Unclutterer

1. Posted by becoming minimalist - 07/17/2009

   great solution. i was going to advise “cut the box in half and give one half to each to do as they please.” but your solution sounds much better.

2. Posted by Anita - 07/17/2009

   I agree with your solution too, with one caveat (as usual ).

   I’m with you in that cardboard boxes out in the open are an eyesore and not the best way of organizing your stuff, regardless of how “contained” it is. Especially if these are things you use on a regular basis, they deserve a better home.

   What I would use cardboard boxes for are seasonal items (various holiday decorations, for example) that come out once a year and get stored the rest of the time. As long as the boxes are in good condition and stored properly (out of sight, in a dry place etc), they can be a much cheaper alternative to buying plastic containers containers and the like.

3. Posted by SandyO - 07/17/2009

   I inherited a cardboard box filled with old family pictures that was stored in my father’s storage area for many years. I brought it home and opened it in my kitchen. When I saw that the contents began to move, I dragged it outside as fast as I could. There were termites in the box and most of the pictures had to be thrown away. Cardboard is not a good container for storage. I transfered the rest of the pictures to a plastic container. Be careful.

4. Posted by Loren - 07/17/2009

   Yeah this is an area with some deviation. I have PRETTY cardboard shoe boxes, covered in contact paper, one that houses all of my permanent/paint markers and one with all the electronic odds and ends (extra cords converters, and plugs) sitting on my bookshelf. These things are ‘put away’ because they are organized, labeled, and fit my needs of regularly needing to access them but not wanting to look at them.
   But if you have an open cardboard box filled with odds and ends just sitting pushed against the wall, I have to agree that sounds like a GREAT place to add a small cabinet or shelves to hold the things that don’t have a home.

5. Posted by Dave - 07/17/2009

   I’ll just say this, why store $50 worth of stuff in a $500 cabinet, just like storing all the junk in a $25,000 garage. your storage should be fitting of what is being stored.

6. Posted by Meg from FruWiki - 07/17/2009

   Depends if the cardboard box is truly the permanent/dedicated home of the stuff and is itself put away in its home, or if it’s just a catch all or “junk” box — and worse if the box is just sitting somewhere out in the open.

   My husband keeps some electrical/computer parts in cardboard boxes. Most of his stuff is organized into plastic bins, but he puts anything sensitive to static in cardboard. And everything is still well organized in his storage area.

   Also, since we have a home business, one file cabinet just doesn’t do it — at least not unless we pack it full. And we don’t have room in the office for another. So, some older records that we have to keep do go into cardboard boxes in the closet — but well organized, I assure you.

7. Posted by Olga - 07/17/2009

   Personally I just don’t like having boxes on the floor, I think it looks messy. It makes me think that you just moved in and didn’t unpack everything yet. On the other hand, I know how easy it is to put something in a box and think that it’s all put away now Maybe you can just put the box in a closet?

8. Posted by Royce - 07/17/2009

   In my experience, resistance to permanence is rooted in fear of making mistakes, coupled with reluctance to come to terms with the emotional baggage attached to the “stuff.”

   Some enlightening questions may be:

   * If you replaced the cardboard with a permanent storage box, but otherwise left it in exactly the same place, would it look deliberate? Would you both be aesthetically happy with it? (In a shared workspace, this is key).

   * What, exactly, is inside the box? Does everyone responsible for wrangling “stuff” in the house know exactly what kinds of things are only supposed to go in the box, and what things aren’t? In other words, is there a theme to the contents that isn’t duplicated elsewhere in the house?

   These questions should help to tease out what’s going on. It may be that the cardboarder may be defining “put away” as “Nobody has to think about that stuff right now” instead of “This is where these things belongs permanently.”

   If they can honestly say that all of the stuff in the box is exactly where they want it all to be, and they wouldn’t mind making the box permanent, then only the practical and shared-office aesthetic issues remain.

   But I find that to be pretty rare.

9. Posted by Kimberly - 07/17/2009

   I think the nature of the items should determine the container. If the items are fine being tossed together in one larger container, how about a nice basket instead of the cardboard box?

10. Posted by Jessiejack - 07/17/2009

    I love this site and you guys!!. No where else could I go to discuss these kinds of problems with people who would really think about them. It’s great.Thanks !
    @becoming minamalist–hilarious solution

11. Posted by File Under - 07/17/2009

    If not already done, sort through the box to determine what stays and what goes (i.e trash, donate, give away to family/friends). It sounds like you both have different esthetics in terms of organization (i.e open storage versus put everything away in a cabinet/drawer, etc.) Since it’s a shared office space, I would suggest a combination of both open and closed storage that’s esthetically pleasing to you both. As long as you both can find the things that are important to you when you need them it’s all good.

12. Posted by Sky - 07/17/2009

    Here in the south….we have bug issues and they LOVE cardboard boxes. I have everything stored in Rubbermaid boxes with lids.

13. Posted by Marie - 07/17/2009

    My favorite type of storage container is the box that reams of paper come in, because they have handles, are insanely strong, and can be gotten free if you know where to look.

    That said, a box on the floor doesn’t count as permanent anything, no matter how pretty it looks. If you’re piling crap on the floor, you’re either being lazy or you need to clean out you closets.

14. Posted by Michele - 07/17/2009

    I agree that cardboard boxes should be limited to moving and very temporary storage. The boxes I have left around my home are what I lovingly refer to as my “boxes of doom” — stuff that was packed up at the very last minute from my past several moves, and which I haven’t had time to sort through yet. I have maybe 3 of these boxes left. But as it is, they’re in closets, because I also don’t think that a box should be left lying around a room, even if it’s “neatly” set in a corner.

    All my other storage containers are metal containers, plastic crates, plastic bins, or furniture. But I do have one exception: my empty canning jars. When I bought them, they were still being sold in boxes with tops. (Now they’re in the type of “flat” box that you see flats of canned goods shipped in, wrapped in heavy plastic film.) The boxes included dividers, and the tops fold shut; so the jars don’t chink against each other, and I can store a few of the boxes stacked. The jars stay organized, dust-free, and ready for immediate use. Because they’re in a cabinet in my apartment, I don’t risk bug infestation or mildew. For this situation, for me, I can’t think of a better storage solution.

    Final thought: if a person must use cardboard boxes, I think you can’t go wrong with the banker’s box type. Double-walled, handles, usually have a space on the side to write in the contents and “destroy-by” date. They’re often sold with lids, too.

15. Posted by Karen - 07/17/2009

    Any kind of box on the floor, shoved against the wall, is not put away. Sorry.

    Cardboard boxes are fine, in basement, garage, attic, etc. only if the contents are tougher than the boxes. So, I have things like painting supplies, ceramic holiday decorations, extra dishes, etc stored in the basement in cardboard boxes. Other things like construction paper, Christmas tree decorations, Easter baskets in plastic containers. If your item is worth storing, it’s worth storing safely.

16. Posted by Brandon Green - 07/17/2009

    For me, cardboard boxes are only a storage solution if they are used in the basement, garage, or attic.

17. Posted by SandyO - 07/17/2009

    Cardboard boxes + garage/storage area + Florida heat and humidity = bug infestation

18. Posted by Stephanie - 07/17/2009

    My father does this with the contents of his desk and workbench. He wants to keep the things, so he cleans off the desk/workbench by dumping the contents into cardboard boxes. Clean desk/workbench, everything else is “put away.” So there’s dozens of boxes all about the place. *shakes head*

19. Posted by Laura - 07/17/2009

    @Karen is right. If it’s a box, and it’s on the floor (not in a closet), then it is not put away. Doesn’t matter whether it is a nice box or an ugly one. BTW I have several boxes like this in various spots– yes, I know they are clutter. I am working on it! (and this blog helps me do it)

20. Posted by OogieM - 07/17/2009

    OTOH there are some potential significant issues with storing things in plastic that outgasses. Acid free cardboard boxes are far better and safer for storage of papers, pictures and textiles that can be damaged by the gasses that rubbermaid and other plastic containers put out.

21. Posted by annon - 07/17/2009

    I strongly agree with the “If it’s a box, and it’s on the floor, then it is not put away” sentiment.
    It dosen’t matter if that box is cardboard, plastic, or solid gold.

    Something isn’t put away unless it has a real home such as a space in a closet, on a shelf of even perhaps in a particular location on your desk. I know they sell colored cardboard project boxes I’d be happy to have sit on my desk.

22. Posted by bake lite door bell - 07/17/2009

    If you have only ONE cardboard box on the floor, you’re doing much better than I am!!

23. Posted by sue - 07/17/2009

    I wonder if this is a deliberate genre of stuff, or just a random collection of random stuff that has no permanent home, so the box is “The Place I Will Put It For Now.”

24. Posted by Bob - 07/17/2009

    That was was the robot, Rosie, on the Jetsons used to say:

    “a place for everything and everything … in its place”

25. Posted by renee - 07/17/2009

    I moved three times in five years, so once I finally “landed” permanently, I vowed, no more cardboard! I have acquired many Rubbermaid containers with lids (bought one or so at a time while on sale at Target) and they stack so wonderfully, as opposed to various sized cardboard. So you will find no cardboard boxes in my garage or crawlspace!

26. Posted by Kalle - 07/18/2009

    This is interesting. Many storage boxes, including the popular Ikea ones so many of us use, are in fact made of cardboard. I wonder how much of this dilemma really boils down to aesthetics. The sturdier, eye-pleasing and functional the box is, the less it seems like a temporary solution, a non-place. Investing in a good-looking box or two might be the cheapest way to solve this particular problem.

    There is nothing wrong with boxes as such. They are terrific at holding things together in a certain place and out of sight. They are something you can move, stack or take with you easily. They also have a low barrier of use: even children and the chronically disorganized can have success with them. For many people a matching set of clearly labelled boxes is all the filing system they’ll ever need.

27. Posted by Deborah Marchant - 07/18/2009

    Here are hundreds of images of many who like and use cardboard boxes against any wall and on any floor in any room in any house.

    http://images.google.com/image.....038;tab=wi

    HAA haaaaa! Deborah

28. Posted by Jules - 07/18/2009

    So….I still have to know was it Ryan or his wife who was for keeping the box? heheh

29. Posted by wendy - 07/18/2009

    Thanks for this. I have a cardboard file box beside my desk. And a half-empty file cabinet. Guess what I spent today doing! Purge. Recycle. File.

30. Posted by Jack - 07/18/2009

    I think it’s a little disingenuous to say that a cardboard box is clutter, but putting the same stuff in the same place in a plastic bin. Either the things in the box are properly stored there, or they’re not, and that’s the question Ryan and his wife should be asking.

31. Posted by Academic - 07/21/2009

    Plastic is not king, as any archivist will tell you. People really need to think about *what* they are storing, instead of just where they are storing. Storing papers and photos in plastic is a very bad thing to do–the lack of air circulation will, over the long haul, speed the denigration of the documents tremendously.

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