How to Label Moving Boxes

Once you’ve prepared your belongings for moving, the next step is to pack them. If you haven’t chosen a professional packing service, then you’ll need to pack your items yourself, which can be a big job.

To help you pack like a pro, we’ve put together our expert advice to label your moving boxes. With your boxes properly labelled, you’ll know exactly where you can find each item and your unpacking will be much more efficient.

Create an inventory list

Before you start packing your items into the boxes, you should make an inventory list of everything that you have. Note down your belongings room by room and tick them off when you pack them.

You should also use your inventory list to note down which box each item goes into. You should use the same system that you use to label your boxes, so you’ll know exactly which box something will be in if you need to find it.

Label by room

The best way to label your moving boxes is by room. You can then follow this with the contents if you wish. For example, you might label a box that contains books as “living room / books” or “kitchen / cutlery”. Putting the room on the box will let you or the movers know exactly where the box needs to go when it reaches your new home.

Including some extra information will help you when you need to unpack. You won’t have to open every box to find out what’s inside it, which can help to make your unpacking more efficient.

Colour coding

Rather than labelling every box with the same pen or same labels, it can be helpful to colour code. So, for example, every box for the kitchen will have a yellow label, and bathroom items might have a blue label. This can make unloading even faster, and help make sure your boxes are put in the right room ready to be unpacked.

Numbering

You can also number your boxes to help keep track of them. This can be especially helpful if you’re combining your labelling with an inventory list. You can put the box number next to the entry on your list, so you know exactly where to find it.

Mark by priority

Marking your boxes by priority can help you to clearly see which order you should unpack them in. So, you could label boxes “H” for high priority boxes to be unpacked first, “M” for medium priority boxes, and “L” for lower priority boxes that don’t need to be unpacked urgently.

Think about what you’ll need in the first few days of moving in and what you can leave until last. This will save you from opening a box that contains your Christmas decorations when what you really need is the kid’s school equipment, for example.

Label fragile items

Any delicate, valuable, or sentimental belongings should be packed separately to your other items. You will want to ensure you’ve properly packed these types of items with the right packing materials, to keep them protected on the journey. The box you put them in should then be labelled “fragile”, so the movers know to take extra care with that box.

You should make sure there is a fragile label on a few different sides, so the movers can clearly see that extra precautions need to be taken. This will mean they’ll know where to stack that box in the van to keep the contents safe and will handle it safely.

Clearly label your essentials box

When you’re moving it’s always a good idea to prepare an essentials box that you can open first when you’re in your new home. It could contain everything you’ll need for the first night and morning, including toiletries, clothes, anything you might need to cook dinner or make breakfast.

Clearly label this box as “Essentials” or “First Night”, and let the movers know to pack that box onto the vehicle last and unload it first. Alternatively, you can keep that box with you in your own vehicle, so you don’t lose track of it.

Moving home?

Britannia Movers International provides efficient and reliable removals services to help make your move a success.  We can help with every step of the move, from providing professional packing materials to expertly packing your belongings if required. Contact us to find out more information or get a Quick Quote for an idea of the cost.