Label boxes by the room they go to

Name the room on two sides of every box and keep a first-night box with you.

Write the room and a short contents line on every box. Kitchen, pans is enough. Bedroom, linens is enough. Write it on two sides so a stack does not hide the label. A label on the top only disappears as soon as another box lands on it. Use a thick marker. A pen looks neat in the kitchen and vanishes in the truck.

Number the boxes and keep a simple list on paper or on your phone. Box 14, kitchen, pans. When a box is missing, the number tells you what to ask about. The list rides with you, not in box 14. Update it when you add a box, not at the end of the day when you are guessing. A list you trust is the whole system. A list you stopped keeping is decoration.

Carry documents, spare keys, and the closing folder in the car. Do not put them on the truck. Jewelry and any small thing you cannot replace go in the same car. The truck is for boxes you can wait a day to open. Load the first-night box last so it comes off first, and keep it out of the truck entirely if there is room in the car. First off only works if nobody stacks a mattress on it.

At the new place, call the room as you unload and check the number off the list. A box marked kitchen that arrives in the garage is still a win if the list says it arrived. Do not retape labels at the destination unless a label tore. The name you wrote at the old house is the name on the list. Finish the check-off before you start unpacking, so a missing number is obvious while the truck is still there.

What to do

1. Label at least two sides of each box with the room and a short contents line.
2. Number the boxes and keep the list with you.
3. Carry documents, keys, and the closing folder in the car, not on the truck.
4. Check the numbers off as you unload, before the truck leaves.