<p>For all who are starting/returning to college, how are you labeling (putting D or S's name on) your belongings--i.e.</p>
<ul>
<li> how to label computers, ipods, etc?</li>
<li> how to label other belongings?</li>
<li> what to label?</li>
</ul>
<p>Your advice is appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>I bought a cheap engraver and used that to label my laptop and iPod.</p>
<p>When the PD talked to us at orientation, they suggested engraving valuables with your Drivers License number (if you have one). That way, should it be stolen, the police will be able to know where to send it should they find it. Not to mention it's fairly anonymous to anyone else and it's unique to you personally.</p>
<p>I voted to label nothing but clothing, but I caved to family peer pressure and bought an engraver for items like TV, laptop, etc. My feeling is the engraving of valuables does nothing to prevent theft, and offers little help in recovering stolen goods, as it seems to me the S/N electronics devices will uniquely identify the owner.</p>
<p>We really didn't plan on labeling any belongings, but we did buy dorm insurance which they sent D a indelible marker to mark her computer and other electronics. But I don't think marking anything prevents theft. Computer lock and equipment locks is what we also opted for.</p>
<p>Oh man, my kids would kill me if I labeled their stuff. How humiliating. I might as well sew garanimals on their clothes so they know what matches.</p>
<p>Engrave computer & iPod. Initials are enough on iPod. Don't label anything else, your kid will KILL you. </p>
<p>D (16) and I had a huge row because I insisted that if I bought her a $160 Northface fleece, her name had to be visible on the tag inside. Our final compromise - her initials are visible. </p>
<p>S is at college, and nothing is labelled. I told him to go to campus security and get his laptop engraved. He said his Toshiba laptop, 3 years old and missing the "8" key, would be rejected by anyone looking to steal stuff.</p>
<p>Mombot, LOL.</p>
<p>My S said no labeling but did ""tag" his new laptop with a few quick bursts from several different cans of spray paint after carefully covering all the ports etc. Nothing artistic, it looks like trash, easily recognizable, less likely to be stolen for re-sale. Before the paintjob he photographed it and his other electronics, with close-ups of the serial numbers and filed the prints with photocopies of receipts.</p>
<p>A labeling story.
A good friend went away to college (years ago) to a far, far away school, no stores nearby, no car and no money. When unpacking he found his dear mom had printed in large capital letters his full name, including middle initial, on all his underwear.... What would be the odds of someone with nearly the same name, but different middle initial getting their underwear mixed up with his?</p>
<p>Not a bad idea to use laundry marker pen to put names laundry marker on clothes--if kids are doing their own laundry it's possible they will leave things in the washer or dryer and have them removed by someone else who is eager to use the machine. And of course if you are going to a cshool that has laundry service, you will need to mark with your assigned number, but that information will be in the orientation packet. </p>
<p>Might also want to mark stuff like shower caddies--not so much for theft reasons but to avoid confusion. Our children did not mark laptops (or in the case of the younger one, iPod)--probably a good idea, but not leaving your laptop laying around untended is also a good idea.</p>
<p>When I was a college freshman I carelessly left my hs-graduation-present (expensive) watch on the ground during an intermural athletic endeavor, and forgot it when I left.</p>
<p>I got a call that evening from the campus police who had tracked me down as one of two students with the initials that were engraved in the back of my watch. Sometimes having things marked or engraved is very useful.</p>
<p>I label a lot of things using a Sharpie. My son's computer has laser-etched art that he created (he did a poodle on the back of my iPhone for me) so I don't worry about that. </p>
<p>When the kids went to college, I gave them each a black Sharpie and a silver Sharpie (one or the other will mark anything). I believe they found them most useful for marking stuff in the communal refrigerators.</p>
<p>I know MANY people who have had class rings--college and HS--recovered because of the name or initials inside.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! Good advice and good stories. :)</p>
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<p>My kid put her name in her jacket. Too many black Northface jackets can show up at any party.</p>
<p>Mombot-
LOL. Totally agree. Do you have boys?? My guys STILL harangue me about the return address labels and sharpies I used on their stuff when they went to camp. My older s got called <<firstname, middle=“” name,=“” lastname;=“” full=“” street=“” address,=“” city,=“” state,=“” zipcode=“”>>> at camp one year b/c it was just easier for me to slap those preprinted adhesive address labels that came in the mail in his (non clothing) belongings. Put first initial/last name in clothes b/c the camp sent their stuff to a mass laundry place, and all the camp uniforms and white socks look alike. I have not lived that down (I was just following instructions- camp said to do this; ditto for Duke TIP summer program) but by the time they were old enough for the Duke program they wouldnt let me anywhere near their stuff to be packed! I now threaten to write their name in stuff. Family joke at this point.</firstname,></p>
<p>Since my boys are about the same size, I have longed put their initials inside their clothes with a laundry marker. They went to Catholic schools with uniforms so I put their initials in those, too, because obviously, many kids had the same looking clothes. lol</p>
<p>When DS was a senior, they had to change clothes for “Senior Follies.” When it came time to change back into their uniforms, DS insisted that someone had taken his polo shirt. I saw a green polo sitting in the corner, but DS insisted that he had worn a white polo that day. I walked over and picked it up. Sure enough, his initials were on the label. He hadn’t even bothered to look, because he thought he had worn a white polo that day. </p>
<p>My kid put her name in her jacket. Too many black Northface jackets can show up at any party.</p>
<p>Same with gym bags…too many similar gym bags can show up at practice!</p>
<p>Many years ago I lived in a apartment that was robbed. I had my driver’s license etched into my TV, radio, stereo and wrote my name on other things. The police caught the teenagers that were robbing the neighborhood. The police were thrilled that I did that because not only did I get my stuff back but they had proof that the stuff was stolen from me.</p>
<p>I’m one who would be toast if I labeled my kids’ stuff. But I think it’s a great idea. We had a ton of kids in and out of our home last week. I found a really expensive pair of Hestra ski gloves and the remainder of the week spent asking “Are these yours? Are these yours?” to every kid who entered and left. Finally yesterday I showed them to my H and told him if he heard of any kids looking for gloves that I had found this pair. He flipped them open and sure enough in the inside cuff that “mom” had clearly labeled her 17 year old son’s gloves. I would have never thought of looking for a teenager’s name in a teenager’s clothing but my H labels everything of his so it was his first reaction.</p>
<p>I believe the number on my Driver’s License is also my Social Security Number, so double check. We just labeled stuff with sharpies or labels I ran off on Publisher.</p>
<p>I don’t know if I am very trusting, afraid of D’s reaction or just “out to lunch”, but it never even occurred to me to label anything.</p>