get rid of the cardboard!
Sometimes, with a client, I will start out our session just by walking through the whole house and collecting empty cardboard boxes.
The number of cardboard boxes and other things that fill client homes sometimes accounts for a huge amount of what they think is an insurmountable clutter problem. When we do this sweep just of empty boxes, and break them down—a lot of times what looked like a terrible clutter problem, suddenly becomes a lot more manageable.
Often, I will hear: but I want to save those boxes, they’re good boxes!
“I might need to ship some things and these would be good boxes to send mail.”
Me: “do you have some things that you’re waiting to ship? Do you send packages a lot?”
Client: “I haven’t been to the post office in three years.”
This is one of my favorite “organizing adjacent” thing that I have ever seen on the internet:
This is one of my favorite tweets, everrrrr.
I am telling you…GET RID OF THE 🤬 BOXES. I call it “declaring cardboard bankruptcy.” This makes people really, really nervous—but I would love for you to give it a try.
I’m going to address what I’m definitely sure you just said as you read this:
I don’t care if it’s “a good box.” There will be other boxes. At least until I get you to stop ordering from Amazon, which I’d love to talk you into, as a professional organizer!!
I would love to talk you into saying goodbye to all of your empty cardboard, but I also realize this may be a step too far to you. That’s ok! We can take some baby steps.
Here’s what I want you to do if you’re not quite yet on board with declaring cardboard bankruptcy:
Go through your house and simply collect ANY empty box/delivery receptacle. Gather them all into one spot.
If you want to go gradually—look for any box that is damaged, weak, broken, etc.—immediately take them out of the house and to recycling.
After this—go recycle all boxes that are too small to be useful for anything. I know some of the boxes fall into this category, come on! You can do it!
Now—with the boxes that are left—be RUTHLESSLY HONEST about what boxes you actually need to keep. I would love for you to pick a number that is reasonable—like, if you have 50 boxes, could you pick 10 to keep and recycle the rest?
If you have a huge amount of cardboard to recycle and it won’t fit in your bins—across the Twin Cities area, every county has recycling drop off sites where you can bring large quantities of recycling. In my experience, you need to go early on a weekend because sometimes those bins fill up fast—but that is a great option. Or, fit as many as possible into your recycling bins each week until they’re all gone.
If you are really not ready to recycle your cardboard—at least please bring it to one central part of your house so it’s not taking up space in every room. Take the steps you need to start to get more comfortable with saying goodbye to the boxes.
I promise you will feel great!!
Hi hi hi! I am Melissa, and I love my job—I’m a professional home organizer in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. I travel all around the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area (from end to end…and side to side) and beyond (like Iowa and Wisconsin!) clearing clutter from people’s homes. No matter where you’re starting—I can help you. We can declutter, organize, and give you systems to make sure you can keep it up once I’m gone.
Click HERE to schedule a complimentary consultation with me to talk about how you can feel peace and happiness and no stress in your home!