Mark all your own personal wardrobe which has to be washed. If this
were invariably done, a great deal of property would be saved and a
great deal of trouble would be spared. For the sake of saving trouble
to others, if for no other reason, all of one's handkerchiefs, collars
and underclothing should be plainly and permanently marked. A bottle
of indelible ink is cheap, a clean pen still cheaper, and a bright,
sunny day or a hot flat-iron will complete the business. Always keep
on hand a stick of linen tape, written over its whole length with your
name, or the names of your family, ready to be cut off and sewed on to
stockings and such other articles as do not afford a good surface on
which to mark.
Then there are the paper patterns, of which every mother has a store.
On the outside of each, as it is tied up, the name of the pattern
should be plainly written. There are the rolls of pieces, which may
contain a good deal not apparent from the outside. All these hidden
mysteries should be indicated. The winter things, which are wrapped
up and put away for summer, and the summer things, which are wrapped
up and put away for the winter, should all be in labeled packages, and
every packing trunk should have on its lid a complete list of its
contents.
Congregationalist