The point of storing something is retrieving it later, and most storage fails at that step rather than at the packing one. Labelling is the difference and it is done badly almost universally.

Why It Fails

Labels are written for the person packing, who knows exactly what is in the box, rather than for the person retrieving it two years later, who does not.

A box marked “kitchen” tells you nothing when there are four of them. A box marked “kitchen: baking tins and cake stand” can be found without opening anything.

Matching Boxes Help

Labelling works better on a uniform stack, since the labels are in the same place on each box and the eye scans them quickly.

Assorted boxes require reading each one individually. Ranges available in matching sizes, of the kind at olarhike.net, make a storage area readable as well as stackable.

Label the Face You Will See

The most common error. A label on the lid is invisible once a box is stacked or slid under a bed.

• Label the end that faces outward in the storage position
• Label two faces where boxes might be rearranged
• Use large writing, readable from a distance in poor light
• Include enough detail to avoid opening it
• Add the date it was packed

Photographs Beat Lists

The most useful method and the fastest. Photograph the open box before closing it, and either tape a printed image to the end or keep the photographs in a phone album named for the location.

It takes seconds, it captures everything, and it is considerably more informative than a handwritten list of five items when the box contains twenty.

Number the Boxes

The system that scales. Number each box, keep a list of contents against each number, and put only the number on the box itself.

It suits a large collection, a move, or anything stored across several locations. The list can be a note on a phone and is searchable, which no label is.

Colour by Category

Coloured lids or coloured tape by category makes a wall of boxes readable at a glance: one colour for seasonal, one for clothing, one for paperwork.

It works best with a small number of categories, since more than about five colours stops being memorable.

Date Everything

The most useful single addition and the one most often omitted. A date tells you when it was last opened, which tells you whether the contents are still relevant.

A box packed four years ago and never opened is a strong signal about its contents.

Keep a Location Note

For anything stored in more than one place, a note of what is in the loft, what is in the garage and what is under the bed prevents searching three locations.

This matters most for the things retrieved rarely, which are exactly the ones nobody remembers the location of.

Update It When You Open It

The step that keeps a system accurate. A box opened, half emptied and resealed with the old label is worse than an unlabelled one.