Labelling things for care home

I got some of these button tags which were great. Lots of different makes out there.

Nothing to add as regards labelling but when my brother-in-law had to go into residential care, with dementia, a lot of his clothes (all labelled) ended up being worn by other residents. So don't spend a fortune on clothing, perhaps raid charity shops for things you need to add to existing possessions.

An ink stamp can be really useful for labelling - much quicker than sewing in labels and easier to read than a laundry marker. I use stamptastic.

Photo books are always a good idea. Then you can label the photos in detail about who's in them and where they were taken. Brilliant for staff to flick through too as it's often useful for us to have as conversation starters or to have a rough idea of who someone is talking about. In my experience most people love sitting down and sharing stories.
In my 13 years as a carer I have heard so many stories. Some wonderful others heartbreaking but I have learnt so much that I would never have known.

I would second easily washable clothing that won't be damaged by high temp washing. I would also say easy on and off things too. So not too many tricky fastenings or trousers and skirts without buttons. Elastic waistbands are much easier too as they are quicker for urgent toilet calls etc.
Patterned tops are good if she's likely to spill things so she's not walking around noticeably having spilt things! And a decent number of clothes too. She would need at least one full change of clothes per day. Sometimes the laundry takes longer so it's good for her to have plenty of options. Ditto nightwear one full set per day. Comfortable well fitting but easy to wash shoes too and at least two pairs of shoes plus slippers. Ideally all should be Machiene washable!
Dressing gown and perhaps a short bed coat. Also a reasonable number of jumpers and fleeces. It's good to be able to layer people up.
Make sure she has a washable waterproof coat for trips out and hat, gloves etc too.
Plenty of underwear!

I got some Mason Cash labels for my aunt's clothes, as requested by the home. Sewed them into everything including bras and pants. We gave her a couple of cuddly toys and they also got labels.

Everything else got written on, eg the backs of photo frames. I put her initials on the bottom of a couple of vases with nail varnish.

In her home the staff were lovely but very busy so it helped them keep things in the right place.

Make sure your MIL has lots of photos as it gives the staff something to start a conversation about. If your MIL is likely to forget who is in the photos, write their names on the back. My aunt's key carer asked for that as it saves frustration. The home had a "getting to know you" folder to fill in and that was useful too.

A warning. Sadly from our family's experience I would say that it's often not worth sending good quality clothes- by necessity they all get washed together at high temperatures and tumble dried so ruining anything like merino wool sweaters/cashmere cardigans and even when labelled, clothes go missing or you will see another resident wearing something and think"I'm sure that's mums best cardigan"! Embrace easy care fabrics and clothes you aren't going to care about so much unless you're going to take them home and wash them yourself. Our relatives home lost their false teeth twice, hearing aids, glasses. It's not from lack of care from the staff,just that they are so rushed.