How to Organize a Move Without Losing a Single Box (or Your Mind)

I've moved internationally three times. Russia → Vietnam → Japan, plus a half-step apartment switch in Tokyo last year that shouldn't have been hard but became its own minor catastrophe.

Here's the system that works. It's boring, deliberately. Boring is the point — anything clever fails on day-of-move when you're exhausted.

6 weeks out: the cull

Four to six weeks before the truck shows up, do one thing: walk through your home with a question.

"If I had to pay ¥500 to move this item, would I?"

For most things, the honest answer is no. Donate, sell, recycle, trash. Do this before packing — not during, not after. You don't want to pay movers to transport stuff you'll throw out anyway.

The second-best time to cull is "now". The worst time is mid-pack, when you're already overwhelmed and just throwing random objects in a box.

4 weeks out: the box plan

Buy boxes. More than you think — somewhere between 30 and 60 for a 1-bedroom flat. Get them in 2-3 sizes max. Don't mix box sizes inside the same load category (kitchen, books, etc.) — it makes stacking miserable.

The single most useful thing you can do at this stage:

Number every box. Keep a manifest.

Every box gets a number from 1 to whatever, written on three sides of the box plus the top. The manifest lives in your phone: box number → 5-line description of what's inside.

That's it. That's the system. Variations:

• Don't use color-coded stickers. They fall off. They confuse movers. Numbers are unambiguous.
• Don't write "Kitchen — pots". Write "23: pots, pans, lids, Dutch oven, baking sheets". The list saves your life on day 2 when you can't find the colander.
• Don't trust your memory. Write the manifest as you pack, not after.

This is exactly the workflow our Box Share feature was built around. Use whatever app you like — the discipline is what matters.

2 weeks out: the photo pass

Two weeks before move day, walk through with your phone and photograph:

• The inside of every box you've already packed (before you seal it, you take a photo)
• Every piece of furniture you're moving, on all four sides (this is your insurance evidence if something gets damaged in transit)
• The current state of every wall and floor in the apartment you're leaving (in case the deposit dispute gets ugly — see the Japan apartment move-in post for the deposit-side version)

Photos solve more move-related arguments than any other tool. Movers, landlords, insurance companies, and your future self all benefit from them.

1 week out: the day-of bag

Pack a single overnight bag with:

• 2 changes of clothes
• Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, basic toiletries
• Phone charger, laptop charger, any device cables you'd cry without
• A box cutter
• A water bottle
• Snacks (yes, really — moving day is long)
• One roll of toilet paper, in a plastic bag

This bag does not go on the truck. It travels with you. Day 1 in the new place is going to be a mess; this bag is your non-negotiable kit so you can sleep, shower, and not lose your mind looking for a phone charger at midnight.

Move day: the rules

1. Movers handle the boxes. You handle the manifest. Resist the urge to "help" carry boxes — your job is to tell movers where each numbered box goes in the new place. Read the room number off the manifest, point.
2. Don't open boxes on move day. Even if you "just need one thing". You don't. The thing is in the day-of bag or it can wait until tomorrow. Opening boxes mid-move loses items.
3. Photograph the truck before it leaves the old place. All four sides. If something gets damaged, this is your evidence.

Day 1 in the new place: unpack in priority order

Don't unpack rooms left-to-right. Unpack in priority of "livability":

1. Bedroom — make the bed before anything else. Future you needs to sleep tonight.
2. Bathroom — toiletries out, towel hung. 10 minutes.
3. Kitchen — minimal version — kettle, two mugs, two plates, two sets of utensils, soap, sponge. Do not unpack the whole kitchen. You don't need 18 wine glasses on day 1.
4. Working surfaces — clear one desk and one table. Set up internet/router. Done for day 1.

Boxes 4 through whatever-number can wait. Don't try to be a hero.

The week after: unpack by usage

Don't try to "fully unpack" by Sunday. Pick a different rule:

"Open the box you need. Close it again when you're done."

For two weeks, this works fine. By the third weekend, you'll have used 80% of your stuff at least once and will know what boxes contain useful things vs. stuff you can give away. That's when the second cull happens — and it's where most people realize 5-10 boxes can go straight to donation.

What to keep after the move

When everything is unpacked, your move manifest is still useful:

• It's a near-complete inventory for insurance
• It tells you which boxes contained what — useful next time you move (and there's always a next time)
• It's a record of what you owned at this exact point in time

Save it. If you used Inventory by AllKeep to track boxes during the move, the manifest is already saved and your post-move inventory is most of the way done.

The summary system

If you remember nothing else:

1. Cull before you pack. Not during.
2. Number every box, keep a manifest. Not stickers.
3. Photograph everything. Before, during, after.
4. Day-of bag goes with you, not the truck.
5. Unpack by livability, not by room order.

Three international moves later, this is the only system that's worked. Use whatever app you like to track it — the discipline is the value.

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AllKeep is a software company in Tokyo building tools that actually work.