Guides · Use case
Moving Inventory List: Track Boxes and Belongings with Your Phone
Numbered labels on every box, one photo per stack, and when you unload you see whether everything is there. Here are the packing tips; the step-by-step process is on the moving page.
The typical move ends in chaos: twenty identical boxes, nobody knows which one has the coffee maker, and if something gets damaged the insurer wants to know what was shipped at all. A simple system helps: every box gets a number as a label, and a list says what is inside and where it goes. When loading and unloading you photograph the stacks with Scan2List, and the app shows you whether a box is missing.
How to set up the box list, print the labels and load the list into the app is explained step by step on the page Moving with a box list, with a ready-made template. This page is about what has proven useful when packing.
What goes on the box list
Keep the list deliberately lean so you actually maintain it:
- Number: the same as on the label, for example B-001
- Contents, roughly: “Kitchen: dishes, pots”
- Destination room: where the box goes in the new home
- Fragile: a yes or no for the helpers
How to stick on the labels
- One label on top and one on a side, so it stays readable in a stack.
- Write the number large with a marker next to it. Helpers read the number, the app reads the barcode.
- A colored dot per room helps when unloading: everything with a green dot goes to the kitchen.
- Label a box only once it is closed. Half-full boxes otherwise get a number that no longer matches later.
Packing tips that save time when unloading
- Pack room by room and give each room a number range, say kitchen 1 to 15, bathroom 16 to 20. The number alone then tells you where a box belongs.
- A “first night” box with coffee maker, charging cables, towels and bedding, loaded last and unloaded first.
- Heavy things in small boxes, light things in big ones. Books in small cartons, pillows in large ones.
- Photograph every stack before loading. Then you know which boxes are in the truck, and when unloading it is obvious right away if one is missing.
Document valuables for insurance
Most transport damage happens during a move, and anyone who wants a payout from the insurer has to show that the items existed. Photograph more expensive items before packing and note the brand, model and, if possible, the serial number. A home inventory sheet for that is included in the inventory template.
Why barcodes instead of just numbers?
A handwritten “17” has to be read and checked off one at a time when unloading. Barcodes the app captures with one photo for the whole stack. That saves time with many boxes and rules out misreads. For plain numbers a simple code is enough; if you need letters like “KITCHEN-01”, use Code 128. The barcode types comparison explains the difference.
Related: Moving with a box list, step by step · Inventory template with a home inventory sheet