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Elderly parents
Original poster

Labels for care home

32 replies

Teapotsgalore · 10/08/2024 07:51

Hi everyone, I am looking for the easiest to ‘attach’ ‘ most solid’ type of labelling for our lovely Mum’s clothes etc . Would be grateful for recommendations please? ( i’ve looked at ones that are like clip on buttons..?, dunno if iron on ones stay on? Trying to avoid sewing on a 100 labels etc )
Thanks !!! Wishing everyone a nice weekend.

OP posts:
NightBirdy · 10/08/2024 07:53

Sewing is by far the clearest, and also the most resilient to the level of washing you'll get in a care home.

LemonadeMeringue · 10/08/2024 07:54

Have you checked with the care home? Only my mum labelled all my dad’s stuff and it was unnecessary as the home uses their own system (they use button tags)

rainbowsparkle28 · 10/08/2024 07:55

https://www.mynametags.com/

Doingmybest12 · 10/08/2024 07:55

We use a sharpie

Dearg · 10/08/2024 07:57

I used iron on for MIL.

Need not have bothered; they paid no attention and we saw many of her clothes modelled by fellow inmates. They had her squeezed into size 10 knickers - she wore a 16…

However , those items which did come back to her had the labels still on.dn.

123456abcdef · 10/08/2024 07:59

Stikins

autumnboys · 10/08/2024 07:59

Laundry pen has worked fine for all our school uniforms.

Original poster
Teapotsgalore · 10/08/2024 08:00

LemonadeMeringue · 10/08/2024 07:54

Have you checked with the care home? Only my mum labelled all my dad’s stuff and it was unnecessary as the home uses their own system (they use button tags)

Sadly they’ve asked for everything to be labeled. Do those button tags stay on ? Thanks for your help!

OP posts:
Original poster
Teapotsgalore · 10/08/2024 08:00

autumnboys · 10/08/2024 07:59

Laundry pen has worked fine for all our school uniforms.

Thanks !! I’ll have a look at that .

OP posts:
Original poster
Teapotsgalore · 10/08/2024 08:03

Dearg · 10/08/2024 07:57

I used iron on for MIL.

Need not have bothered; they paid no attention and we saw many of her clothes modelled by fellow inmates. They had her squeezed into size 10 knickers - she wore a 16…

However , those items which did come back to her had the labels still on.dn.

Oh dear don’t like the sound of LO being uncomfortable in tight clothes,We’re trying respite to see how things go but it is with a bit of a heavy heart tbh. Thanks.

OP posts:
Original poster
Teapotsgalore · 10/08/2024 08:06

NightBirdy · 10/08/2024 07:53

Sewing is by far the clearest, and also the most resilient to the level of washing you'll get in a care home.

This was my fear 😆 sewing on endless labels with my chubby slightly stiff fingers. Thanks .

OP posts:
WonderingWanda · 10/08/2024 08:07

My name tag stickers are brilliant. I've been using them for years and years. They stick on and don't come off even with washing and tumble drying. We use them on clothes, drinks bottles shoes etc. You can select just a plain font and background so they don't look childish.

CatherineCawoodsbestie · 10/08/2024 08:12

Agree with the stick on My name tags that pp has linked. We have been using them for 10 years of school uniform etc with no issues. Much easier than sewing.
However, IF you are local and have time (and it is fine if you don’t), then you may want to consider doing your mum’s laundry, or at least anytime precious, because things will get lost and mixed up.

mitogoshi · 10/08/2024 08:16

Seeing is the most reliable, also don't send too much, they wash frequently, and they wash hot so think about shrinkage. Don't send any you care about as things do walk

mitogoshi · 10/08/2024 08:16

Sewing! I sewed 100 labels on!

Belladone · 10/08/2024 08:19

I used sew in for my mil because I had some surname ones from the children when I ran out of those I used a laundry pen on the labels. Tbh it was a waste of time they just muddled the clothes up anyway

FutureFeelsBleak · 10/08/2024 08:23

If she wears glasses, there are special tags for them that you put on with the heat of a hairdryer. So worth doing as they are a pig to find when they go walkabout.

Also think about doing with anything else that is portable but personal to her like hairbrushes.

LizzieBennett73 · 10/08/2024 08:33

I used to work in a nursing home - just bear in mind that everything is washed (and ironed) at high temperatures, so don't send in anything that needs special care ie wool jumpers! And keep a marker pen in her drawers so that you can keep refreshing the labels if you use them as it does fade out.

ooooohnoooooo · 10/08/2024 08:54

Stamptastic.

Brilliant

Belladone · 10/08/2024 09:02

FutureFeelsBleak · 10/08/2024 08:23

If she wears glasses, there are special tags for them that you put on with the heat of a hairdryer. So worth doing as they are a pig to find when they go walkabout.

Also think about doing with anything else that is portable but personal to her like hairbrushes.

I came back on to mention this, it’s worth doing

we also had her “best” things at our house to take in as she wanted them or more often she would change at our house then change back before going home. This was when she was more aware as she got worst she lost interest in her appearance.

also jewellery, don’t keep anything at the home, she had her wedding and engagement rings on all the time, but still lost her engagement ring. Ear rings and necklaces she would change at ours and keep them on until next time we visited or she came to us. It worked quite well and saved things growing legs it’s not just staff or other patients taking things as she got more confused she would “lend” things to others.

i know you’re asking about labels but a few other pointers.

  1. have photos in her room, not just family but some of her as a young adult etc, staff commented that it reminded them that she was young once too.
  2. let her have a purse with some lose change in, she liked being independent, we would take her for a walk to the local shops and she loved to buy us some sweeties
  3. we arranged to have a daily paper / magazine delivered she didn’t always read it but it gave her something to get given and she like it somehow
  4. we use to write to her, just a little card with a few words, something silly like, today is Monday and we are looking so forward to having lunch with you on Wednesday.
  5. we put a calendar on her wall she would cross the days off each night, we would keep it up to date with planned visits, the staff said this really helped her and a lot of other people copied this.
  6. be aware she will probably give you a hard time about being “but away “ this is really upsetting, it took us a long time to realise that she was infact happy just didn’t want us to see that (but that’s another story). Just be aware it’s hard leaving them there.
Coastalcreeksider · 10/08/2024 09:06

We didn't have to mark anything in dad's care home, they did it when he first went there.

Any new clothes we brought in, we told them and they were labelled too.

bumbledeedum · 10/08/2024 09:15

Stikins and stamptastic are amazing. I use stikins on anything hard (water bottles, Tupperware etc) but also think you'll need to label things like photo frames etc if your mum is going into a home. For clothes I use combination of stamptastic and stikins as I've found sometimes the stikins labels go a bit hard and can peel then, stamptastic are great but will wash/fade after 50 or so washes and can be quicker on hotter washes or with bio wash.

Strawberriesandpimms · 10/08/2024 09:24

Sewn labels lasted longest. Dont forget to label special blankets from home, shoes, slippers and coats. Labelling up reminded me of my DC starting school!

@FutureFeelsBleak has a great list. Please don't leave any jewellery with her - if it goes missing it causes heartbreak. DAunt still worries about her rings (she had lost a bit of weight, the rings kept falling off, the carers were worried they'd get lost in the sheets/laundry so gave them to us for safe keeping). I had her wedding ring made smaller so she got that ring back to wear.

Second the photo scrapbook and pictures. We had a lovely couple of afternoons going through them all and making the scrapbook and she could tell me who everyone was and stories about them.

She doesn't know who I am. I'm just the nice lady who visits her 😪

Strawberriesandpimms · 10/08/2024 09:31

Sidetracking here, but DAunt loved her gardening so we bought her a small long "windowbox" for the windowsill in her room so she could garden with her plants and look after them. I help her "garden" when I visit and we swap out plants. She's even grown baby cherry tomatoes this year! 🍅

Flossflower · 10/08/2024 09:34

I always think sewn on labels last the longest but my children use printed stick on labels for their own kids.
More importantly please don’t add labels onto another label at the back of the neck. Bulk/itchy labels can be uncomfortable here.