How to label moving boxes so movers put them in the right room

Write for a stranger holding a box

“Kitchen” is not a location. A three-story house has two kitchens in the mind of a tired mover: the one they can see and the one downstairs they have not found yet. A useful label names the floor and a short code the crew was briefed on — K2, MBATH, GAR — in letters they can read from two meters.

Color helps only if every box to the same room shares it and the room sign at the destination uses the same color. Otherwise it is decoration.

Handling flags belong on the box, not in a group chat

FRAGILE, THIS SIDE UP, DO NOT STACK, and OWNER CAR are decisions the person lifting the box needs without unlocking a phone. Print them. If something must ride in your car, it is not on the truck manifest at all.

QR codes are for the exceptions

The printed room code should be enough for 90% of boxes. The QR is for the rest: a private box that should not advertise its room, a pre-printed sticker assigned at pack time, or a crew lead reconciling loaded vs delivered.

Use Avery 5163 / 8163 (2×4″) so there is room for the code, the flags, and a QR without 6-point type. Print two copies: one on each long side.