For those that find themselves moving often will remember that the first box the packers form is box number 001—the hardware box. This is the box where all of the nuts, bolts, clamps and other small parts that are removed when the movers take apart your belongings prior to packing them in the truck to move to your next location.
I have heard and experienced horror stories of all of the hardware through into one pile and the unpacking team has to sort through all of the bolts to find the one that works…all of the screws for the disassembled piece of furniture is wrapped in an unlabeled piece of white paper and thrown in the box. There is a simple solution for this that will make your life and your packers lives much easier.
The solution for organizing your hardware box is a box of Ziploc bags.
We use Ziploc bags for plenty of things while we are moving—silverware, power cords, and other things that need to be wrapped up prior to the arrival of the packers. So, this trip we placed a new box of Ziploc bags next into the hardware box with a Sharpie. The packers typically have a pen but a Sharpie makes a big difference when labeling a Ziploc bag. As the packers begin to take things apart and find little cords they simply use the bags and marker to label the bags. This makes the job of the packers easier, because they don’t have to create anything—they just use what is there.
This is a simple tip that we have overlooked in the past but it is a great trick to help the hardware box be a little more organized when it finally goes on the truck.