Moving inventory list: what to record for every box
A moving inventory is a numbered list of every box and large item: box number, room, contents, condition and value notes, signed by you and the mover before loading. Add a photo of each box’s contents and of valuable furniture before it leaves — that is what settles a missing-item or damage question later.
Packers and movers in India usually prepare their own list of items when they pack — often a carbon-copy sheet with item names and a count. It protects them as much as you. Your own inventory, kept alongside theirs, is what you use to check the delivery, find things after the move, and support a claim if something goes missing or arrives broken.
What a moving inventory should record
| Field | Example | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Box / item number | 014 | Count on loading and on delivery. |
| Room (from → to) | Kitchen → Kitchen | Where it came from and where it goes. |
| Contents | Pressure cooker, 4 steel tiffins, mixer jars | Finding things; proving what was in it. |
| Condition before | Good / scratch on left door | Separates old marks from new damage. |
| Fragile / value note | Fragile · glass | Handling, and the insurance declaration. |
| Photo | Photo of open box | The evidence a written line can’t give. |
| Checked on delivery | ✓ / damaged / missing | Closing the loop at the new home. |
To use it in Excel or Google Sheets, make these seven columns, one row per box or large item.
The household items list movers expect
Large items are usually listed individually, everything else by box. A typical list, room by room:
Living room
- Sofa set (number of seats), centre table, TV (size) and wall mount, TV unit, shoe rack, curtains and rods, showpieces, books, photo frames, carpets.
Bedrooms
- Beds (size) and mattresses, wardrobes, dressing table, study table and chair, AC (indoor and outdoor units), clothes, bedding, children’s toys.
Kitchen
- Fridge, microwave, mixer-grinder, water purifier, gas stove (cylinders usually travel separately or not at all — ask your mover and gas distributor), crockery, utensils, pressure cookers, dry provisions.
Others
- Washing machine, inverter and batteries, geysers, two-wheelers or a car (often on a separate carrier), plants, pooja items, tools, suitcases.
Photos: the part that settles arguments
A line that says “crockery — 1 box” can’t prove there were twelve plates or that they were whole. A photo can. Before loading:
- Photograph each box open, contents visible, before it is taped.
- Photograph each large item — sofa, fridge, TV, wardrobe — from two sides, close up on any existing scratch.
- Photograph the TV and electronics switched on, to show they worked.
- Keep the photos together with the inventory, not scattered in your camera roll.
This is where WhatsWhere is quicker than a spreadsheet: photograph the open box and the app lists what it sees as that box’s contents, with the photo attached. You can confirm or rename the items, or carry on and fix them later.
Who signs the inventory
Go through the mover’s list with the supervisor before loading and check it matches your boxes — count, numbers, and the description of large items. Both of you sign it, and you keep a copy. Don’t sign a blank or partly filled sheet. If the mover writes “used”, “old” or “scratched” against an item, check that it’s true; it limits what they will accept later.
Checking the inventory on delivery
- Count boxes as they come off the truck. Tick each number.
- Check large items on the spot — doors, glass, screens, legs — before the movers leave.
- Open fragile boxes first. Photograph any damage before you move anything.
- Note damaged or missing items on the mover’s delivery receipt before you sign it. Write “subject to inspection” if you haven’t opened everything.
- Unpack and tick off each box over the next days. If something is missing, you’ll know which box it was meant to be in.
If something did arrive damaged, the next steps are in how to claim for damage from packers and movers.
A printable inventory sheet
- Box no. ______ Room: ____________ → ____________
- Contents: _______________________________________
- Condition before: ___________ Fragile / value: ___________
- Photo taken ☐ Loaded ☐ Delivered ☐ Unpacked ☐
Print one block per box, or copy the seven columns above into a spreadsheet. Pair it with clear box labels so the number on the sheet matches the number on the carton.
An inventory you don’t have to type
In WhatsWhere, a photo of each open box becomes its contents list. Boxes carry QR labels, and the “where everything went” report exports the whole move to a spreadsheet.