labels for clothes

[Angie1996]

Hi lovely TP people

Can anyone give me some top tips for labelling clothes for when I dad goes into his care home?

He has been in the hospital 3 weeks this Thursday, and they have pretty much lost the blinking lot, I really need some experienced advise on top tips of the best way to label his stuff

All top tips appreciated

 

[lemonjuice]

Hi lovely TP people

Can anyone give me some top tips for labelling clothes for when I dad goes into his care home?

He has been in the hospital 3 weeks this Thursday, and they have pretty much lost the blinking lot, I really need some experienced advise on top tips of the best way to label his stuff

All top tips appreciated

I got those embroidered labels for school clothing at our shop dealing with school clothing as the firm you could order from online no longer exists.

Before I got those I labelled the 'label' inside the garments with a permanent laundry marker pen. However with the amount of washing these still need renewing on occasion.

Socks labelled with some thicker cotton thread with just an initial.

However you will probably find this an ongoing problem. I've even found my mother wearing other people's clothes.
After a while (mum has been in 4 and a half years) i accepted that being in clean clothes which fit (weight gain as she beace more immobile) is more important. Especially when she became unable to recognise her own clothing or take any notice of what she wears.

 

[Jbob]

Hi Angie1996,

We have bought labels that were ironed onto my Dads clothes but after a while they came off.
We now have tags with his name embroidered onto them and are secured by a rivet. These have been much easier to keep secure.
In his last CH we could buy numbered rivets which they put on his clothed for his room number so the ladies knew which room his clothes were for.
See what the CH do before you buy anything.
Unfortunately it is commonfor stuff to go missing or get lost. Also it's common for them to be wearing others clothes. Luckily now there are only a handful of men in Dads CH so it shouldn't happen too often now.
Label everything like bedding, blankets anything important from home. I've written in permanent marker on his wash, toothpaste etc as that used to go missing too.
Oh and in his shoes/slippers etc.
Hope this helps ☺

 

[Angie1996]

thank you both very much from those top tips it looks like I have a challenge on my hands!!!

I did wonder about the socks!!

Writing on everything wow, it clearly all goes awol, I must admit most of his stuff has gone, all his tooth paste, brush etc has all gone (fairies took it away?)

Yes Jbob will definately ask, thats a really good idea with the colour code!!

I wonder if he is permitted to lock his room when he leaves his room in the home?

 

[marionq]

As well as tags sewn in to clothes or riveted in with names on you can buy stick on name tags for inside shoes and spectacle cases etc. Marker pens for items you can't stick on. All of these are available online at relatively low cost so you always have more left for any new items you buy. My husband is still at home but I label everything new which was important when he went into hospital then later into respite.

His care home had a good system so nothing got lost and only socks went missing in hospital.

 

[sleepless]

Hi lovely TP people

Can anyone give me some top tips for labelling clothes for when I dad goes into his care home?

He has been in the hospital 3 weeks this Thursday, and they have pretty much lost the blinking lot, I really need some experienced advise on top tips of the best way to label his stuff

All top tips appreciated

I buy C**h's (as in paper money) woven labels for my Dad and machine-stitch them in; ordered online they arrive quickly. I know others have successfully used iron-on ones too.

But ----- which ever you use, don't be afraid to make them BIG, BOLD and place them somewhere very visible. I used to avoid sewing them on the inside of Dad's shirt collars in case they scratched, but found that putting them anywhere else meant that the laundry staff just didn't see the name tapes, (and couldn't be bothered to look.)

Label everything. Don't assume that things will stay in the room. Take nothing in that you would not wish to lose forever. Mark ornaments, books, CD's etc. with permanent marker pen (and check that it IS permanent!) Try to only send copies of precious photos, and keep the originals safe.

Socks are tricky. Light-coloured ones can be done with marker pen -- I stitched the woven ones onto individual socks, as a kind of loop at the top of the sock, eighteen or twenty socks at a time, but this was no guarantee that there would be a matching pair (or any pair) in his drawer when I visited.

Sorry if this seems negative, but disappearing clothing is a recurring problem in so many otherwise good care homes, and no matter what anyone says to the contrary, it is not fair on the residents, and frustratingly time-consuming for relatives to sort out.

After all this, I do hope your dad settles well, and that the laundry is super-efficient!

 

[jaymor]

Embroidered ones ordered from the school uniform shop for me. Sticky label on the back of his glass case with name and room number, glasses had red nail varnish on the inside if the arms as men's glasses all tend to look the same. Label again on the back of the remote control with name and room number. Same with electric shaver, permanent ink for that. We never had any problems with toiletries as my husband had an ensuite so they never left the bathroom.

I bought some acetate and replaced all the glass in his pucture frames and labelled the back of those too. Slippers and shoes too and I bought black socks and kept to the same brand so one goes missing, pairs can always be made up.

After the first loss I asked where the laundry was and went myself. They were very he
Paul and between us we found the throw. From then on I would go myself for anything that had been missing for several days.

We were lucky really because there were only nine men on the floor so anything that went missing from a room was easily found . Laundry not so as it went to the large sister nursing home next door and though it was supposed to be washed a floor at a time it did not work.

Please don't get too uptight about the laundry because it will be ongoing or the movement of personal items, as long as they are clearly labelled they will find their way back, especially once staff get used to your Dad's personal bits and pieces and find them in the wrong room.

 

[LadyA]

I didn't have too much of a problem, because I took William's laundry home and did it myself. In his nursing home, each resident had their own laundry box ina cupboard in their room, and their clothes went straight into that. Residents that had their clothes sent to the laundry service, their clothes were put into a laundry service bag in their room, labeled there and then, before leaving the room. I used iron-in labels for William's clothes - but you had to Iron them in, wait until it was completely cold, repeat the ironing, wait again until it went cold, and then iron a third time - otherwise they would come off after being washed a few times. But once I did the three ironings, William's labels were so permanent, I couldn't even get them off after he died! So some of his clothes I ended up sending for recycling, as I couldn't send them to a charity shop with the name labels in.

 

[Kjn]

Dads just on a ward of 4 men which he has been in a week....and he has already lost top of one pj set, bottom of another, has gained someone else's socks, lost glasses (now found again) we've been buying supermarket shirts and tshirt a as if they go walks they arnt his decent stuff and that's with everything labeled

......and they don't even do the laundry, they bag it for mum to take away.

 

[1954]

I ordered mine from eBay and they are iron on ones


1954 x

 

[Jessbow]

I used labels that I made myself, although I am quite 'needle handy' ad found it quite teraputic.
I embroidered her name on Strips of old gingham dress fabric, 1inch wide and 4 inches long. The laundery staff thought they were great, and although time consuming, it was worth it.

 

[starryuk]

I bought bright yellow binding/edging tape. indelible marker with name and room number. As Jessbow found, the staff were very happy as things were quickly identified by the colour of the labels alone.

 

[Jessbow]

I bought bright yellow binding/edging tape. indelible marker with name and room number. As Jessbow found, the staff were very happy as things were quickly identified by the colour of the labels alone.

Yes, without reading the actual name, they knew they were Mums,

 

[love.dad.but..]

Dad has been in care for 2 yrs now I use the embroidered name labels and label everything including socks none of his clothing has ever gone missing and I also check the clothing every now and again to make sure the labels are still firmly sewn on after many washes in laundry. The home is 64 bed...2 floors....so if something isn't labelled properly I would imagine it is difficult for the housekeeping staff judging by the rail of unmarked clothes in lost property put out every month for relatives to identify. Written labels do fade sometimes and iron on become unstuck after many industrial type wash cycles if they have to go on soiled wash I was told. I also buy names sticky labels for all dads personal possessions

 

[Pete R]

I use these on Mom's clothes and ornaments. Stick for the ones with a label, iron on for socks.

Never had them come off.

https://www.mynametags.com/

 

[Lindy50]

I use these on Mom's clothes and ornaments. Stick for the ones with a label, iron on for socks.

Never had them come off.

https://www.mynametags.com/

I can second this Pete, I've found them brilliant

That said, mum does still sometimes wear clothes that are not hers....she seems totally unaware of this.

 

[Angie1996]

Wow so many responses!! thank you all so much for your top tips, super info for a novice like me

So appreciated!

 

[Wheresmygin]

I bought embroidered labels from C#sh's. Sewed them into everything I could.
SiL used Sharpie to write name on things like bras but I notice that they are not easy to read after a few washes.
Not that MiL wants to wear a bra now - and I can't blame her!

I do feel for the laundry people in her care home - I think lots of clothing and personal items change hands in the lounges and last time I opened MiL's wardrobe, I'm sure she had LOADS more clothes than she started with
But part of her dementia means that she has turned into a real magpie and anything sparkly (actual or figuratively) gets shoved into her pockets or up her jumper to be squirreled away.

It's also difficult for the laundry folks to get clothes from her - she has a laundry basket in her room, but anythin that goes into it, gets brought back out and put back on again as soon as we leave!

Hadn't thought about marking other personal items - all the furniture and fittings in her room are her own including things like TV so might have to get some way of marking them.

Wheresmygin

 

[Tara62]

don't be afraid to make them BIG, BOLD and place them somewhere very visible

So, so true. My poor mum was a very dainty, elegant person, so when she went into a nursing home for the last six months of her life, I got traditional school-style embroidered nametapes for her things. I thought they would be fine, but even though they said her full name clearly and they were in the necklines of her clothes, it seemed they were too small. The nursing home totally ruined most of her stuff with additional enormous iron-on labels written in thick black marker pen ... their labels were about twenty times the size of the ones I'd spent hours sewing into everything by hand. So yes - big and bold is good. And do label everything, because everything can walk, even things you would think would stay in the room, like photo frames and ornaments.

 

[Angie1996]

I am going to order some goods later today, so from all the comments basically if it's not nailed to the floor then label it

Thank you all so much for so many great tips!


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