The Genius Reason to Tape a String To Your Moving Boxes

Written by

Sarah Rae Smith
Sarah Rae Smith
Sarah Rae Smith has lived all across the Midwest and currently calls the bratwurst-laden city of Sheboygan home. She seeks out kitchens that make the best pie and farmers with fresh eggs.
published Jan 8, 2018
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In my adult life, I’ve moved almost twenty times. No seriously, I have. It’s not a badge of honor by any means, but, because of this, I’m now awesome at packing everything I own in quick order, and knowing exactly how many and what size boxes I’ll need. It’s a super power. So color me surprised when I saw this tip about a new (to me) method of box packing that makes unpacking even easier.

While poking around Instagram a few weeks back, I stumbled upon this hardware store in Durban. Where’s Durban you ask? Oh, it’s just over in SOUTH AFRICA! Man, isn’t the internet cool? One minute you’re trying to figure out what Justin Bieber is drinking from Starbucks today and the next you’re looking at how-to videos from hardware stores on other continents. See what I did there? I said you’re. Because if I singled myself out then you’d judge me for my love of the Biebs, but now we’re in it together! I digress.

The idea from Parlock Mica Hardware’s Instagram video is simple. Just put a piece of string under the tape, and, when it comes time to unbox all your earthly possessions, you don’t need scissors, or to break a fingernail in the process. One or two boxes isn’t a big deal, but when you pack and move an entire apartment or home, this idea comes in handy!

To make it easier, I suggest cutting the strings to length all at once in advance. You can also color code your strings to correspond with different rooms in your space, so you know what’s inside without having to write on every single box. Give it a try on your next move and a big thumbs up goes out to hardware stores in South Africa.

This is such a smart idea. Has anyone tried it?