Therapy Time - Boxes

cosmichobo · August 30, 2016, 4:19am

G’day,

I have just moved house for the second time in less than 2 years, and into a smaller house than previous, thus space is really becoming an issue.

I currently have a box that is about 1m x 0.3m x 0.5m which simply contains boxes… ie MacBookPro box, iPhone boxes, as well as non Apple boxes of all kinds… I then opened another packing box to find my Transformer collection - many in their boxes eg Optimus, Megatron, Galvatron, as well as Voltron Lions, Big Bolt Construction Set, a 90’s Lava Lamp, the list goes on…

The logic behind keeping these boxes…

Increased Resale Value
Safe transportation for, say, moving house

Problem is…

I tend not to sell things…
Honestly although having now moved about 5 times in 11 years, I’m sure general boxes with appropriate padding will suffice instead of the original boxes…

So, are you a box keeper or a box chucker outer? How do you justify the retention of these pieces of colourful tree? Have they HONESTLY actually proved their value/use for you?

I am trying to break these old habits… My 3yo now is the official owner of Gears, Beachcomber and Scourge… with the 8yo keen on Skywarp and Wheeljack, for example…

But still - boxes…!

cheers

cosmic

The_Hawk · August 30, 2016, 4:36am

I’m a bit of a convert. I used to have cupboards full of boxes for various things for a couple of reasons.

For resale it’s always nice, but also because I ran into a problem (a long time ago now) because some company was insistent that I needed the box to return the item under warranty… Lets say we disagreed… loudly… in the end the solution was that they get a new one off the shelf, hand me the product then keep the box to return the old one. So for a long time I’d keep boxes “in case”…

As the family grew and we needed more space those spare rooms full of boxes had to be culled. Funnily enough there was many boxes for things I didn’t have anymore (oh the joys of so much spare space!).
So I culled down lots of boxes to only the “really important ones”…

Then we moved and I again culled down again to only the “really really important ones”…

After the last move I came to the conclusion that this was all a waste of space… for most boxes

I still keep the boxes for the computers (MacBook Pros) because it does make shipping easier when the day comes to upgrade and sell off the old ones. Also iPhones because they definately are easier to sell and ship with the original box. But that’s about it. Everything else is tossed.

**The only exception to that rule is a couple of older boxes for things I still have (like my PSP-1000), or all the internal packaging for the Gameboy (sadly this box got cut up for a school assignment in the early 90’s).

Erwin · August 30, 2016, 5:50am

I am a hoarder married to a neat freak - the last time we moved I have away or threw out two large skips of stuff. It’s an arrangement in a fine balance. I prefer to be like Sheldon and keep everything.

The_Hawk · August 30, 2016, 6:39am

It’s not a problem… I swear:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/richard-gibson-toenails_n_5700494

mitty · August 30, 2016, 12:51pm

I always keep boxes for the usually inevitable resale down the track, as it just makes it look a bit better on ebay, and because so many other things for sale don’t have boxes. Tip: Put bigger boxes inside smaller ones for storage, eg I’ve got a bunch of boxes inside my imac and Benq Monitor Boxes. Plus I’m lucky enough to have the room to store them, but I can understand why many just chuck em out.

mrjesseross · August 30, 2016, 10:20pm

I used to keep boxes for EVERYTHING but when I moved from a 2.5 bedroom apartment to a 1 bedroom apartment, I decided to just chuck everything that wasn’t essential. I just don’t have the space anymore.

The only large boxes I’ve kept are for the iMac and the PS4, everything else went in the bin.

kyte · August 31, 2016, 5:13am

I have always been a box keeper but now when I look around the house I realise it has gone to an extreme. I’ve even kept boxes I didnt really need to keep. Recycling pickup is next week, so I really have to do the deed by then, its making me crazy. The only boxes I will keep now are for my camera gear and lenses. And not all of those, eitehr. Madness.

Erwin · August 31, 2016, 10:33am

Same here. Are we neighbours?

whitestickbloke · September 1, 2016, 4:03am

I keep the boxes for big things like the iMac and MBP but am now starting to part ways with boxes I don’t need. It’s a real problem though in terms of storage.

And those bloody transformers! I have bags of power adapters that have no clear labelling on them as to what they are, I don’t want to throw them out but have no idea what half of them are for!

cosmichobo · September 1, 2016, 3:37pm

Rather than start a new therapy session… I’ll hijack this one… to say - close to 2 years later, I’ve finally taken steps toward my objective when I moved into my last house - setting things up! The 3 things I had in mind then were my TAM, Lava Lamp, & Plasma “Claw”…

Well, step 2 complete!

This is my Midnight 8403 “Lava Lite Lamp” circa 1997… Took about a day for the wax to “come good”, and it is probably a bit cloudy, but - all in all, happy days cos hey - it’s a lava lamp!

eBay tells me they have not climbed astronomically in value, and as such, even though it was a present from my brother and sister in law, I shall now discard the box for this item. There we go - tied back to the thread opener.

(For the record, WHEN I get my TAM back on display, the box will NOT be discarded. I’m picturing the TAM and Cube sitting next to each other, not far from the Lamp, though that may be getting a bit crowded…)

cosmichobo · January 23, 2018, 9:42am

The 80’s were Cool!

“Claw” Sunder Ball, Christmas present circa 1989… still works.

Time for the Lava Lamp to go… It served me well… but isn’t as cool as this. Doesn’t hurt to touch it either.

gehenna · January 25, 2018, 7:01am

The_Hawk · January 25, 2018, 11:45pm

That’s a nice box

I’ve just read through this thread and my old comments and… well let’s say that my underlying box keeping desires seem to have resurfaced and the box culling was maybe more about the moving houses (and states) than any real change. In the new place, there is a pretty large shelf in the garage full of (mostly) empty boxes… (Isn’t the Bunnings Rack It system great?!)

cosmichobo · November 16, 2018, 11:50pm

Ok - it’s time.

Checking eBay, I am actually glad that 7 year old me kept the boxes for at least some of my Transformers, because over the past few weeks I’ve finally reached the point of being ready to stop hoarding memories in physical things. So my G1 Optimus, Megatron, etc, are going on eBay… and gauging by some market research - the boxes are going to add 25% to the sale price.