

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My Nametags cares about the future. We care about the world we and our children live in, and strive for a greener, better world. In our sustainability page you can see the ways in which we feel we are making a difference but today we wanted to share about a different initiative that we are incredibly proud to be partnering with.

Last year, a research project we did found that brits bin 1.4 million wearable school uniforms every year. This felt like a lot of uniforms, surely these could be reused?! Uniformerly is a free school uniform marketplace where parents can buy, sell, or give away their children’s school uniforms. The site is easy and quick to use, and it will help you save money, declutter AND help other people as well as the environment.

In the world of today where everything is available at a click for a very low price it is easy to forget that these things are having an impact in our environment. Clothing plays a big role in this, we overconsume, have more clothes than we need, some items in our wardrobes end up never even being worn! We have also become very good at getting rid of clothes that is still perfectly good – 81% of parents buy their children brand new school uniforms every year – is this necessary?

In the study (that you can read in full here) we also saw ‘that extending the lifespan of clothes by just three months could result in a 5-10 percent reduction in carbon, water, and waste footprints.’ We already know that prolonging the life of objects makes them have less of an impact on the environment, but we need to take it one step further. Care for what we have, use, reuse and with a little help from a name tag, it can become someone else’s personalised item. Once you find that you no longer need something: pass it on! Start by passing on your child’s school uniforms. That is why we are offering a 15% discount to Uniformerly users!
Visit the Uniformerly website to find out more.

Read more about our school uniform name tags

How Labeling a Rotation of Toys Furthers Creativity & Focus

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Guest post by Dawn Castell

There are never enough toys. Kids may have toys busting out of their playroom, yet they think they need more. The truth is that they just need to rotate those toys. There is an art to labeling and creating a special rotation of toys. Creativity and focus flow while they get their hands on “new” toys. You get to declutter and smile that you don’t need to buy more junk. Everyone wins.

Why Rotating Toys Matters

A baby milestone chart will tell you that children learn to love toys as young as possible. They start to chew on toys and fiddle with things at a few months old. As a parent, you start to buy toys to see this joy come to life. Somewhere in the middle of the joy, you notice there are simply too many toys. When you make a rotation system, you’ll start to notice there can still be that joy without the clutter. Kids have a capacity for a deeper sense of play. They don’t get stressed out over too many choices. They’re able to be creative with what’s in front of them. Rotating toys is about simplifying everyone’s world while keeping toys available at a level that is manageable.

Fewer Toys Leads To Bigger Smiles

It may seem silly to think that fewer toys actually reduces over-stimulation. As a kid, you may have thought too many toys was the perfect world. The truth is that a smaller amount of toys leads to more creative play. When you bring in a new rotation of toys, the child has probably forgotten about many of those toys. To them, they’re seeing the toys in a new light. They won’t beg you for more either.

Displaying Toys

Cleaning up toys with children still at play is often like cleaning up during a tornado. Instead of storing all of your toys in specific places, set up different play stations. You can set up a specific play area with cars, a costume station, and a place for arts and crafts. You can make a little reading nook. Once you cycle in new toys, you can make new stations or stock these stations. By displaying the toys in rotation, you’re encouraging the child to use their toys in creative ways. It’s also easier to keep up with the clutter.

Time to Reflect

Toy rotation may surprise you. You may notice that it calls attention to way too many toys. Many parents buy a kid a little toy here and there. Once you start digging in the bins setting up new toy stations, you’ll notice 100 Hot Wheels cars. This money could’ve been used towards more meaningful toys. You’ll begin to reflect on the toys that are never used. The kids may beg for them, but they end up in the junk bin. Making a toy rotation will help you realize what toys really matter.

Pair Together

It’s a great idea to put your toys in groups to easily rotate them. Put together toys like books, costumes, puzzles, motor skill toys, dolls, and building toys. You can easily sort these into bins to change out every few weeks. The kids may have a few they love that they cannot live without for a few weeks, so those may be an exception. If you’re lost about what toys are best for which ages, check out a baby milestone chart. Different ages of kids will enjoy different types of toys in their rotation. Your toddler may love the cars while your five-year-old may go for the Legos.

Little ones will appreciate their “new” toys in rotation. They won’t beg you so much to go to the store for more toys. They’ll show off their imagination and creative skills. You’ll smile at the organization and cleanliness of your home. Enjoy every moment as they play and you smile watching them learn and grow.