Moving can be a nerve wracking experience. The thought of having all your possessions in dozens of various moving boxes can be very disconcerting. However, there’s one strategy that can help reduce your moving stress having a great system for labeling and tracking all your items. That way, you’ll always know where each item is, and you’ll be able to unpack with much less confusion and stress. This article will help walk you through how to do just that.
There are several different ways to label and track moving boxes, but I think this system is the best combination of simplicity and accuracy.
The objectives of the system are to be able to find what you ve packed quickly and easily, avoid losing boxes, and to simplify unpacking. The system is based on the rooms in your new place, so if you have a floor plan, that s helpful.
Here are the basics:
•Create your inventory sheets. Start with a clipboard, a pen and some paper (graph paper works best, but any lined paper will do). Create columns labeled Room Name, Room Code, Box Number and Contents. Start a new page for each room.
•Take each room one at a time. Try to use names and codes that will make sense for the new place instead of your current home so that they can be put where you ll need them. Here are sample codes for common rooms you can use:
BASMT Basement
BATH1 Main bathroom
BATH2 Second bathroom or powder room
BATH3 Third bathroom or powder room
BEDR1 Master bedroom
BEDR2 Second bedroom
BEDR3 Third bedroom
BEDR4 Fourth bedroom
BEDR5 Fifth bedroom
DECK Deck
FAMLY Family room
FOYER Foyer
GARGE Garage
KITCH Kitchen
LIVNG Living room
PORCH Porch
PNTRY Pantry
•Once you know what codes you will use for each room, you can number each box and put a code on the box and on your inventory sheet. For example, the 12th box for the third bedroom would get labeled BEDR3 12, while the 4th box for the kitchen would be labeled KITCH 4. Use these codes on your inventory sheet and your box labels.
•As you pack, update your inventory sheet with a general description of the items packed in the box. Do this each time just before you tape the top of the box shut.
•You ll also want to label at least the 2 broadest sides of every box, along with the top if you re feeling especially ambitious. The side labels are most important because you see them even after the boxes are stacked on top of one another. I would also suggest choosing one side of the box to write down the same general description on your inventory sheet, such as pillows or Sheila s shoes.
•Resist the temptation to get too detailed in your descriptions, mostly because you can become tired of the process and end up not recording anything on the later boxes. It s better to have a simple, clear description than to write down every single possession. The guideline should be to narrow down a future search to 1 or 2 boxes. If your inventory sheets and box labels accomplish this, then you have succeeded.
There you have it your complete guide to labeling and tracking moving boxes. If you follow the guidelines contained here, you should be in great shape for your upcoming move or relocation.
Good luck on your move!
Author Resource:
Scott Clendaniel is a consultant and frequent author on topics related to moving. You can visit his website at http://www.movers-edge.com . One of the most popular topics there is The Change of Address Guide (http://www.movers-edge.com/Change-of-Address-s/35.htm ).
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