How to use Moving Box Index

In this guide What Moving Box Index does Step by step How box codes work The room board and search The label sheet Where your data is stored Export and import Limits Tips Questions and answers

What Moving Box Index does

Two weeks after a move, nobody can find the kettle, and helpers have stacked boxes in the wrong rooms because the marker on the side says misc. Moving Box Index gives every box a short code, a list of what is inside and the room it is going to. Search tells you which box holds any item, and a printable sheet gives you one label per box.

It is a single web page that runs in your browser. There is no account and nothing to install.

Step by step

1. Press + Room and add the rooms of the new home, such as Kitchen, Bedroom 1 and Garage.
2. Press + Pack a box. Choose the destination room, then type the contents, one per line or separated by commas.
3. Leave the box code on auto to get the next free code for that room, or type your own.
4. Tick Fragile if the box needs care, and add a note such as open first or heavy.
5. Press Save box, and write the code on the real box.
6. Repeat for every box. The Room board shows one column per room with a chip for each box.
7. When packing is done, switch to Label sheet and press Print labels.

How box codes work

Each room gets a prefix made from the first three letters of its name plus any digits in it, so Kitchen becomes KIT, Bedroom 1 becomes BED1 and Garage becomes GAR. If two rooms would share a prefix, the app makes them different. Boxes are numbered within their room: KIT-01, KIT-02 and so on. A box with no room uses the prefix BOX.

The room board and search

Click a box chip on the board to edit it or move it to another room. Deleting a room never deletes its boxes. They move to an Unassigned column and wait there until you give them a new room.

The search bar looks through box codes, contents, rooms and notes. Type kettle and the result shows the box it is in and the room that box is headed for.

The label sheet

The label sheet lays out one label per box, in order of room and then code. Each label carries the box code in large type, the destination room, an orange band if the box is fragile, and the first six items of its contents. You can choose which rooms appear on the sheet before printing, which is handy when one room is packed days before the rest.

Where your data is stored

The rooms and boxes are saved as one document in this browser's local storage, and it is saved again after every change. There is no network code in the page, so the inventory of your home never leaves your device. Two browsers, or two devices, each keep their own separate board unless you move the data across with an export.

Export and import

• Export JSON downloads the full board as a backup that can be imported on another device.
• Export CSV downloads a spreadsheet with one row per box.
• Copy packing list copies a plain-text list grouped by room, ready to send to whoever is helping.
• Import replaces the current board with an exported one, after asking. A file that is not a valid export is rejected with a message and nothing is changed.
• Reset asks for confirmation and clears the board. Deleting a single box also asks first.

Limits

• No photos of box contents and no item values. It is not an insurance inventory.
• No barcode or QR scanning. You read the code written on the box.
• No shared or live board. Helpers see the printed labels or a copied packing list.
• Labels show the first six items only. The full list stays in the app.

Tips

1. Add rooms for the new home, not the old one. The code on the box should tell a helper where to put it down.
2. List the items you will look for first at the top of the contents, since only the first six are printed on the label.
3. Write the code on two sides of the box as well as sticking the label on, in case the label is hidden in a stack.
4. Use the note for unpacking order. A box marked open first in the kitchen saves a search on the first night.
5. Print the label sheet and copy the packing list before moving day, so the index also exists outside the browser when the computer is packed.

Questions and answers

What happens to boxes if I delete a room?

They are kept and moved to Unassigned. Nothing inside them is lost.

Can I choose my own box code?

Yes. Leave the field on auto for the next free code, or type a custom one.

How many items fit on a label?

The first six from the contents list, along with the code, the room and the fragile band.

Can helpers see the board on their own devices?

Not live. Each browser has its own copy. Share the printed labels, a copied packing list or an exported file.