Early in my career, I worked in a grocery store, specifically in the meat department. It’s glamorous, but that experience shaped how I think about food safety to this day.

Back then, closing procedures weren’t just about cleaning up and heading home. There was a system, one that prioritized safety and organization. Beef was always stored on the top rack, pork in the middle, and chicken at the bottom to prevent cross-contamination. Seafood had its own designated rack, kept separate from everything else. Every step had a purpose, and every detail mattered.

Another key part of the job was labeling. Every product had to be clearly marked with when it was prepared or broken down. There was no guesswork, just clear, consistent records that ensured food stayed safe to consume.

That habit stuck with me.

Over time, I started applying the same principles at home. Leftovers, meal prep, anything I cooked, I’d label it with a simple combo of masking tape and a Sharpie: what it was and when I made it. It worked, but it wasn’t perfect. Like the plastic labels we used at the store, they had to be peeled off before washing containers. It was a small annoyance, but one that added up.

I figured there had to be a better way.

Then one day, while going down a YouTube rabbit hole, watching how restaurants optimize their workflows (my idea of entertainment), I came across something that immediately clicked: dissolvable food labels.

That was it. Problem solved.

Now, when I store leftovers, I label them as usual, but when it’s time to clean up, I don’t have to peel anything off. The labels dissolve right in the sink or dishwasher. No extra step, no extra waste. It’s a small upgrade, but one that makes the whole process smoother.

More recently, I discovered PrepWizard , a company focused on restaurant food prep labeling. They’ve developed a system that uses an off-the-shelf Bixolon SLP-DX220 printer paired with dissolvable direct thermal labels . Seeing something like that out in the wild was validating.

It reinforced something I’ve been thinking about for a while: combining side projects with my OCD habits.

The beginning of something worth building for myself.