Do You Keep Original Boxes?

[C. K.]

I'm cutting down on clutter - defined as things that I do not use or that bring greater stress than benefit.

I like to keep the original boxes of large electronics like desktop computers and printers because they usually come in handy when I move the item out of the house, what with the foam cut to measure to cushion the item during a move.

Do you keep original boxes? Is this a face punch-worthy habit of keeping unnecessary items in the house?

[lizzzi]

I've got to the point where I don't. The boxes for things just take up too much space. If I move, I just get other boxes and pack things up. Having said that, if I knew for sure I was going to move in a relatively short time, I would keep the original box.

[ketchup]

I'd keep original boxes for a desktop computer, but printers don't deserve the protection.

That's one of the only boxes I keep, apart from boxes for very expensive things where resale value is increased with the addition of "complete in box" such as cameras.

[plainjane]

The past couple of weeks we've been divesting ourselves of the original boxes with their foam.  Several of those boxes were for electronics that have died or been donated.  We actually discovered an old toaster oven in the original box among the empties.  We aren't planning on moving any time soon, which made the decision much easier for my SO. 

The one thing I might hold onto would be the box for the printer - they tend to have flimsy sticky-out bits.  But we don't have a printer, so it's an easy decision. 

[Cromacster]

I did when when I was renting and moved roughly every year.  Now that I own a house and don't expect to move anywhere for a while I got rid of most boxes.

[frugaliknowit]

I now scan all receipts, then throw out everything I don't need.

[Astatine]

No but only because we plan to stay here 10+'years. If I moved regularly, I'd keep the boxes for big and or fragile things.

[Left]

no, unless it's a big box then I repurpose it...

I never saw why people bought apple/electronics and saved the box, if they wanted to resell it later, I didn't mind buying old electronics from craigslist even if it was a plastic bag as long as it worked like how they advertized it

Why do you need to keep it for moving? Go to a local hardware/any store and ask for their shipping boxes, they are nicer, higher quality normally.

[Rural]

Nope. I confirm that the object works as advertised, then give the box to the dogs to play with, then use the resulting shreds for kindling. Sadly the foam has to go to a landfill.


But I will never move again, and likely I will never buy another desktop computer, either.

[Holyoak]

I do, especially where the box makes the item much more valuable if ever sold, i.e. firearms and "good" fishing reels.  NIB when sold can add a ton of cash, where new without box, not so much.

[hybrid]

For a few weeks until I am confident the device has no defects, then recycle or repurpose.

[theadvicist]

Before I found MMM, and bought things new, I kept the box. And I'm glad I did, because now I'm selling a lot of that 'stuff' and having the original box is a real selling point on ebay. Especially for barely used items.

Now that I know better, I buy second hand wherever possible. If I think there is any chance the item is a 'fad' purchase (eg, bread machine) and it came in the original box, I do keep it. I put them in the loft. Every so often I will throw one away once I've decided the item is a keeper.

[arebelspy]

Sometimes. I used to do it more. It is useful if you're going to resell, but I find myself buying less and keeping what I have longer, so it's mostly unnecessary. If you're constantly upgrading gadgets, it's handy.

[LibrarIan]

Only for certain items. A microwave? Nope. My Xbox 360? Yes. I love game consoles and I've found that if you resell one down the line with the original box there is more value to the item.

[Mrs. The Butler]

Yes, but we move a lot (we moved into our fifth house shortly after our sixth anniversary).  Heavy/awkward items like the KitchenAid mixer are tons easier with the box - I'd actually originally thrown out the box for that, and so I spent $15 on a refurbish kit so I could have the box and foam again.

A couple months ago we sold our TV and speaker system, and we had the original boxes for those too.  The TV had been through two moves with us, and it had a huge screen but it was easy to move and it didn't get damaged at all - we could just box it up and pack it anywhere safely.  (Of course, not having a TV at all is even better than having a TV that is easy to move - I like that much better.)

[Elderwood17]

We have plenty of attic and basement space, so we keep them for the larger electronic items and things that are brand new and could still be returned.

[Thegoblinchief]

Not anymore. The boxes just take up too much damn space and we're not moving for at least 5 years.

I think the exception are motherboard boxes for DIY PCs. Those are useful. I think I also still have the box for the expensive graphics card in our once state of the art gaming PC.

[Greg]

Short answer: sometimes.  Long answer: For small things like my cellphone yes, when I upgraded to a smart phone having the old flip phone's box and manual etc. made it really nice for the person I gave the old phone to.  Some things like a laptop you may want to hold onto the packaging for, since it's kind of special, other things you might want to hold onto the packaging until the warranty runs out.  I'm thinking of when you might need to send it to the manufacturer "in the original packaging" for warranty service.  Or maybe just for a week or two to see if the new thing works out and won't be returned or exchanged.

Other than that, hell no.  I used to keep boxes on high shelves in my garage for sending parts to other car enthusiasts, but no more, it became overwhelming.  It was very liberating to recycle all of the boxes, let me tell you.

[CommonCents]

I did when when I was renting and moved roughly every year.  Now that I own a house and don't expect to move anywhere for a while I got rid of most boxes.

+1

I grew up in a military family, moving every 2-3 years.  We saved all boxes with foam inserts - kitchen gadgets to mom's hummels.  I moved every 1-3 years after college myself so I too, saved boxes.  Now that we've moved into our long-term house, DH is gently trying to get me to relinquish boxes.

As someone who struggles with relinquishing them, here are some guidelines that have helped me.  Get rid of boxes:
- That have no foam/no specialness to them.  (Or at least break them down and store them flat to save space.)
- For items that you anticipate will wear out prior to your next move.
- For non-special/not expensive items.  e.g. I just realized I've been carting around the box for an iron.  That can be wrapped up just fine in paper for a move; my kitchenaid less so.
- For items you anticipate reselling (high likelihood) where the resale value is greatly helped by saving the box, if you have the space for it.  Break down flat if you can.

This helped me relinquish my china boxes (which didn't really protect them that well getting shipped from BB&B anyways), but I have kept a lot of others with foam inserts.  We can store in our attic though, so it's not so much of an issue.

[TeresaB]

I kept the box of the kitchen aid and the food processor, because those are expensive and hard to pack and the boxes have the foam to protect them. Anything that was just a box, or not fragile (rice cooker), I recycled the box.

I also saved good-quality general packing boxes. I wouldn't recommend this generally, but we are moving next summer and we have a "storage unit" in the basement of our building that is basically a wooden cage. So not something you can put valuables or anything that needs to be kept away from dust in.

[Zikoris]

Hell no. I have nowhere to put that kind of junk!

[GuitarStv]

No.  We used to, but eventually I realized that the massive amount of space that dozens of empty boxes were taking up around the house could go to better use.  We don't move often enough for the cost of a few boxes and some time spent carefully packing them matters.

[NoraLenderbee]

We do. We have a basement and there's plenty of space. Now and then I do a purge to get rid of the boxes for items we don't have any more.

[galliver]

Recently moved and found out my bf and I are on different sides in this debate. He convinced me to toss the boxes that weren't too special. I kept my beloved martini glasses ($10/4 from TJ Maxx) in their original box, and convinced him to stash the ones for my desktop, our printer, and his new monitor in our outdoor storage cabinet in the carport (we're in SoCal, so damp isn't much of an issue. We put them in big plastic trashbags left over from moving just in case). Disclaimer: we're almost definitely moving in about 2 years.

Since we were always on the verge of moving when I was a kid, my parents kept computer boxes for years by covering them in stone- or wood- print contact paper and using them as a nightstand (because there wasn't much space for storage). Sometimes we'd also break down moving boxes and put them under all the beds (protected the space from dust bunnies, too).

I don't know what I would do if moving was not likely. Bf didn't have many original boxes and his monitors and other stuff moved just fine. I think two glasses broke and that's it. The cost of bubble wrap (in case of a move) would probably be worth the free space.

[minimalist]

I keep the box if I might resell the item or if it is oddly shaped. Otherwise, no.

[deborah]

Keep boxes if I am storing stuff in them. The microwave box has camping gear in it. Glasswear boxes are usually kept to store the glasswear in. Otherwise no - I don't have the space.

[Mrs. Frugalwoods]

If you have a space to store them that's out of the way and not stress-inducing, then sure, save 'em. If it's a hassle to keep them around, then toss 'em! We have a dedicated storage area in our basement and it doesn't bother me to stash stuff there. But, things that spill out into the main basement or the main floor have to go! It's kind of like if I can't see it...

[C. K.]

Thank you all for the responses; I will refer to them regularly whenever I get the itch to keep unnecessary items.

I have just returned from a week-long wedding celebration. Lots of gifts (and boxes) were exchanged, so your advice comes in handy right now.


lizzzi - I see. The default is to toss with an exception for imminent moving.

ketchup - Yes, resale is important to remember. Why don't printers deserve protection?

plainjane - What did you do with your "dead" electronics? I still have all my old laptops. There are no electronics recycling programs in the area.

Cromacster - Now that you're settled, which ones did you keep? What are your standards for deciding?

frugaliknowit - You just reminded me that receipts can be clutter too. What do you use to scan receipts? Is it just a regular scanner on your printer one of those dedicated receipt scanners?

Astatine -  Sounds reasonable. I'll keep the big electronics boxes.

eyem - Some of my relatives re-purpose the boxes in their garden to keep down weeds. You'd think the toxins in the ink might not be good for the water table or the vegetables. How do you re-purpose them?

Rural - Thanks for the description of how you re-purpose the boxes. I never seem to have a use for them other than holding the original object.

Holyoak - Thanks for the selling tips.

hybrid - A few weeks, or before the return period expires. Do you ever resell the item? If not, how do you dispose of the device?

theadvicist - Fad purchase, as in you won't use it regularly? How do you decide the item is a keeper?

arebelspy - Buying less, keeping longer... It's dawned on me that the box problem is probably a symptom of an anti-mustachian/ anti-frugal problem. It suggests that I'm purchasing too much. Hmmm.

LibrarIan - You've just given me another standard - keep the box of the items you know you love. Chances are someone else loves it too and will want the box to go with it. Thanks.

Mrs. The Butler - Yes, it's the awkwardly-shaped items which come with pre-cut foam which cause me to hesitate tossing the boxes. I'll keep those.

Elderwood17 - When I get more space perhaps I'll do that too. My problem is with so much space I will have no discipline at all and will fill it with boxes I should recycle.

Thegoblinchief - Keep boxes for one-of-a-kind items. Gotcha. Thanks.

Greg - I see. Keep boxes for your personal use, but don't become a warehouse for other people's stuff. I can imagine the car parts boxes were overwhelming. My dad likes to keep those things just because he knows they are valuable, and someone somewhere might want them. In the meantime he' surrounded by it all. I would feel suffocated. Thanks.

CommonCents - I'm a list person, so thanks for the bullet point guidelines. You really summed it all up for me.

TeresaB - My electronics are fragile and hard to pack, so I guess the boxes will stay. Thanks.

Zikoris - Ha! Concise. You made me laugh. Thanks.


acorn - Good point about harboring pests.

GuitarStv - Best use of space... yes. You've got me thinking beyond just tossing or keeping the boxes. Now I wonder if the useful boxes are in the best spot. Thanks.

NoraLenderbee -  Thank you for the input.

galliver - Never thought of using the boxes as furniture, but that's taking my mind in new directions here. And why have I never thought to break down the boxes until I need them? I'm an idiot. Thanks.

minimalist - Thank you for the response.

deborah - I have limited space as well. Thanks for answering.

Mrs. Frugalwoods - Ha! If I can't see it, I still think about it. My problem is I organize even the stuff that should be tossed and I feel great about the neat labels. Then I wonder why I bother to keep any of this junk; I feel as if I'm wasting space. Oh well... Thanks for the input.



Thanks again, everyone.

 

[plainjane]

plainjane - What did you do with your "dead" electronics? I still have all my old laptops. There are no electronics recycling programs in the area.

If they are actually dead, we bring them to the local environment day for electronics recycling.  If they're just replaced, then we wipe them (as applicable) and freecycle.  Sometimes we freecycle the dead things too (for people who need parts or like to tinker). We don't generally purchase new items, but we get semi-regular hand-me-downs of computers and cameras from a family member who is always upgrading for their business' use.  (Since they were given to me for free, I like to keep the karma going by giving them away as well.)

We generally keep one backup of our electronics as well.  So we have a backup monitor, and a backup desktop.  We had a backup tv and dvd player, but those turned back into our primaries when the newer versions died - don't make 'em like they used to etc...

[ketchup]

ketchup - Yes, resale is important to remember. Why don't printers deserve protection?

That was mostly tongue-in-cheek, as I work in IT and know that all printers are the work of a joint venture between the devil, Comcast, Mussolini, and Nestle.

[CommonCents]

I am impressed you took the time to respond to each and every person that wrote to you.  :) 

[guitar_stitch]

It's incredibly rare that I buy something NIB.

I don't keep the boxes when I do.  If it's something that needs protection (like music gear), I get a proper case for it.  Otherwise, I don't worry about it.