What every box label needs to say
Move Your Stuff's damage coverage applies to items its own team packs and is voided on any box the client packed. A carton you seal yourself therefore travels at your own risk, and its label is the only handling instruction the crew receives. Before step one, have a thick permanent marker, tape, a sheet for a numbered inventory and a floor plan of the new home with every room named.
Conservation shipping guidance treats the label as a message to whoever carries the package. The Canadian Conservation Institute advises telling the carrier about anything unusual in a shipment, and notes that size and weight information helps in selecting the right vehicle. On a household move, that becomes three lines on every box: what is inside, which room it goes to, and whether it is heavy or fragile.
A box marked only 'kitchen' or 'misc' gives the crew no hint of what can break or what must stay level. The CCI states that information on an object and its materials helps prioritize hazards and the control measures needed. A useful label names the material and the risk together, such as 'glass, stemware' or 'books, heavy', which tells the person lifting it more than any room name can.
Where to put labels so they stay readable
Inside a truck and in a hallway stack, boxes sit lid to base, so a label written only on the top is covered the moment the next carton lands on it. A carton turned on its side hides a top label just as thoroughly, so write the label on the side of the box as well.
A printed label taped across the flap seam can be cut when the box is opened with a knife, so keep labels on flat side panels away from seams and edges. Bags, rolled rugs, wrapped lamps and other soft or oddly shaped items have no box panel to write on, so attach a sturdy tag or label to the largest flat face and write the room and contents on it, where the crew can read it whichever way the item ends up lying in the truck.
- Write the three label lines on the top panel.
- Repeat them on two adjacent side panels so one face stays visible in any stack.
- Keep every label on a flat panel, clear of seams, edges and tape runs.
- Tie a tag to bags and wrapped lamps on their widest surface.
Numbering boxes and keeping an inventory list
Conservators at the Canadian Conservation Institute number the corner pads inside a reusable shipping box so each pad goes back correctly oriented and positioned. On a household move, a sequential number and an up arrow on every carton do the same job, telling the crew which box this is and which way it has to stay.
Keep a written inventory listing each box number, its destination room, a short contents note and a fragile flag. The Department of National Defence pre-move booklet for Canadian Armed Forces relocations treats unpacking as its own step, with separate responsibilities for the member and for the carrier, and a numbered list gives a household the same footing at the destination, since every box gets checked off as it comes through the door and a missing number is noticed before the truck leaves.
Colour-coding by room is a popular shortcut, and it holds up only when the colour key is posted on each destination door. Pair every colour with the number and the written room name, so a box still reads correctly after tape fades or marker smudges on reused cardboard. How to fill and seal the boxes themselves is covered in our packing guide for moving day.
- Number boxes in sequence as you seal them, starting at 1.
- Draw an up arrow on at least two sides of every box.
- Record each number with its room, a short contents note and a fragile flag.
- Keep the inventory sheet on you instead of packing it in the truck.
- Tick off each number as the box crosses the threshold of the new home.
Clearing old markings from reused boxes
Grocery and shipping cartons arrive with printed brand names, old addresses and earlier hand labels, and a large printed word can easily outshout a new label written in marker. A box reading 'pantry' on one panel and 'bathroom' in big print on another leaves the crew guessing, and a guess on a busy moving day usually means the box lands in the wrong room. Black out every old marking completely before the new label goes on.
Used cartons can lose strength, so keep secondhand boxes for light, unbreakable contents and mark them light. A worn carton near the bottom of a stack is a poor place for books or glassware, and the label is how the crew knows which boxes can bear weight.
- Strip old shipping labels and tape before writing anything.
- Black out every printed product name and old address with marker.
- Write 'light' on reused boxes and fill them only with unbreakable items.
- Pack heavy or fragile contents in sound, uncreased cartons.
Destination rooms, hardware bags and open-first boxes
Write the destination room on every box so the crew can carry it straight to that room, because boxes without a destination room pile up in the entry and get sorted a second time on the clock. Apartment moving with Move Your Stuff is priced by the hour, and the rate covers the crew and truck from arrival to completion, including elevator time and disassembly and reassembly. A two-bedroom apartment generally needs a three-person crew and a full elevator window.
Every piece of furniture you take apart needs its bolts and fittings bagged and labelled with the item they belong to, because whoever reassembles it needs the matching hardware at hand. When furniture assembly at the destination is combined with a full move booking, reassembly is priced at a reduced rate. A small set of boxes marked 'open first', holding bedding, a kettle, toiletries and chargers, keeps the first night from turning into a search through numbered cartons.
When the crew packs and labels for you
Handing the boxes to the crew moves the labelling risk off your side of the ledger, because items the team packs stay inside the damage coverage that self-packed boxes lose, so every label and inventory line from the steps above becomes the crew's work to get right. When packing is booked together with a move, Move Your Stuff includes it at no additional charge with all materials supplied, and on a two-bedroom home a two-person crew typically finishes in three to four hours.
Payment for packing is collected only after the job is complete and the client confirms the work is correct, which makes sign-off the moment to walk the rooms and compare the box labels against your own floor plan and inventory before confirming.
Packing has to be booked when the move date is confirmed and cannot be added as a request on moving day. From May through September, book it at least two to three weeks ahead; outside that period one week is typically enough. Once your date is set, request packing together with the move through the quote page or call Move Your Stuff at 647-982-1819, then write the three label lines on the first box you seal yourself.
