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pinkytoe
1-30-25, 2:00pm
Snowed in today so I am cleaning out some closets. For some reason, we have been saving boxes that small appliances came in - many purchased years ago. DH tends to keep all the boxes his tools came in too. The excuse now is that we may need them when/if we move. I have a recollection of cleaning out his parent's house and finding the same sorts of boxes up in the garage attic - falling apart and full of insects. Also read a book recently written by a woman who does estates and she said there are certain things she always comes across in cleaning out houses - twist-ties, half empty paint cans and empty product boxes. I want to pitch them all. Thoughts?
iris lilies
1-30-25, 2:51pm
Because of the hideous amount of ordering I do from Amazon, we are overrun with boxes so no, I do not keep them. During flower show season I probably keep a few that are right sized for typical uses, but I don’t keep them for that elusive “in the future “at all. And now we have room in our giant ass garage to keep them, but I’m not going to keep them
ToomuchStuff
1-30-25, 2:58pm
Generally, I keep boxes if I think I may return something, if it has a problem, during the return period, otherwise there may only be rare exceptions (like a laptop box, in case I ever have to mail it off for service).
Tradd
1-30-25, 3:03pm
Because of the hideous amount of ordering I do from Amazon, we are overrun with boxes so no, I do not keep them. During flower show season I probably keep a few that are right sized for typical uses, but I don’t keep them for that elusive “in the future “at all. And now we have room in our giant ass garage to keep them, but I’m not going to keep them

Yep, when I used to order much more from Amazon I was also overrun with boxes. I might keep one or two smaller ones if I knew I was going to mail something soon. Otherwise I just pitch. I get more of my stuff from Walmart now so a lot fewer boxes.
catherine
1-30-25, 3:07pm
I keep a couple that look like they might be useful for shipping, but generally, we bring them to the transfer station. Because we have no room, I no longer keep tech product boxes in case I need to return the product.
early morning
1-30-25, 4:14pm
Keep some, and recycle some. I keep boxes for the warranty period for larger $ items that specifically state they have to be in "original packaging". We use a lot of large cardboard for killing off grass for new plantings or for DH to sit/lay on to work on things on the ground, and boxes of a similar size to store inventory in. If a box doesn't meet those size requirements, it goes to recycle. I keep enough crap, but I can at least get rid of excess boxes, lol.
gimmethesimplelife
1-30-25, 4:45pm
No. My experience is that to saving boxes seems to create a pile of more saved boxes and eventual clutter. Better, in my mind, to just put them into recycling and hope that they actually get recycled. Rob
sweetana3
1-30-25, 4:59pm
We get Amazon, Chewy, FedEx and UPS drivers who visit. Lucky to have access to cardboard recyling bin at Habitat where my husband is twice a week.

Previously we used all the old boxes for husband's Ebay business but have cleared out all the inventory and shipping supplies. Right now we are packing up the first floor and taking all smalls to the basement so we can remodel. Boxes are free for now.
SiouzQ.
1-30-25, 10:45pm
Our art studio has a corner in which I have boxes nested in other boxes which are also in larger boxes, kind of like Russian Nesting Dolls. After a few months it gets ridiculous and I go through them and cull the collection.

I blame it on my parents - they were avid box collectors because it is really hard to throw away a good box because you might need it someday. One entire wall of the basement was a collection of boxes inside boxes which were inside other boxes. Then there was a sewer backup one night after a huge rain event and the entire basement had 5 inches of sewer water with floating soggy cardboard...everywhere. All hands were on deck to clean up that mess. After that they didn't collect quite so many boxes but I seem to have inherited that box-hoarding gene.

Now I only keep a few for the rare times I have to ship something.
iris lilies
1-30-25, 11:53pm
As a follower of the Instagram account “The Cat Trap Worked” which shows nothing but images of cats sitting in boxes, I will have to remind everyone how important it is to keep at least a few boxes around for the furry ones.

My cats are finally exploring boxes but it took them quite a while.