A funny thing happened while I was holiday shopping this season.

I was cruising around from store to store, checking off items on my gift list, feeling very productive and happy, yet, oddly enough, in just about every store I made a purchase from, I came up empty handed for gift boxes. It was either the store ran out of them (of course, this always happened when I was the next in line) or they simply did not give out boxes. When I inquired why, they stated it was no longer part of their policy.

In some of the larger department stores it was not so much a problem, but what I did find interesting is that some of the better known stores were no longer gift wrapping.  In any event, I just couldn’t wrap my arms around the concept that stores didn’t give out boxes anymore.  Some stores, however, did provide boxes if you were willing to pay for them. Pay? I didn’t realize we were paying for boxes now.

You see, ordinarily I make it a point to ask for a gift box all year round when shopping.  I like to stockpile (within reason of course) because you never know when you are going to need a gift box.  However, in the midst of recently de-cluttering my house, I discarded most of my boxes, thinking that I could always replenish my stock later.

Now I was feeling a little frustrated and a tad concerned about how I was going to wrap my gifts if I didn’t have enough boxes.  At times, I thought of gift bags, but unless it is the ideal gift for a bag, a box is what you really need. By the way, where do you buy gift boxes? I thought the point was to have the box from where you just purchased the gift. Unless of course, you are re-gifting and then that brings up a whole other story.

It was at that moment, I found a new appreciation for gift boxes.

Ironically enough, I found this a little comical, since I teach people how to “let go” of their things that they have been clinging onto for years. Yet, here I am, faced with the very problem that feeds into the reason why people want to hold onto their stuff. I do admit, it is interesting that it appears to be whenever you throw something out, you end up needing it.  (I think I’m being tested here…)

So in order to make some sense out of this and be fair to both points of view, the following system is what I came up with to find some middle ground on what boxes need to be saved, and which ones can be disposed of.  Just try to make sure you take the time to think about the true need and necessity when saving and you set limitations on your quantity.

A parcel of space

Parcel boxes that are not all stamped up and written on are worth saving for shipping items or packaging bigger gift items. For example, this holiday, I purchased a mattress cover, pillows, and sheet set for someone and rather than individually wrapping each item, I put them all in a brown box that I had saved and wrapped it all together.

Is it really from Tiffany’s?

For me, there is something off-color about putting an item I purchased from a brand name store and wrapping it another store’s box. So, unless you are comfortable with that, I would say toss the boxes you know you will never really gift in and keep the others.

Beautiful boxes

Nicer boxes can be difficult to dispose of because they are so beautifully packaged. When it comes to this type of box, you may consider storing some items in there that are dear to your heart, such as jewelry or love notes.

Big-ticket boxes

Big-ticket items, such as computers, televisions, and stereos come in large boxes but become a necessity if you need to send anything out for warranty repairs. I would say a year is a smart time limit here, and, in the meantime, rather than leaving them empty, store something in them temporarily.