What You Need: Tape strong enough to keep heavy boxes from collapsing when being moved or mailed, yet pliable enough to be quickly cut or torn open upon arrival at their destination.

What Works: Scotch Tear-by-Hand Packaging Tape, $5 for 38.2 yards of two-inch tape; or Scotch Mailing Tape (brown roll above), $3.50 for 11 yards of two-inch tape: both available at drugstores, home centers, and hardware stores nationwide.

Why: Both eliminate the hassle of having to use scissors or mounting the roll onto a clunky commando tape gun. Tear-by-Hand tape rips easily (no teeth needed) but is brawny enough to secure a box. Mailing Tape comes on a reusable serrated dispenser for one-handed sealing and slicing.

Taping Tips:

For sturdiness, use two to three strips of tape along the center seam, top and bottom, then add a strip of tape along the two ends, top and bottom.

Tear-by-Hand Tape is ideal for moving jobs because it's smooth. That means packed boxes, when stacked, will slide easily across one another rather than sticking or snagging.

Mailing Tape is paper, so you can write the address on the tape without the ink smudging (but always include a copy of the address inside the box in case the outside gets damaged in transit).