Get the labels
Get the labels

A home inventory app you’ll keep up to date

SmartPacks is a home inventory app that starts with a QR label on every bin and box. Holiday decorations, camping gear, the kids’ clothes in the next size up, the box of cables you’ll need one day: add what’s inside once, and search your whole house from your phone.

A patterned storage box on a closet shelf with a SmartPacks QR label on its side

Sound familiar?

  • Buying a second air mattress because the first one is somewhere in the attic.
  • Opaque bins that all look alike on the garage shelf.
  • Seasonal swaps that start with unstacking every bin to find the right one.
  • A home inventory spreadsheet started once and never touched again.

Set it up in four steps

  1. 1

    Stick a label on every bin and box

    Totes, shoeboxes, file boxes, suitcases: anything whose contents you tend to forget.

  2. 2

    Scan it into a room or zone

    Locations like Garage, Attic, Basement or Hall closet tell you where to look, not just what you own.

  3. 3

    Fill it in with photos

    Photograph the contents and let AI keyword suggestions do most of the typing. Add the words your family would search for.

  4. 4

    Find it from anywhere in the house

    Search “air mattress” from the couch to see the box and where it is. Or scan a bin to check it before you lift it down.

Start where things disappear

You don’t need to inventory the whole house in a weekend. Start with the places where things go missing: the garage shelves, the attic, the basement, the top of the hall closet. Those are the boxes you open least and search for most.

Create a location for each zone. Be as precise as is useful to you: “Garage” may be enough, or “Garage, left shelf” and “Garage, loft” if a lot lives out there. You can add, rename and sort locations at any time.

Label as you sort

Take down one shelf at a time. Group like with like, give each group a bin, then stick a label on the bin’s short end, the side you see when it sits on the shelf, and scan it. Add items before the lid goes back on: one photo of the open bin, plus separate items for anything you’ll want to find on its own.

AI keyword suggestions help a lot here. Take a photo and SmartPacks proposes keywords, so a bin of camping gear gets tent, sleeping bags and lantern without much typing. The free plan includes a daily allowance of suggestions. Add your own words too, the ones your family actually uses (“Grandma’s quilt”, not just “blanket”).

Use colors for seasons or people

With the colored labels, give each color a meaning: one per season, one per family member, or one for everything holiday-related. The app shows each box’s color in your list and can sort by color, so the red boxes are easy to pick out when the decorations come down.

Keep it current

An inventory stays useful when updating it is easier than ignoring it. When something leaves a box for good, delete it while you are standing there. When a bin moves from the attic to the garage, change its location in the app. Swapping seasonal clothes? Scan both bins and update both lists.

If more than one person in the house puts things away, a shared profile keeps everyone in the same inventory. Creating one needs SmartPacks Pro; everyone else uses the free app.

Search the house from the couch

This is where it pays off. Type “air mattress”, “HDMI” or “Halloween” into the Item List and you’ll see every match with its box and location. With Smart Search, a Pro feature, you can search by meaning, so “beach stuff” can find the box with the towels, the sunscreen and the cooler bag.

Ready to start? Here’s how to use QR code labels with the SmartPacks app.

Related guide: Garage and seasonal storage organization

Features you’ll use

  • Scan a label, open the box

    Point the app at a SmartPacks label to see what’s in that box. Scan an unused label and it becomes a new box, ready to fill.

  • Photos of every item

    Add several photos to each item, straight from the camera or from your gallery, so you recognize things at a glance.

  • AI keyword suggestions

    Add a photo and SmartPacks suggests keywords for it. Choose how many it adds on its own, or turn it off. The free plan includes a daily allowance.

  • Locations

    Group boxes by where they live: garage, attic, office or storage unit. Each location shows how many boxes and items it holds.

  • Search across every box

    Type a keyword in the Item List to see every match, with the box and location it’s in. Each box has its own search too.

  • Colors, sorting and filters

    Colored labels show their color in your box list. Sort boxes by number, name, color or item count, and filter by location.

  • Smart Search

    Pro

    Search by meaning instead of exact words. Ask for “winter clothes” and find the sweater, the jacket and the scarf.

  • Box reminders

    Pro

    Pick a date and time for a box and the app reminds you: a seasonal swap, a return deadline, the end of a storage rental. Edit or cancel them in Settings.

Common questions

Will the labels hold up in a garage or basement?

They are laminated and water-resistant, made for cardboard boxes, plastic bins and totes. For the best start, stick them on a clean, dry, flat surface.

Can SmartPacks be part of a home insurance inventory?

It can help. Each item can have photos, and you can export your boxes and items as a PDF or CSV file. Ask your insurer what records they want.

Can everyone in the house add things?

Yes, with a shared profile. The person who creates it needs SmartPacks Pro; everyone they add uses the free app as an Editor, who can make changes, or a Viewer, who can only look.

Can I get a reminder for the seasonal swap?

Yes, with SmartPacks Pro. Set a reminder on a box, like the winter clothes bin, and the app reminds you on the date you pick.

Ready to label your boxes?

Pick a pack of 48 white or 64 colored labels. The app is free, with no limit on boxes.

Get the labelsCompare the packs