Comments on: Ask Unclutterer: Is something put away if it’s in cardboard?

By: Academic

Academic — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:06:39 +0000

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.

By: Jack

Jack — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 02:41:46 +0000

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.

By: wendy

wendy — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 02:00:08 +0000

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.

By: Jules

Jules — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:26:48 +0000

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

By: Deborah Marchant

Deborah Marchant — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:56:05 +0000

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.....amp;tab=wi

HAA haaaaa! Deborah

By: Kalle

Kalle — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 07:54:37 +0000

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.

By: renee

renee — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 03:04:35 +0000

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!

By: Bob

Bob — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:36:12 +0000

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

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

By: sue

sue — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:20:45 +0000

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.”

By: bake lite door bell

bake lite door bell — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:47:41 +0000

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

By: annon

annon — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:26:22 +0000

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.

By: OogieM

OogieM — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:20:43 +0000

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.

By: Laura

Laura — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:23:49 +0000

@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)

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:19:29 +0000

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*

By: SandyO

SandyO — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:08:38 +0000

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

By: Brandon Green

Brandon Green — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:38:24 +0000

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

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:55:14 +0000

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.

By: Michele

Michele — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:44:17 +0000

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.

By: Marie

Marie — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:15:29 +0000

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.

By: Sky

Sky — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:08:16 +0000

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