A quick quiz:

• You just bought a new toaster because your old one is broken.  You take it out of the box, it works fine, and you get rid of the old toaster (I hope)!  What do you do with the new toaster box?
• You got the latest bestseller shipped from Amazon.  You take out the book and start to read.  Where does the cardboard shipping box go?
• You buy a new iPad (yay)!  The box is so beautiful, you hate to throw it away.  What do you do with the box?

Do you save the box for every item you ever receive just in case you need to return an item? Do you still have boxes for items you no longer even own? Do you think you're saving the planet by saving boxes to re-use them when you have to ship out your Christmas presents?

Saving a few boxes for your own shipping needs is fine. Saving every box you ever encounter takes up precious space that few of us can afford to waste. It can also be confusing - is that box empty or full? Sometimes we think we're out of space for storage, when all that's filling the space are empty boxes!  Remember that cardboard is very tasty to many critters, AND it absorbs moisture, potentially leading to mold problems in damp environments. 

If you're ready to find more space in your storage areas, consider going through all those boxes you've been saving just in case you ever need them, and at least reducing the number by half.  You're probably not going to send something the exact size of every Amazon box you've ever received (believe me, I know from personal experience).  Decide on a reasonable number of boxes - maybe one each of 3 or 4 sizes - and then nest them inside each other to create one limited box storage area. 

If you buy something new that's boxed, once you confirm that it works and you're not returning it, recycle the box right away, OR, if you need more time to decide, use a Post-It to mark the date.  After one month, if the item still works fine, recycle the box.  Chances are that any problems will show up within one month. 

How do you recycle boxes?  Corrugated cardboard (the wavy kind used for most shipping of heavy objects) usually needs to be separated from other types of paper and flattened for recycling.  Invest in a utility knife to cut the boxes down, and flatten them into one neat pile.  You can bundle them with twine for pick-up, or just leave them separate to take to the dump.  They are separate from other paper because they are often made from recycled content already and cannot be made into paper products, but can be recycled into other products.

Recycle your unused boxes today, and make more room in your basement or attic!