Labeling boxes can be a “bugaboo:”

1) Do you black-mark or place a label on the TOP of the box? It is physically the easiest, but when there are several boxes stacked together, you cannot see the bottom boxes’s labels without moving around some boxes. It also can be hard to read the writing.

2) Do you black-mark or place a label on the SIDE of the box? This is definitely the preferred way if you have many stacks of boxes. YOU CAN SEE THE LABEL OF EACH BOX! But it is physically more difficult. It takes TRAINING, and intuitively seems like overkill, even if it is not.

3) Do you buy those pre-printed labels that say “Living Room,” “Master Bedroom,” “Bed Rm #2” and so on.

These labels can work, but:
A) They are an extra expense
B) You have a tendency to run out of labels in a particular category (you have more than 10 boxes going to the basement etc)
C) You might want it to say “Josh’s bedroom” rather than “Bed Rm #3)

This brings us to new box-labeling technique I saw recently:

“STRIPS OF COLORED TAPE ACROSS THE TOP OF THE BOXES AND A COUPLE INCHES DOWN THE SIDE (With the different colors associated with different rooms)

ADVANTAGES OF THIS METHOD

1) The quickest form of identification!
A) You don’t have to struggle to read someone’s scribbling
B) You don’t have to hunt for the label–is it on the top or on the side? The tape is on both the top and the side (It reminds me of the yellow security labeling “Customs” might use at the airport)

DISADVANTAGES OF THIS METHOD

1) You can still run out of colored tape for a particular room.

ECONOMIC ISSUES

The “Penney Wise, Pound Foolish” fallacy is rampant in Moving. The person being moved is spending hundreds–or more likely THOUSANDS–in dollars and time. Small efficiencies like improved box-labeling pay dividends at several different stages of the move:
1) During box-packing
2) During the actual move: The brightly taped boxes make it easier for the Movers to see which boxes go to which room. On the hand trucks, they stack like-colored boxes together.
3) During box-unpacking

CONCLUSION

I am not recommending or selling a particular labeling method. But simply opening up the discussion. What kind of box-labeling system do you use?