How To Label Moving Boxes The Write Way

By David Green

Updated: Mar 5, 2020

4 min read

Fact-checked by Martin Panayotov

Reviewer & editor

Task prioritisation during a house move is important as not all moving tasks have the same level of importance. For example, failure to take your seemingly healthy pet for a full medical checkup before the move won’t disturb much your relocation flow. However, neglect to label your moving boxes properly and you’ll be clearly heading for a post relocation world of total chaos, strong headaches and shattered nerves.

The diligent process of labelling boxes when moving house tends to be underestimated by inexperienced home movers but the truth is that anyone who has moved house before knows just how essential that job is. In reality, there are a number of essential factors to be considered when labelling moving boxes, but the thing to be kept in mind is that completing that particular organization task the right way will save a crazy amount of time and maybe even some money in the process. The usage of a proven labelling system to mark the packed boxes will ensure that the hired removal men finish their job more quickly and without any mistakes whatsoever.

So, what is the best way to label moving boxes? Read on to find out the correct answer to the question why and how to label your moving boxes.

Required Materials To Label Boxes For Moving

Well, before you can actually label a box by choosing the labelling system that best works for you, you need to have a few things ready beforehand.

Packed boxes

This requirement is too obvious to miss but there are a few specifics which are often overlooked for various reasons. For starters, you can’t possibly label your boxes before you fill them up with household items simply because you won’t know what exactly you will end up placing in them. On the other hand, it’s not a good idea to pack all your boxes and then go about marking the contents and destinations rooms of the filled containers just because you won’t remember the details anymore. Therefore, don’t forget that timing is a crucial element of the entire labelling process – you label a moving box only after you have packed it safely and sealed it shut with tape.

If some of the boxes you’re about to use for packing up your household had been used in a residential move before, the containers may already be marked and labelled by the previous home movers. In such cases, the presence of multiple labels can easily confuse both you and your hired labourers. To avoid such unwelcoming confusion, either place your own labels above the old ones or mask the previous ones with the help of your markers or properly sized (coloured) pieces of paper.

A set of quality markers

labelling moving boxes tips — 5 coloured markers, 5 different rooms. Be consistent – when you choose one labelling method, stick with it until the end to avoid unnecessary confusion among your removal men and yourself as well.

Get hold of a set of coloured permanent waterproof markers of good quality as those markers will surely turn into your best tool to organize your boxes when moving house.

Why should the markers be coloured? If you decide to go with the colour-coding labelling system, as you should, you will need thick felt tip pens of different colours to mark your moving containers, and thus make the delivery and unpacking stages a breeze for everyone involved. Learn more about the practical colour codes below.

Why should the markers be permanent and waterproof? It might rain or even snow on your moving day and your boxes will inevitably be exposed to the wet climatic conditions outside, be it even for a little while. And as a consequence, if you haven’t used waterproof marker pens, your writing on the boxes may smudge and even run due to the rain or snow. In case you couldn’t find waterproof markers or you didn’t have time to look for such at all, then use regular felt tip pens to label your packed boxes and then cover your writing with clear packing tape as extra protection.

Labels or stickers

When it comes to (coloured) labels and stickers to attach to your already packed boxes, you have 2 good options to choose from:

Purchase pre-made box labels from your local removal company or look for suitable labels on the Internet as many websites offer downloadable and printable label templates for free. Such ready-to-use labels will usually have the names of the different rooms printed on them (kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc.), as well as blank spaces where you can put down the contents of the individual boxes.
Also, you can have some fun and create moving labels for boxes yourself. If you have experience with graphics programs such as Photoshop or Corel Draw, consider designing and customizing your own box labels. Of course, this is only a viable option if you have the required skills and sufficient time for such extra activities. Alternatively, the simplest and fastest way to make your own labels is to just take blank A4 printer sheets and cut out plain labels of different shapes – tetragons, squares, circles, ovals, stars, etc. The resulted homemade labels will probably be far from fancy but the main idea here is to achieve proper moving organization, not to win a contest for the prettiest labels. Moreover, if you have copy paper of different colours in your home, you might be tempted to use the coloured labelling system described below.

High quality tape

You need plenty of good quality tape for the packing process anyway, so you’ll definitely have clear packing tape available to protect additionally the labels whenever necessary. However, the type of tape you won’t have handy when labelling boxes for moving is coloured tape should you select the colour-coding labelling system. You can purchase rolls of differently coloured tape from the nearby office supply shop or directly from your removals. We’ll explain how this colour coding works in a bit.

Labelling Systems That Just Work

The best way to label moving boxes is to choose one of the following two labelling methods that have proved to yield the most satisfactory results during the chaotic times that only a house move can bring about.

Labelling system #1: Colour codes

label with colours — For easier identification, you can also use coloured Post-It Notes on your packed containers under a layer of clear packing tape. If you finish labelling your moving boxes ahead of schedule, why don’t you have some sticky notes fun to relieve the stress?

Arguably, the best labelling system when moving house is the usage of colour codes. It’s very simple: you select one colour for one particular room and then simply use that colour to mark all the boxes that should end up in that particular living space.

Let’s say you choose the colour red for your bedroom, in which case you should use a red marker to write BEDROOM on the corresponding boxes and attach red labels with the contents of the moving container. And, if you’re willing to go a bit further, you can even use red packing tape to seal the boxes filled up with bedroom items – an optional step which will effectively eliminate all margins for errors.

Similarly, you can also go green for your KITCHEN, blue for your BATHROOM, and so on. The colours can be randomly selected as long as you stay consistent with the next step of this labelling system too.

Be mindful that to have coloured labels on your boxes won’t help you much if your removal men don’t know what the meaning of each colour is. The last thing you’d want is to have the kitchen boxes placed in your bedroom, right? To avoid confusion and lost time, don’t forget to attach coloured cards on or over the doors of the rooms in your new home so that your hired labourers can deliver the right boxes in the correct room or area.

Labelling system #2: Number codes

Instead of using colour codes to label boxes for shipping, you can designate a unique number to each packed box which will eliminate the need to mark down the contents of the box in question. As you can probably suspect, the very first step of this labelling system starts with the creation of a master inventory list where each number details the items that can be found inside a moving container.

This way, all the boxes numbered from 1-10 will go to the kitchen in your new home, but just a glance at the master checklist will tell you that the coffee maker is conveniently packed up in box number 4. The number codes will be very useful to the person doing the unpacking, who in most cases will be no one else but you, but how will the removal team know where to put down each number coded box?

Without the convenience of colour codes, your hired professionals will apparently have to read the marked destination room on each box. Therefore, don’t forget to write the names of the destination rooms on each and every packed box. And by no means should you ever lose the master checklist! To prevent headaches, it’s a great idea to just scan the numbered inventory checklist and send it to your own e-mail account as backup.

Extra Tips For Labelling Moving Boxes

Proper labelling is really important and should not be underestimated as it brings added efficiency in your move. In the end, let’s finish with some extra useful tips for labelling boxes when moving house.

Box labelling tip #1: Where to label the moving boxes?

You should label a cardboard box on its top and on at least two of its sides, preferably 3. That will allow you to identify the contents and destination of a box with only one glance even when the moving containers are stacked together. And consequently, the sooner you identify, locate and unpack your possessions, the sooner you will be able to settle in your new home and get your life back on track.

Box labelling tip #2: How to attach the labels on the moving boxes?

How to label packing boxes — Devise a smart system to label your moving boxes and save tons of time later. Note: This is definitely NOT the best labelling system for your packed moving boxes.

The safest way to attach the labels on your moving boxes is to use clear packing tape over them so that they don’t come loose during the transportation. Make sure the tape is of high quality, otherwise you run the risk of having your labels come off while the shipment is on the road. If you prefer, you can also glue the information pieces of paper but that is usually the slower and messier option of the two.

Box labelling tip #3: What instructions to write on the moving containers?

Don’t forget to also mark your boxes with fragile contents. Whenever necessary, put down FRAGILE, THIS SIDE UP, or HANDLE WITH CARE on selected moving boxes with big black letters. If you’ve just packed up your survival kit – the box filled with the essential items you will need when you’re on the road yourself or immediately after you reach your new home, write down OPEN FIRST with your trusted black marker.

If you’ve just finished packing a few boxes that you will take with you, mark them with DO NOT LOAD ON TRUCK. And, if you are in the right mood, you could even draw the contents of the boxes on the boxes themselves.

Finally, to answer your quick question before you have even had the chance to ask it: Yes, if you have hired a reputable removal company, the moving crew will pay attention to all kinds of labels.

How to Label Moving Boxes the Write Way