I tried those garden tags too, but the ones I got got brittle and snapped after a couple winters. Maybe it’s the brand? I’ve been using painter’s tape and a pen, which is a total joke—by spring it’s just blue fuzz. Has anyone tried those metal embossing labels? I keep seeing them at hardware stores but they look kind of overkill for a crawlspace.
“I’ve been using painter’s tape and a pen, which is a total joke—by spring it’s just blue fuzz.”
Haha, I totally relate to the painter’s tape disaster—mine just turns into sticky confetti after a few months. I keep eyeing those metal embossing tags too, but are they really worth the price? Do they rust? I’m always worried I’ll spend a bunch and then they’ll just corrode or fall off. Has anyone tried just using zip ties and a Sharpie on a bit of plastic? Wondering if that’s any better than the tape mess.
“mine just turns into sticky confetti after a few months”
That’s pretty much my experience too. I tried those metal tags once—honestly, they hold up better than tape, but if you’re in a damp basement, some will rust over time unless you pay for stainless. Zip ties and a chunk of plastic actually work fine for most stuff. I’ve used cut-up yogurt lids with a Sharpie, and they’re still readable after a year. Not the prettiest, but way better than the blue fuzz everywhere.
I get the appeal of the yogurt lid trick—cheap, easy, and you get to eat yogurt. But for me, Sharpie on plastic always fades after a while, especially in my basement where it’s damp and weirdly warm sometimes. I’ve had better luck just using those paint pens from the craft aisle. Not as cheap as a Sharpie, but the writing hangs on way longer. Still not pretty, but at least I don’t have to guess if it says “main shutoff” or “mystery pipe #3.”
