Label Like a Pro
Label like an Orange County Moving Professional!
A Quick Guide to Labeling Your Moving Boxes Like an Expert
Whether you’re hiring the best Orange County moving company to handle your move or doing most of the work on your own, there’s one step you can’t skip: labeling your moving boxes.
Sure, you could move unlabeled boxes into your new home. But that would just mean you’d have to spend hours and hours sorting through boxes because you have no idea where anything is. It makes for a very unpleasant and inefficient unpacking process. So instead of floundering around in a sea of unlabeled boxes when you move into your new home, take these tips for labeling your boxes right.
Use the right tools
The key to a labeling system that works is making it easy to read. If you have to hunt all over each box for a tiny marking from a ballpoint pen, you may as well not label them at all. So gather up several good-quality permanent markers, preferably with thick tips that will make your labels easy to read from a distance.
Choose a high-quality brand, even if they’re more expensive. Otherwise, you’ll likely run out of ink halfway through labeling, and just have to go buy more cheap markers, anyway.
You might even consider color coding your boxes, for the ultimate in organization. This can also make things easier on your movers. Assign each room in your home a specific color, and label the boxes to match. On moving day, get to the new home early, and use paper, stickers, or duct tape to label the doorway of each room accordingly.
Voila! An easy system so that boxes end up where they need to be, and you do less shuffling around after moving day.
You’ve got a couple of options for color-coding boxes. One is to use different marker colors for each room, though this can be a little difficult to read because colors don’t show up as well on brown corrugated cardboard. Another option is to use colored duct tape or stickers to label each box, which can be easier to see. If you decide to go this route, get plenty of each color, so that you don’t run out halfway through packing.
Create a list on each box
Don’t just label boxes by color and/or room name. Instead, take time to label each box with a list of its actual contents. The goal here is to have a good idea of what’s in the box before you have to open it. This will make the first few days in your new home, when you’re only halfway unpacked and still looking for specific items, much easier.
The best option here is to label the box on the top and at least two sides with the room name and the appropriate color code. Then, on one side of the box, or possibly on two sides, make your list of what’s in the box.
Be as specific as you can, even though it takes a little more time. You can make things easier on yourself by packing similar items in each box, as much as possible. In other words, pack plates and bowls together, rather than jumbling in plates, forks, spoons, and some random kitchen gadgets. Or pack things into boxes based on where you normally keep them, such as “junk drawer items” or “kitchen utensil drawer.” This will help keep the labels concise but still specific enough to know what’s in them.
Consider a number system
If you really want to stay organized when unpacking in your new home, take time to create a number system. This can save you from having to write on individual boxes a list of what’s in them.
Basically in this system, you’ll assign each box a number. Then, on a sheet of paper (or using a laptop or your phone), list each box number beside a detailed list of what’s in that box. Your list will look something like this:
- Kitchen towels, fancy plates, good silverware
- Coffee maker, coffee grinder, extra coffee
- Etc.
This can help you get a detailed list, but still be able to use the boxes for different purposes laster. Just be sure you don’t lose the list, or unpacking could be a real headache!
Let your movers in on the secret
On moving day, take a little time to go over your labeling tricks with your Orange County movers. This is especially important when it comes to defining where each box should end up. The best movers will take boxes to the rooms where they’ll ultimately be unpacked, rather than jumbling them all up in the closest downstairs room. But for this to be effective, your movers need to understand which room is which, and how to match boxes to each room.
Using good labeling techniques will ensure that unpacking is a breeze, even if it takes a while to get through all those boxes!