As a Certified Senior Move Manager®, I have managed hundreds of moves for seniors and busy professionals. With the help of my team of Professional Organizers and Move Managers®, I have created a system for labeling that ensures an efficient move.

Imagine a sea of boxes with no labels on move day! The movers have most of the furniture in place and the boxes just keep coming in. They are getting placed in rooms, with no rhyme or reason.

The movers will complete the job, and you will be left to pick up the pieces of the aftermath. Where do you even begin?

Moving is stressful enough. Ensure that you make the process as efficient as possible for your movers (and you) by making sure that you label your boxes.

 

HOW CAN I MAKE SURE MY MOVERS KNOW WHERE TO PUT THINGS AND I KNOW WHERE TO FIND SPECIFIC ITEMS WHILE UNPACKING?

 

LABEL THE BOX WITH THE ROOM NAME THE CONTENTS ARE GOING TO

Your boxes should come complete with a label that tells the movers where the box is going to be placed. Be thoughtful in creating your labels – you do not want to label the box by the room that it is coming from, instead, label the box with the room it will be going to in your new home.

 

DETAIL THE CONTENTS

Not only will your movers love the room labels, but you will also love the additional detail on the boxes and knowing exactly what’s in them.

What do you want to unpack first in your new kitchen? Likely, the coffee pot, cups & dishes, trash bags, cleaning supplies, and pantry items. Make sure you write down every item or category of items that go in each box so it can easily be located when you need it.

Keep in mind that it will be difficult to remember what’s in a box after you tape it off and start writing your contents on the label. I like to write as I wrap and pack so that I don’t have to remember! Keep a sharpie nearby with your paper and tape. You’ll save a lot of time if you jot it down as it goes in the box!

 

LIST WHETHER THE CONTENTS ARE ESSENTIALS, FURNITURE/CABINET CONTENTS, OR DECOR/NON-ESSENTIAL

Traditional moving boxes don’t include a label that details whether the contents are essential to unpack right away. This was part of the system we created for keeping our moves organized. Our professional moving company boxes have a label that allows the person packing to detail whether it is “A” – Essential, “B” – Furniture / Cabinet Contents, or “C” – Decor / Non-Essential. This makes move day unpacking easier as you see immediately what takes priority.

 

USE COLOR-CODES TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN ROOMS

Depending on the complexity and size of your new home, you may also want to color-code your boxes and corresponding rooms. For example, all the boxes with a red dot go to the kitchen, blue dotted boxes go in the living room, boxes labeled with a green dot go to the master bedroom, and so on. Then the color-coded dots would also be placed on the wall/door of the corresponding room.

 

See my blog post on “How to Pack for Ease of Unpack” for additional packing tips.

 

If you’ve moved around a lot, do you know of any other ways to label boxes for efficient moving and unpacking?

 

PIN IT to remember it!

Happy labeling!

💙,

Nicole

By: Nicole Ramer, SMM~C

(Professional Organizer & Certified Senior Move Manager®)