Once everything is packed, how do you know where items are?
- Labels only?
- Numbered boxes?
- Spreadsheet?
- Notes app?
- Just remember?
- Something else?
What system has worked best for you, and what hasn’t?
Whether it’s storage bins, tools, seasonal decorations, or random household items, how do you keep track of where everything is in your garage?
Do you:
- Just remember where things are?
- Label shelves or bins?
- Use a spreadsheet or notes app?
- Have a better system?
I’m a former Marine Captain, mom of four, and professional organizer. After spending years helping families get organized, I kept running into the same challenge: people could organize their belongings, but months later they couldn’t remember where anything was stored.
That led me to build Stowly, an smart inventory platform designed to help families, movers, and professional organizers track what they own and where it is.
We’re still in the early stages and have been connecting with professional organizers, moving companies, and tote rental companies to build partnerships and better understand their workflows.
For founders who have built niche products, what marketing channels ended up working best for you? Was it partnerships, SEO, social media, referrals, communities, paid ads, or something else?
I’d love to hear what worked (or didn’t work) for your business.
Do you leave instructions somewhere?
We have routines, emergency contacts, medicine locations, snack locations, etc., but I feel like nobody ever knows where to find things when we’re gone.
Curious what everyone else does.
A couple of weeks ago I received some great feedback here about storage bin shelving.
After looking at all the options, I think we’re going to build our own and make it a family project.
The first photo is our current setup. The second photo is the style of shelving we’re considering, bins that slide in and out on rails.
Has anyone built something similar?
Do you have plans you’d recommend?
Anything you’d do differently?
Any lessons learned before I start buying lumber? 🤪
I got tired of digging through bins, so I started using QR labels that pull up an inventory on my phone. Curious what systems everyone else uses.
For us it’s hand-me-down clothes and baby keepsakes.
We know we saved them somewhere, but finding the right bin is another story.
What’s the hardest thing for you to keep track of, and how do you organize it?
Hi everyone! 👋
I built an app called Stowly to solve a few problems my family kept running into.
It started as a way to keep track of what’s inside storage bins and totes around the house. From there, I built a moving mode to help track boxes and contents during a move so you can actually find things after moving day.
As I’ve talked with more people, I’ve realized vacation rentals may have a similar challenge. Guests often can’t find things, hosts answer the same questions repeatedly, and it can be difficult to manage turnovers remotely.
Because of that, I’m currently developing a new Stowly Stay mode and am looking for a few vacation rental hosts who would be willing to test it and provide honest feedback.
Current features include:
• Searchable guest item finder
• Property information and house instructions
• Cleaner turnover checklists
• Issue reporting with photos
• Guest feedback tools
I’m not looking to sell anything right now, I’m looking to learn from hosts and make sure I’m building something genuinely useful.
If you’re a vacation rental host and would be interested in testing it out, I’d love to connect and hear about the challenges you face managing your property.
Thank you!
Next we want to build or buy shelving for the bins. Has anyone used the Costco shelving units? Thoughts? Also thinking of building them. Any good plans out there?
My family constantly had the same problems:
“Which box did we pack that in?”
“Which bin did we store the 2T cloths in?”
“Didn’t we already buy more of those?”
We started building a system that lets us create spaces, boxes, and searchable inventory using QR codes. Also document where any of your items not in a storage bin are located. The garage? The basement? The storage unit?
Then it evolved into helping with moving. We are a military family and the lack of accountability for our stuff was mind boggling. You can take all your boxes and loose items and select move mode. We created a movers link whether friends, family, or hired labor and scan as boxes and items get loaded.
Then vacation rentals. Because when we go on vacation and rent Airbnbs we spend too much time looking for things.
Now guests can search things like:
“extra blankets” or “coffee filters” and immediately see where they are. We are still building it and learning as we go, but I’m curious:
What’s the thing in your house you can NEVER find when you need it? Do you have issues finding items at vacation rentals?