Timesaving tips...what's your favorite?

[deb426]

With the busy season upon us (I hope), I thought this might be a good time to start a thread where you can toss out a tip, hint, or tidbit about a timesaver you have found that works for you.

I will start with one of mine. I think that nothing breaks the flow of packaging candles like running out of printed labels. You have to stop what you're doing, turn on the computer, find the label, print it, throw it away because you are low on ink, go to Staples, get toner, load the printer, re-print the label, throw it away because your cat jammed the printer because she has a printer fetish, re-print, have a drink, get back to packing. All very annoying when you're busy.

So this year, I took a day (after stocking up on toner and putting away the cat) and printed a ton of labels, especially for my fall scents. Then I got a box of those pocket thingies for three ring binders and put the label sheets in them, one pocket for each scent. You can fit about 8 or 10 label sheets in each one. I alphabetized the scents and put everything in a notebook. I made a different notebook for other non-candle things I make.

Worked like a charm although the cat's ticked off.

Now, what's your favorite timesaver?

[LuminousBoutique]

presto pot with spout... one for tart wax and one for my container wax.. thats an EPIC timesaver!

I re-package and alphabetized my FO's in drawers, in 1lb bottles right at the end of my workshelf so I dont have to search around for bottles, I used to have them on a shelf in 1-5lb bottles and I wasted time searching around.

lots more little tricks but those are my two timesavers that I think make the biggest difference

[megandgarr]

I dont sell, but this works well for keeping my newest obsession (FO's) under control. When I get a new FO, I add it to a spreadsheet and number it. The spreadsheet includes the number, the fragrance name and the supplier. The number gets written with a sparpie on the top of the bottle cap. I have stackable drawers and keep them organized in the drawers #1-75 in drawer 1, #76 - 150 in drawer 2 and so on. Then I sort the spreadsheet alphabetically by the fragrance name and print it out and keep it by the drawer. When I want a particular scent, I can search the spreadsheet by fragrance name, then look to see what number it is and find it in the correct drawer. So far it has been working pretty well for me.

[RichardLOZ]

Now that sounds like a great idea. We have all of our oils on the shelf and it is a real struggle to find what I am looking to pour, expecially if we already have a bottle open rather than starting a new bottle and then having 2 opened

[Lumina]

I don't have a timesaver...but writing down all of these as they are great and will save me lots of time.

I agree about the labels ...drives me crazy when I have to take the time to print out the labels and they don't turn out right then walk away and forgot what scent I poured...ugh

[brown5052]

I find that with my "old eyes" it's hard to read the small print on the fragrance bottle labels. So when I receive new fragrance oils, I write the name (in pencil) on labels large enough for me to read easy and stick on the bottles. That way I can see the name of the fragrance without too much hassle!

[Judy, USMC]

I double tier my pouring surface. Hard to explain but basically I have a riser at both ends and in the middle of the table. I'll fill the jars or the clamshells on the table first ... then add a board on top of the risers and continue pouring into the containers on the board/upper level. I just make sure the risers are equal and the board is level.

No waiting for the first jars to cool ... great for big batches.

[PAgirl89]

I forget the scents I poured too, so I label all my poured jars with post its or pieces of paper on the lid and tape them. Once I poured what I need to, then I go and make labels for them. I also keep a list of all I poured in a steno book. Size of jar, scent ..etc.

Now I just need a bigger workspace.

[Candybee]

I use empty candle boxes to store my 1 lb FO bottles in. The dividers inside keep each bottle seperate. I cut off the top flaps so the bottles can stand upright in the box and I can put the boxes on my shelving units. That way when I need a bottle I can just pull it out of the box. Or if I need my 'christmas' oils I just pull the box down off the shelf with those oils in them so I am ready to go.

For liquid color bottles, the 1 oz size, I put them in cardboard votive display boxes I got from Candlewic for $1.50. They hold 12 bottles and that way I can store the box on my shelf and pull down the box to transport the bottles to my candle making area when needed.

[Kimb]

I use newspaper to line my work table and I write down on the newspaper what scent I am pouring, so I don't accidently label things wrong.

TIA,

Kim

[nursenancy]

I just started putting all of my labels in one of those clear jewelry organizers that you hang on the wall and that has saved me a lot of time & aggravation.

Plus I do a lot of wicking ahead of time.

[LuminousBoutique]

oh yes wick ahead of time. I'll sit and wick 100 tealights while watching TV or something.. it helps

[EricofAZ]

I bought a box of Avery 5167 labels at Costco (.5x.75 in). They work out to a fraction of a penny each. Every FO I buy gets a sheet. One label goes on the top of the FO bottle because I keep the bottles in boxes. For now, they are alphabetical, but I'm going to arrange them by group (food, sea, dupes, etc.). It is also easy to slap one on a poured candle until I can label it.

I have some mailing labels (bulk at Costco), 1x3 5/8 and I have them printed with lines for FO, quantity, wax type and amount, dye and wick choice. During testing, I just fill it out with a pen and check the boxes and slap the label on. Spreadsheet is by wax number (IGI, etc) and then I put the notes in there based on the label and what the burn results were.

I have a 2 oz shot glass with a white label up the side and markings as to ml. MOST, but not all, FO's weigh close enough. EO's are another story. So instead of weighing the FO's each time, I fill to the line I want that is marked with the ml amount. If I'm using an FO that is thicker or an EO, I weight it on a digital and use the tare feature.

I have not gotten around to it yet, but I'll be putting my wick rolls on a mount with labels so that I can just pull what I want and have a cutter on a string nearby.

Digital thermometer, its great for surface temp and that's good enough for me after a stir or two.

Presto pot, but I don't use the spout. I ladel the wax out or tip the pot. The spout clogs with palm unless I turn the temp higher than necessary so its really pretty much useless. Even when it does work, it is angled wrong and after looking closely, I would have to replace a pipe and bend it to get it right and that's just not in my immediate future.

The wax gets chopped up into chunks and put in a bag that is labeled when I get it. I either chisel or use a hot knife (Harbor Freight) to cut the wax into smaller chunks. Most pieces are 2 - 4 oz. Some half oz. It is easy enough with the odd sizes to grab what I want to get the correct scale reading prior to the presto.

I do need more work space. Managing my dyes is still in the future. I was pretty much down to the standard CMYK or RGB and mixing, but it was so easy to buy a 4 oz bottle of something special that I now have to sit on a high mountain in meditation before I organize that mess. When I do I'm pretty sure that after an epiphany I'll yodel something like "Welllll Allllllllllrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigghtyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy ......... Theeeeeeeeeen!" Pretty sure Einstein, my cat, will put a paw over her eyes.

Edited December 7, 2010 by EricofAZ