labeling clothes for camp

[My5Mouseketeers]

I'm getting ready to send my twin 14 DSs away as CITs for Boy Scout camp for a month. The last 3 years I've sent them for a week and they've lost a third of their stuff!

What is the best way to label all their clothing? including socks. If they loose a 1/3 of their stuff a week, by the end of the month they will be almost naked

 

[csharpwv]

I work a 1 week summer camp each year, and we have laundry service two days out the week (the campers have to wear uniform t-shirts during scheduled activity times) - so we wash t-shirts two times.

We use laundry markers - however something else you can do it putting stitches of a different color on the hemline.

As a note - I HIGHLY suggest that you pack their clothes in 1 gallon zip lock bags. One set of clothes for each day - so that way when the new clothes go on, the dirty clothes go in the bag. That way dirty clothes stay away from clean clothes, and they stay dry!

 

[descovy]

Here's the problem, you could come up with the best labeling EVER and it wouldn't matter... The kids are responsible for packing themselves... And unless you can get a whole cabin/ tent of kids to read/ care about your labels... You will be no better off... Sorry but it's the truth.

I do sharpie names on everything. But I send NOTHING to camp that we would miss if it didnt get home. And every year the kids come home with some strange tee or sock and every year stuff goes missing...

Your best bet is to drill in YOUR kid what you expect ... And then hope for the best. Because there's no Mommies at camp! Lol!

 

[3boymthr]

As already mentioned you could try a sharpie, or you could try embroidering using a chain stitch (esp. for socks).

My DS is also going away to be a Lead Scout at Scout Camp and I have decided I'm not labeling as he's been informed that if he loses it HE has to replace it so he knows that he'd better keep track of it. Given how expensive Scout uniforms are he knows I'm not kidding.

 

[englishteacha]

I had a friend in high school who had "WOW" written on the bottom of her socks one day in PE. I asked her about it and she said that it wasn't "WOW" but "MOM" and her mom had labeled all her socks so she (My friend) wouldn't take them. Didn't work! But if you need to label socks, have the boys put a pair on and write their intitials on the bottom, then fold them and put another pair on and repeat till all the socks are labeled. (It's easier to write on socks if they are on feet!) Label the inside of collars and waistbands with names or initials. Sharpie or laundry marker works well.

I volunteer at a one-week summer camp and no laundry service is provided. You pack a week's worth of clothes or you are wearing dirty clothes. Blech. More than once as a camper someone ended up washing something in the sink and hanging it to dry! Actually, I had to do that as a counselor once, too. My girls in my cabin are usually pretty good about their stuff (I think girls are different from boys in this regard...my hubby volunteers too, and always loses socks somehow!), but on the last day when they're packing someone always finds something in their bags that doesn't belong to them!

 

[Taja]

As a PP noted, unless your DSs are responsible enough to keep track of their stuff and be sure it's packed when they leave camp, all the labeling in the world won't help!

If you do label things, purchase a fabric marker from a craft or fabric store. The kind used to "paint" on clothing. They come in many colours. Be sure to prewash the clothing first to remove the sizing.

Bottoms of socks are a good place for labels, as well as labels sewn into garments. Otherwise, try initials on the inside of a hem or waistband. The markers do tend to bleed through fabric, so be sure not to mark the interior of clothing where it's single layer fabric.

 

[Sadie22]

If you label all items with first and last name and Troop number a lost item has a chance of getting back to the correct Scout. You can purchase sew-on name tapes. Iron-ons are not durable enough. You do not want to attach a label anywhere that it will be irritating.

Although Scout socks were expensive, I did not label them for my guys. I don't think we ever lost any but we did end up with an extra one or two almost every summer.

You can provide your Scout with several plastic bags to keep clean and dirty separated, but when things get wet and need to be hung to dry is when there is more chance of loss or confusion. A few clothespins and a length of plastic line can be helpful. Wooden or plastic clothespins are easily labeled.

I label my mom's quarter socks by sewing labels into the stretchy tops along a rib. Sometimes laundry gets mixed up at the nursing home.

 

[mom2d&b]

DD11 is now at Girl Scout camp for ger first time. They did not have to take uniforms. As far as labeling anything else, I didn't label anything, instead we went to Goodwill to buy clothes for camp. This was actually suggested by the director. Her reasoning was that if something went missing or got ruined it woudl not be a big loss. Since camp is 12 days, I am sureDD will come home with much less then she went with. As we were packing, I just kept remonding her to only pack what she was OK with loosing, or ruining. It was intresting to see her change her mind on what to bring.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Google is your friend. Search on "iron-on clothing labels".

When I went to summer camp (and this was eight weeks at a time) all of my clothing had iron-on labels with my name. And they do not come off in any use or laundry. It was some extra work for my mother before I packed, but I didn't lose (much) clothing.

 

[powellrj]

I have to second the ziploc bag packing method. We always did this. I know the first time DD did it, she was teased until someone spilled a drink on another campers knapsack and had wet sticky clothes for the week. Guess who she borrowed clothes from??? Now most of the camper use the ziploc method. It also frees up lots of space.

DD has progressed from a camper to her second year as a counselor. She is there now and I miss her like crazy!

 

[lovesmurfs]

Been sending the kids to camp for nearly 10 years. Don't mess with iron on labels. Just a Sharpee black laundry marker (I'm brand loyal for few things--this is one of them). For socks, I just mark the initials on the sole of the foot.

Ziplocking worked well when the kids were young. As DS got older, though, it was just a pain (although DD11 still uses them).

 

[Sadie22]

Google is your friend. Search on "iron-on clothing labels".

When I went to summer camp (and this was eight weeks at a time) all of my clothing had iron-on labels with my name. And they do not come off in any use or laundry. It was some extra work for my mother before I packed, but I didn't lose (much) clothing.

Your mother actually followed the directions. I can't tell you how much laundry was not labeled at all at the summer camp where I worked one summer. Laundry was one of my multiple jobs.

Iron-on labels may be okay for items that will be laundered two or three times, but for items that will be laundered multiple times I have found them to be much less durable than the sewn-in variety. This is from my camp experience and the experiences of others in my sons' Scout troops as well as recent experience with laundry at my mom's nursing home. The iron-on labels peel off or come off in the washer or dryer. Having had to replace several missing sets of sheets for Mom because the labels came off, I stopped using iron-ons and use sewn-in labels exclusively.

My sons' Scout uniforms were washed plenty over the years so I needed some way of labeling that I was sure would not come out.

 

[fakereadhed]

It is a HUGE hassle to deal with all the angry parents who want to know where are the new clothes or towels they bought for camp. That's why they make a fuss about labeling. Most of the time they end up in some other camper's luggage on accident and labeling won't help if the kids scoop things up off the floor and shove them in the bag.

Only send things you don't want back. Ratty towels, old clothes, etc. They have socks 3/$1 at Dollar Tree. I know it sounds bad, but I used to work at a camp and it's not a fashion show.

 

[pigletto]

It is a HUGE hassle to deal with all the angry parents who want to know where are the new clothes or towels they bought for camp. That's why they make a fuss about labeling. Most of the time they end up in some other camper's luggage on accident and labeling won't help if the kids scoop things up off the floor and shove them in the bag.

Only send things you don't want back. Ratty towels, old clothes, etc. They have socks 3/$1 at Dollar Tree. I know it sounds bad, but I used to work at a camp and it's not a fashion show.

Totally completely 100% agree.
I worked at a camp as a teen. I was with a group of 7-10 kids all day, every day, including overnight for a week. And at the end of the week I remember one mother being irrate over socks that went missing. We made every reasonable effort but.. honestly? Socks? Wouldn't be my first priority. We even sent home a letter not to send new items just in case. And with a group of 9/10 year olds.. it's time they are responsible for their socks.

There's a website called "Mabels Labels". They are AWESOME and really really cute. They are primarily for younger kids but there should be some plain one's for the OP if she's interested. I can attest to the quality.. they are fabulous.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Google is your friend. Search on "iron-on clothing labels".

When I went to summer camp (and this was eight weeks at a time) all of my clothing had iron-on labels with my name. And they do not come off in any use or laundry. It was some extra work for my mother before I packed, but I didn't lose (much) clothing.

I have never seen any iron on anything which stuck for more than a few washes. And I first went to camp in the 1960s! I agree with using a sharpie and sending old clothes.

 

[NewCrew42]

We label everything & use the ziploc bag method. That being said, unless you instill personal responsibility in your child, they will still lose things. DD lost about 1/3 of her things the first year she went to camp. The next year, I told her she would have to pay for anything she lost. She only lost one item the next year which she had to pay for and hasn't lost anything since.

 

[dreamer423]

Totally completely 100% agree.

There's a website called "Mabels Labels". They are AWESOME and really really cute. They are primarily for younger kids but there should be some plain one's for the OP if she's interested. I can attest to the quality.. they are fabulous.

I 2d Mabel's Labels. DS has had some in shirts and undies for at least 2 yrs and they're still there.

 

[Atliana11]

My 17yo DS is a HUGE Donald Duck fan. He's leaving for Boy Scout Jamboree in July. Does anyone know of a vendor that does clothing labels with Disney characters? Believe it or not, this was his request...I recommended getting the simple Boy Scout labels.

 

[lovesmurfs]

My 17yo DS is a HUGE Donald Duck fan. He's leaving for Boy Scout Jamboree in July. Does anyone know of a vendor that does clothing labels with Disney characters? Believe it or not, this was his request...I recommended getting the simple Boy Scout labels.

See my response above from 6 years ago -- I still stand by it. Sharpie works MUCH better than any iron on labels, and I have 6 more years of experience since I posted.

No, it's not as cute, but MUCH more functional.

 

[tcufrog]

I use Mabel's Labels. They aren't cheap but you can sometimes find a coupon code. They don't come off in the wash but you can remove them yourself to hand down clothes. I have two boys so I don't like to label stuff with a Sharpie. If I do I can't resell or hand it down to little brother. Since they're stickers I have my kids label their own stuff.

Yesterday I got a text from a mom who realized that her son had come home from camp with my son's windbreaker because of the Mabel's label. Apparently she also shops at Target. She's going to mail me back my son's jacket. Since the jacket cost $15 on clearance and would have cost more than that to replace it I thought the labels were worth it after that.