Is your store room, garage or even living room, piled up with a jenga pile of boxes currently? Being piled up can become a fire hazard plus do you know that little bugs like sleeping in them? Are you using up valuable areas in your home and office with these boxes?

I always find with my declutter session with clients, that the hardest items to dispose of are the boxes for electrical items. Many people keep these boxes thinking that they will come handy in the future. The reasons for holding onto the boxes usually evaporate when I explain that it can be a fire hazard, wastage of space, etc.

Today I want to share with you my tips for keeping boxes for your electrical appliances:

DECLUTTR ME TIPS FOR KEEPING BOXES

Please bear in mind that these are guidelines to which I mostly stick to – I make a decision about each individual box based on how much space we have and how likely I am to return or sell the item.

• Keep the original box for 10- 30 days – or as long as the return policy states if you are unsure you are keeping the item.

• Keep the original packaging if you are planning on reselling your electronics on Melltoo or other second hand apps – as some electronics tend to lose some of their value if not packaged in the original packaging. However be honest with yourself. Are you going to spend time selling an item after 1-2 years worth of usage. If no, then throw the box out.

• Keep the original box if the box is some kind of special shape such as a piece of art or vase.

• Make use of the boxes that you do keep – store smaller ones in the larger boxes to save some space and be sure to keep note where you place them. You can also break them down and store them flat to save even more space.

• Do not store your warranty manuals in the boxes . I use a box file such as the one below to file my clients’ manuals. Be sure to toss the warranty manuals once you no longer own the items.

DECLUTTR ME TIPS FOR BOXES TO RECYCLE/TOSS

• Recycle/Toss the boxes after the return policy expires – basically once you decide to keep the item it’s safe to toss (be sure to read the warranty requirements – some warranties state you have to return the item in the original packaging).

• Recycle/Toss once the warranty period has passed.

• Recycle all kitchen boxes such as for the fridge or cooker – they tend to be very large and take up a lot of room. The delivery man usually takes these boxes with him, but if not, ask him to do so. Appliances are not affected by the resale value if the items does not get stored in the original box.

• Recycle/toss boxes you think you will use when moving. In the UAE, movers use proper moving material including boxes to fit specific items. Once you have unpacked the items in your new home, they should come and collect the empty boxes (don’t forget Decluttr Me has a service to help organise the move from one home to another if you are unable to take time off to do it yourself – find out more here).

• Recycle/toss if you really won’t sell items on second hand apps or sites.

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