Box Hoarder

Even though we have a large family, I feel like I have done a pretty good job of keeping the house clean and organized over the years.  It has helped that we have had a garage sale every year to sell our unwanted or unneeded possessions.  It has also been beneficial to me to be able to be a stay at home mom for most of the time while we have had children in the Heinisch home.  I have definitely had more time to clean while being at home.  In saying that, we do still have a lot to sort through, organize and purge before we downsize in 2023, so I am glad that we started early.  

While I have been working on this process, I have been surprised by one thing.  I cannot believe how many empty boxes that I have found tucked away in closets, under beds, in drawers and on shelves in the basement.  These aren't ones that I save to use for shipping.  Since I mail so many items for Ebay sales or packages to the Heinisch children, I have a designated spot for those in the basement.  It is original boxes for items that we have purchased over the years that I keep finding.  iPhone boxes, toy boxes, small appliance boxes, you name, I've saved it.  Yesterday I found our original Nook box that we bought almost fifteen years ago.  Why would I keep that?  

This isn't the first time that I have pondered this question and after giving it a lot of thought, I actually have an answer for my box hoarding issues.  When I was growing up we always had a toy room.  At night before we went to bed we put everything away in their original boxes.  It was an easy way to store our toys and to keep the room organized.  I continued that in my own home.  By doing so I came to realize that boxes not only came in handy for storing, but also if I needed to return an item to the store.  As we started selling items on Ebay, I also figured out that collectors loved to buy vintage items with the original box.  It increased the value of the item and ensured it authenticity.  Thus, I have continued the box keeping habit from childhood into my adulthood and passed it on to my own children.  Meg just called me last week to see if she should get rid of her air fryer box.  She knew that the answer was yes as she had used it almost daily since October and didn't have plans to return it. Even so, she thought she'd check just to make sure.  Just like I checked with my mom last night to see if I should recycle the two dozen jewelry boxes that I found while cleaning out my bedroom.  I wasn't surprised to hear that she had at least that many saved in a bag as well.  I know that I will probably never completely break the box hoarder habit, but I have gotten a lot better at it.  I definitely recycled multiple boxes as I was cleaning out the house this week.  Hopefully that trend continues.