One of the drawbacks of online shopping

[Mixolydian]

is that you quickly become overwhelmed with boxes. It's amazing how quickly they add up. Not a big deal, I know, but much more cumbersome than dealing with shopping bags for example.

My place is filled with boxes just from the stuff I ordered this week. :\

 

[nickbits]

I save a good % of mine to use with eBay.

 

[Rakehellion]

I break them down and recycle them or use them for shipping. A big box costs $4 from a shipping company.

 

[MrPickins]

Amen to that...

Luckily, we have a recycle bin like this that they pick up every other week:

Before they started that, I'd wait until I had almost full truck load and take them to the recyclers. Was such a pain...

 

[Platypus]

did you pack any of those boxes into trucks that got delivered to yourself?

 

[Mixolydian]

did you pack any of those boxes into trucks that got delivered to yourself?

interestingly, no.

If I ever decide to replace the floors I think I might use cardboard boxes instead. No vacuuming required. And when they wear out or get dirty, just replace the box. :awe:

 

[MrSquished]

online shopping definitely has it's environmental effects. not just the extra box that is required, which can be recycled but that takes energy, both to recycle it and both to gather the boxes to take to recycling - but also the bubble wrap or plastic air bags they use to protect the items.

as far as delivery, that is more complicated. either way the product has to be delivered to its final destination whether it is at a local B&M or to a warehouse and then brought locally. if it goes to a warehouse in one part of the country then travels back to another part of the country to get to you that is extra energy consumed to travel for delivery rather than having come right to a local B&M distributor.

 

[BoomerD]

is that you quickly become overwhelmed with boxes. It's amazing how quickly they add up. Not a big deal, I know, but much more cumbersome than dealing with shopping bags for example.

My place is filled with boxes just from the stuff I ordered this week. :\

I know, right? And those fucking assholes from UPS and Fed-Ex just keep coming! If only there was a way to make them stop!

 

[Jimzz]

If you get a lot post on craigslist free section, people can reuse. Best way to recycle.

 

[Strk]

Heh, I have a recycling bin included with my regular garbage pickup, but I have a terrible propensity for accumulating boxes.

 

[lxskllr]

I love boxes. My recyclables go in the boxes, someone takes them from me every week or two.

 

[manly]

boxes are conveniently recycled, no hassle there. OTOH Newegg still uses foam peanuts...

online shopping definitely has it's environmental effects. not just the extra box that is required, which can be recycled but that takes energy, both to recycle it and both to gather the boxes to take to recycling - but also the bubble wrap or plastic air bags they use to protect the items.

as far as delivery, that is more complicated. either way the product has to be delivered to its final destination whether it is at a local B&M or to a warehouse and then brought locally. if it goes to a warehouse in one part of the country then travels back to another part of the country to get to you that is extra energy consumed to travel for delivery rather than having come right to a local B&M distributor.

I've always wondered about the relative "efficiency" since for example, Amazon S&S orders used to be individual item fulfillment. Now they're wiser and do a monthly fulfillment with all the scheduled items in one drop.

 

[Soundmanred]

I keep one size of each and recycle the rest. Problem solved.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I break them down and recycle them or use them for shipping. A big box costs $4 from a shipping company.

Same here. Ever since the wife and I started recycling with our sanitation company we've only had one instance of filling up the regular container.

You really never acknowledge this until you do it. And we are only doing it haphazardly. I cannot imagine what it would be like if we went all nutso doing it.

 

[Puppies04]

I save a good % of mine to build make believe forts.

FTFY

 

[IronWing]

Flatten the boxes, stack them up, tape them togehter, drill random holes in the layers. Roach hotels!

 

[Newbian]

Donate to your local cat shelter and they may let you live to be a slave when they take over the world.

 

[trmiv]

Yea we order a lot from amazon and accumulate boxes. The worst is amazon subscribe and save. They pack the order in one huge box. I swear I could live in two of them if shit ever got bad. Our recycling bin isn't big enough to handle the boxes so they accumulate in the garage. I try to take them to the recycling center every few months.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I did a box cleanup a few months ago and yeah, it's pretty crazy how it can accumulate.

Thing is you typically have to keep boxes for stuff in case you have to return it, so I usually keep them for at least a few months, but forget, and it turns into years.

 

[MrSquished]

boxes are conveniently recycled, no hassle there. OTOH Newegg still uses foam peanuts...


I've always wondered about the relative "efficiency" since for example, Amazon S&S orders used to be individual item fulfillment. Now they're wiser and do a monthly fulfillment with all the scheduled items in one drop.

S&S orders?

i forgot to mention about environmental effects, B&M stores also have environmental impact such as by the energy they produce. the plastic bags they give you your items in as well.

 

[John Connor]

I buy a lot of shit on eBay and have more damn boxes. I only keep them just in case I want to sell something.

 

[nageov3t]

how much room are they taking up?

with 99% of boxes, I just break them down flat and put them out with the recycling. no real need to save them.

the one exception is Christmas season... I usually save all my boxes/packing materials from incoming shipments to reuse with gifts I'm mailing out.

 

[John Connor]

Could have sworn this board had this very topic. LOL

 

[waggy]

I just break them down and store them. I always find a use for them like the kids useing them in "art" projects or forts.

 

[DrPizza]

I toss them in a pile in the sunroom on the back of the house. Every couple of weeks, they make good kindling to ensure that all the documents I want destroyed by fire are thoroughly destroyed. In other words, I just burn the boxes in a bonfire. I big enough pile of boxes & I can get firewood started without other kindling. And, bills, etc., - those things that some people would shred - burned in the fire as well.