Who doesn’t love those color coding dot stickers?
They’re tiny and they’re colorful, and that makes them cute. They’re also incredibly useful.
In 2002, researchers found that people did 5-10% better in pattern recognition tests when color was involved. This is because the brain responds to color faster than to words in black and white, which leads to increased mental performance.
When applied in the home or office, assorted color coding labels can help you sort, track, and find things easily. Here are seven fun ways to use round colored stickers to make your life easier (and more colorful).
1. Calling attention to important details
A handy use for these colored circle stickers is to place them next to sections of text on documents to make sure people pay attention. You could even write one- or two-word memos on the labels—with the color for a backdrop, they’ll stand out more than if you just scribbled them down in the margins.
You could even take this idea out into the real world, placing labels on objects around the home or office to make connections between them. Then again, this might not make sense for most people. But colored dot stickers are fun, so why not?
2. Color coding file folders
Use these colorful stickers to keep track of file folders more easily. Just place a sticker on the folder tab, next to its name. You can group multiple folders by color, or you can assign a different color to each one. Because the brain responds to color faster than it responds to words, this will make sorting your folders and finding needed information a breeze.
3. Labeling your possessions
Sometimes, it’s all too easy to lose track of your things. This can be especially stressful in a crowded, public environment, where anyone could mistake your iPhone for theirs.
In situations like these, you can relieve some stress by labeling your belongings—especially if they can be easily lost, or mistaken for someone else’s. Using stickers in a color unique to you can add some fun to the function.
And since colored circle labels come in nice round shapes, they’ll look neater than the square labels or tape that most people would use.
4. Color-coding storage containers
Instead of using the same label on every storage tote, or scribbling on boxes with a black magic marker, add some color to your storage areas by using specific colored labels for different containers.
During a move, you could use different colors to represent each room of the house—blue for living room, yellow for kitchen, etc.—to make unpacking easier.
5. Sealing envelopes
Send letters with the elegance and charm of a wax seal by placing colored stickers on the flaps.
Then again, maybe only do this when you “send” your children the junk mail to play with. Your boss might not be impressed if you sent out company mail like that.
6. Keeping track of your lunch
You can use colored labels to keep track of the expiration dates on food and medicinal items in the fridge. Or you can use them to keep your lunch separated from everyone else’s if you’re unfortunate enough to use a shared refrigerator.
7. Indicating item prices in a yard sale
The next time you clean out your house or garage and set up an outdoor museum for your neighbors to examine, use colored labels to indicate prices. You can put up a sign with an amount assigned to each color, or you can write the prices on the labels, and let the colors help people differentiate between them. There isn’t much else to enjoy about yard sales, so why not use fun colors to make it a little less terrible?
Plus, 85% of shoppers say that a primary reason for choosing to buy a product is its color. This probably has little to do with yard sales, but if you wanted an excuse to use colored stickers the next time you sell your furniture on the front lawn, now you have one.
And there you have it—seven fun ways to use colored stickers and organize your life.
