How to label moving boxes
Most of us inherited the same labeling system: a marker, whatever word comes to mind, and one box in the corner that just says "stuff." It holds up right until somebody needs something, and then the contents of that box exist in exactly one place — the head of whoever packed it.
A good moving box label is written for someone who has never seen inside the box, is carrying it, and is not going to put it down to read. Four things belong on it: the room it's going to, its number, what's inside, and a color. Everything else is optional.
What to write on a moving box
| Write | Looks like | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The destination room | KITCHEN | The room at the new place, not the room it came from |
| A number and a total | 3 of 8 | Tells you at a glance when a box hasn't arrived |
| Two or four contents | Mugs, coffee maker, filters | Decides whether this box gets opened tonight |
| Handling, if it needs it | FRAGILE · THIS SIDE UP | Only where it's true, or people stop believing it |
"KITCHEN 3 of 8 — mugs, coffee maker, filters" tells a helper where to put it and tells you, a week later, where the mugs are.
Where to put the label
On the top and on at least one side. Stack two boxes and the top label is gone. For boxes heading into a closet or a storage unit, label all four sides, because you won't get to choose which side faces out.
Not on the seam. A label across the tape line gets cut in half the moment someone opens the box.
At eye level on the side, high rather than low, so it's readable on a stack.
Use a room color as well as words
Give every room one color of tape or one color of label and put it on every box from that room. Color is read from across a room; words have to be walked up to. A helper can sort a truckload by color without reading anything.
At the new place, stick a strip of the same color on each room's door frame. Then "the blue ones go in the office" needs no explaining, including to someone who has never been in your house.
Our free label maker prints room labels with a color band and a number on them, on Avery sheets or plain paper. The free printables page has the rest.
Four mistakes worth avoiding
- Labeling the room it came from. The box is going somewhere new. Write where it's going.
- Writing only "misc." or "stuff." The complaint that comes up most in the threads we read, and the one that costs the most later: a row of boxes nobody can tell apart, and a week of opening all of them to find one thing.
- Labeling in pencil or ballpoint. Use a thick black marker. A label nobody can read from four feet away isn't a label.
- Labeling after it's sealed. You label from memory, and memory is why the box says "misc."
A QR code label does the writing for you
A printed label fits about four words of contents. That's the real limit of marker and tape: you can't write a box's whole contents on its outside.
A QR code gets around it. Stick a code on the box, link it to that box's record once, and scanning the label with a phone camera opens the full list and the photos. You can do this with any QR sticker, on any plan, and our label maker prints codes onto the labels for you.
We built Stow Haven for that part. Each box keeps its number, its room, its tape colors and a photo of what went in, and the search covers names, notes, box numbers and addresses — and forgives typos, so "colender" still finds the colander. How to keep track of moving boxes covers the whole system.
Questions
- What should you write on moving boxes?
- Four things: the room it is going to at the new place, a number and a total ("3 of 8"), two to four of the contents, and any handling note that is actually true. "KITCHEN 3 of 8 — mugs, coffee maker, filters" tells a helper where to put it and tells you where the mugs are a week later.
- Where should you put the label on a moving box?
- On the top and on at least one side, high rather than low so it reads on a stack, and never across the tape seam where it gets cut in half. Label all four sides of anything going into a closet or a storage unit, since you will not get to choose which side faces out.
- Should you color code moving boxes?
- Yes. Give each room one color of tape or label and put it on every box from that room, then put a matching strip on each room's door frame at the new place. Color reads from across a room; words have to be walked up to, so helpers can sort a truckload without reading anything.
- Do QR code labels on moving boxes actually help?
- They solve the real limit of a marker: only about four words of contents fit on a box. Stick any QR sticker on the box, link it to that box once, and scanning the label with a phone camera opens the full contents and photos. In Stow Haven this works on every plan.