Break it down, fold it flat, store it. They're handy when you move. Shipping tape to set them back up and seal them for the move.
Just don't hoard. If you don't have space or you have more than you need, trim your stash down.
this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2026
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STICK EM IN A STEW
Terrible way to get your fibre in… lol
but it's definitely a way
considering boxes are like a few dollars each, it's a good strategy.
This is happening to me with crystal jars... I have to trim the stash from time to time...
It's funny. I used to read lots of older books when I was growing up. A couple of centuries ago, it was considered wise to hang on to things like cord or string, just because they could be useful. Of course, back then, we had so much less stuff floating around. Now we have problems with hoarding stuff that might some day be useful. (And too much stuff in general!)
Distracted, but on the stories - I was remembering a parable (a story from a book geared towards schoolchildren) of two boys, one of whom opened a package tied up with string carelessly and threw away the string and paper wrapping; the other boy carefully untied the string, removed and folded the paper. The payoff was that the one who saved it made something useful out of it later, whereas the boy that wasted those things went without. Of course these days… while it is good to reduce, reuse, recycle, when it comes to hoarding, a lot of times it's more healthy to throw away than keep…
I don’t know… maybe soon we will find those Depression era tactics useful again…
I guess the good news is that with all the stuff everyone has around in storage, we won't run out of stuff this time. Food? Maybe. Stuff? Definitely not. hehe
I'm just scared of developing Diogenes syndrome... Better to get rid of things before we develop an irrational emotional attachment to stupid material objects. A great exercise to stay humble and grateful for all we have. Also, not to have a closet full of empty crystal jars... ;D
I don't know anything about Diogenes syndrome but if you are obsessed with jars, you're gonna love living in one.
We are already living in a cristal jar, kind stranger. You just don't know it yet.
We're moving apartments and it's a REALLY great time to trim up all the stupid stuff we haven't touched in years. heh
Nooooo, you gotta matroshka them into each other! It's cardboard boxes all the way down!
Cardboardception!
Just don't hoard. If you don't have space or you have more than you need, trim your stash down.
Yes, but how many do you need? I can't say I'd need more than 1 empty box most of the time, but when I need more than one I curse my inability to leave random empty boxes lying around
It's not about what I need in the moment, It's about what will be useful in the future. I hoard stuff but I keep it to designated areas. If it gets to the point that it's breaching containment, then some things have to go to make room. Things like good cardboard I tend to use more often than I receive them, especially since I stopped using amazon as much as possible (and amazon stopped using boxes in a lot of cases even before that). So I hang onto it until I have so much that it exceeds the spot between my two desks that I keep it in. I also have a healthy supply of hardware, crafting supplies, cables, computer parts, and general electronics that comes in handy all the time. If I have something break I generally have whatever I need on hand to get back up and running again. At least as a temporary solution until I can get parts or whatever.
A bigger issue for me is stuff I'm sentimental about. I have a couple crates of toys from when I was a kid and things that came from my grandparents that I don't really want to get rid of but also don't know where to put them.
I've found the occasional box handy, but not many until it's time to move. We had a stash of something like a dozen folded flat and out of the way, then we got bankers boxes because they're not too expensive and they're a really nice size for some heavy things, and then we got some plastic rubbermaid containers because they work better for some lighter items.
The rubbermaid containers will actually be more of a pain to deal with since they don't fold flat, but at least they stack. So I figure we use the top-most container in the stack to store a spare blanket and clothing that we want to keep packed down most of the time, and that's pretty space-efficient. And then flatten the boxes and have that somewhere on a shelf or stacked next to something out of the way.
There's just many uses for a good cardboard box!
!
[ALERT]
And you’ll need it the day after you throw it away.
What else will hold the collection of cables from the last 25 years? I might need to connect a dot matrix printer again at some point, you never know.
I can put the cable collection in this box!
I just received a chair in the mail, and I had to make the conscious decision to recycle the box the day of. I folded several others into it, and now I have a fantastic amount of space :)
My people, you understand me on a fundamental level that even a coven of therapists could never achieve.
I've gotten better about it, though. I mostly only start fattening up my box collection from late summer until the holidays, then I hit the gym, where I keep all my boxes, and start slowly downsizing the collection to the bare minimum just in time for summer. Round about July I find that I'm in need of a certain size and shape box that I no longer have in my possession, and then the cycle begins anew. It's the circle, the circle of life.
IMO, it's only a good cardboard box if it can be folded back down and stored flat. Weird shapes, extra thick walls, or stapled construction types suck to store.
Boxes that have large sections with no bends/holes/crap glued to them are also nice if you use it to make templates for stuff or need a temporary floor/surface covering for painting or whatever.
I use fun coloured tape to turn them into beautiful box boxes that hold my other boxes.
To quote AVGN: "Don't you talk about my boxes! I like boxes!"
Also, you can make furniture with cardboard and wheat glue. Glue at least 5 layers, making the wavy pattern "interlock" (one cardboard vertical, one cardboard horizontal)
My secret is I'll use as many boxes as I currently need and then breakdown the rest except for the best box of them all. That magnificent construction of wood pulp, glue, and well engineered folds is what holds the broken down boxes. Once that is filled up I take it to my local recycling center.
One box to hold them all, and in the darkness bind them.
Depends on whether there's a cat in your household.
I dont debate anymore, it depends on how tall the box tower is now, if i cant add it to to the tower, then it goes in the bin.
Get a cat, then the decision will be made for you
For me: boxes stay around for 2-3 weeks. Then my kids get art supplies and are set loose upon it. Depending on the success of said art, it can stay around for months (a large furniture box turned into "Kitty Cat Castle" which still stands in my daughter's room over a year now) or set out with the next recycling.
Boxes of a certain size are kept for my cat to play in for awhile.
I work in shipping and many times we get boxes in and i go "MAN! This is a REALLY nice box!"
It's kind of depressing how excited i get about cardboard boxes. Double walled AND heavy duty?!? Oh my.
That's not depressing. I do not work in shipping. I do get excited by good box and I am not seeing anything wrong here.
Nothing like good box.
It's just by brainhole fighting consumerism & single-use shit much of the society/economy is built around.
Woah. What is that from?
MGSV
My wife just requested we gather enough boxes to turn the living room, kitchen and foyer into a nerf war fortress.
Send me your boxes....
save those McMaster-Carr baggies for snacks n such
I need to pack up my mother in law's apartment, can any of y'all send me a good box? I need a couple.