What do you guys do with your Equipment Boxes?

[Bing Fung]

I have been in the hobby or Audio for as far back as I can remember. I still have some of my original components in boxes.

They question is what do you guys do with your empty boxes?

Are they empty taking up space or are they full of other equipment, stuff, junk?


I tend to keep most of my boxes for a long time, until I feel I no longer need them, or sold the original equipment packaged in them. Its then I either pitch the box or use it to hold other stuff. Some times I can use the box and feel I still have the box incase I need to ship the original euipment out, however I really want to quit living out of boxes

I do have my most recent boxes of Rotels and speaker boxes sitting empty with packing material. Its hard to use a box with it's styroform fitted for something else. The problem is this starts to take up a lot of cubic space in my basement and over head space of my garage. I feel I really need to rethink this keeping of boxes as I have too many boxes.


What system of storage do you use to maintain a minimal level of clutter & maximum level of order?

[George Bellefontaine]

Yeah my boxes accumulate until finally I run out of storage space and then they are turfed. I do believe it is important to keep the original cartons, especially fo things like front projectors, as they will be needed if you have to ship them off for service. I keep these until I eventually sell the old PJ.

As to how and where I store them, well I have a rack in the basement for such things.

[Shane Martin]

I keep mine in the garage usually. I keep the manuals in a drawer.

My wife hates it but it's nice to have the original box and manual. The only box I didn't keep was the box to my big screen TV.

[David Meek]

I keep my boxes in the attic. The manuals are hole-punched and put in 3-ring binders in the equipment cabinet.

[George Bellefontaine]

Tex, that 3-ring binder thing for manuals is a great idea. Thanks for the tip.

[eddiem67]

I put my in those plastic sleeves and in a binder, boxes go in my tool shed, should be for my lawan mower and garden stuff, but unfortunately its 2/3 full of empty boxes.

[aud19]

I break them down and "shrink wrap" them to the styro and put them in our crawl space. Manuals are in file folders in the computer desk

[Patt]

The empty boxes go in the attic and it's getting crowded. The manuals are kept in a file cabinet along with other paperwork, the 3 ring binder sounds interesting.
If I throw away any boxes it will be for the equipment less likely to need a repair.

[H.Donald]

Count me in on that three ring binder...great idea....

I have kept all relevant boxes,except for the tv,of course.It is starting to add up in my basement...but it does have it's own box section....
I am tempted to get rid of my speaker boxes,they are probably the last thing I would sell.Should I upgrade they will go upstairs.....

[audioqueso]

I've move from US to Japan to US like 1,491,214,592 times.. and then back to Japan in a few years so I keep the boxes for the move. I rather have the factory box for moving electronics... especially my B&Ws.

[Bing Fung]

Glad to know I'm not alone with the boxes... It really gets ridiculous all these big empty boxes taking up space. An I haven't moved for like 20 years :lol:

I too pitched my TV box, but those speaker and component boxes sit pretty empty... I liked Jason's Idea of breaking them down, however then they won't stack neatly in the space I have for them.

I place my manuals in those clear sleeves that are held in a 3 ring binder, 2 binders actually :lol:


:lol: Man I howled at eddiem67, with his shed so full, his lawnmower and garden tools sit outside :lol: I suppose the extreme of that is "My garage is so full of HT boxes, my car sits outside" :rofl:

So how do you guys organize all your HT/Audio related spare cords, connectors, spikes, switchers, cable velcros....etc, Equipment or components that you do not use? I have a Canon Printer box full of this stuff, that is not required for day to day use, however is rummaged through from time to time... I need to get at the stuff as I play or experiment.

I do have boxes where my turntable, cassette deck, Tuner, 8 track recorder sits in taking space also. Maybe I should ebay these? Do you guys have lots of spare components lying around as well?

[Andrew Pratt]

I keep some box's for times I think I might sell again the others get recycled in some way shape or form (storing kids clothing in etc). I try to store small box's in larger ones if possible to save space but to be honest thinking about what I have now most are filled with "stuff" and on a shelf.

[aud19]

What do you think Bing...?

[Patt]

Lol...lol...

My points, connectors and small things are kept in a gallon ziploc baggie doubled up in a drawer. The long cords, cables and wires are coiled sitting on a shelf and one box is dedicated to tv/stereo electrical stuff.

Lol...to heck with the car's just save the boxes :lol: :rofl:

If anobody has a really good cheap tuner I'm looking for one, maybe we should list all our X-tra electronics.

[David Meek]

I tried the plastic sleeves in the binder, but I got tired of getting zapped every time I pulled a manual out during the winter. Dam**d static electricity.

George, Herman, glad y'all like the idea.

[Shane Martin]

So how do you guys organize all your HT/Audio related spare cords, connectors, spikes, switchers, cable velcros....etc, Equipment or components that you do not use?

I have a clear bin I put all my cables and stuff in. It's in my media closet. My spare equipment is either being used or sold. My SO hates the fact I'm a packrat and we end up getting rid of a bunch of stuff. My 20" RCA stereo Monitor(aka TV) which is still mint conditon from 1992 is currently on the chopping block. I don't want to sell it to be honest but I never use it.

[Azeke]

Shane,

Collector of fine antiquities are we? , I digress.

I keep my boxes in case of selling, or repair, there are definitely beginning to accumulate.

I keep my manuals in a notebook and drawers, it started to become cumbersome.

I have since changed my strategy, I currently download all manuals and keep them in a folder on my computers.

Regards,

Azeke

[aud19]

Shane,

Collector of fine antiquities are we? , I digress.

I keep my boxes in case of selling, or repair, there are definitely beginning to accumulate.

I keep my manuals in a notebook and drawers, it started to become cumbersome.

I have since changed my strategy, I currently download all manuals and keep them in a folder on my computers.

Regards,

Azeke

Too bad you can't just scan the boxes and keep them on the computer too eh?!?! :B :rofl:

[Bing Fung]

I tried the plastic sleeves in the binder, but I got tired of getting zapped every time I pulled a manual out during the winter. Dam**d static electricity.

:laughat: Must be pretty dry deep in the heart of Texas :B

I like the sleeves as I don't have to try and punch holes into a manual that is 1" thick :lol: (ie 1098 manual, Denon 3300..) They are easy to slip out and look at, and I can gang a few into one sleeve.

I too like Andrew, tended to recycle my empty boxes and have them hold materials, mitts/hats, other electronic junk that I don't need to get on a daily basis, however I am trying to get rid of every box I have in my house that is holding something, and get them into drawers, smaller clear containers, or the clear Rubbermaid containers that I seem to also have a lot of. That of just get rid of the stuff. I too tend to packrat stuff thinking Ican use or make something out of it later....

Not only do I have all these empty HT/Audio boxes, I also have a ton (not an over statement ) of spare computer parts (mobos, fans, PCI cards, AGP cards, Power supplies, Keyboards, Mouses, LCD monitors, cameras, every communications cord in multiples of 5 or more.... materials..etc), its ridiculous I tell ya.


Pat, I do have Luxman component Tuner I could part with. It would not be expensive, however cheap maybe a relative thing

[Azeke]

Too bad you can't just scan the boxes and keep them on the computer too eh?!?! :B :rofl:

Thinking out of the box, huh Jason .

Azeke

[David Meek]

Thinking out of the box, huh Jason .

Azeke

Snort. Choke. Cough. :spit: :B Warning! Zeke's being funny!

[Patt]

Pat, I do have Luxman component Tuner I could part with. It would not be expensive, however cheap maybe a relative thing

Is there some way for me to see a picture of the Luxman or do you have any idea what the model number is? Sounds like an old one, but if it works what the heck.

[hidefdvd]

I've got most off my boxes in the basement, but I have a feeling in the not so distant future they're going to get recycled. Keep on box for manuals and spare cables. When it comes to repair, I'd just take the unit in without the box. My local dealer wraps the unit in bubble wrap when shipping it out. And when I sell my equipment, I do it locally so the buyer picks up or I deliver. Never had a problem selling anything without the box. I don't listen or watch a box.

[Nick M]

Boxes for my pre/pro, amp, and dvd player are in my father's attic. The boxes for my speakers and subs were way too big, and got chucked.

[IntegrateMe]

The key is to upgrade frequently!! That way we can take our old equipment (which is most likely smaller than the new) and rebox it to sell on e-bay!!! This allows us the luxury of tossing the boxes, but the manuals are still bound to eat up space.

[Lex]

Personally I have an 18 wheeler sitting in my front yard where I keep my boxes. I hope to get a picture on Blue Collar TV one of these days.

Gads, I kept to many boxes and been hauling some off to computer equip and such. I keep all boxes for major components though that I can. Attic, utility building, garage... Manuals are everywhere, though they started out in 1 box.

[Clive]

I can see that my Binder three hole punch Idea is catching on. (Darn should patent it) :Z No prizes for that one.

Boxes? major ones I keep others DVD player etc..........trashed.

Manuals now in a "D" ring binder.

[Burke Strickland]

but I got tired of getting zapped every time I pulled a manual out during the winter. Dam**d static electricity.

So that must have been in Washington state? (since we don't have winter here in Houston, just a slightly-less-hot few weeks when it rains seemingly non-stop during our pertpetual summer). :>)

Must be pretty dry deep in the heart of Texas

Yes, actually it is quite dry over there. But here where we are near the Gulf Coast, it is pretty, but not dry. :>)

Burke

PS -- Binders? We don't need no stinkin' BINDERS! First thing I do when I plan to buy an HT product is download its manual off the vendor's site. (Much easier to look things up electronically than to page through a bunch of printed pages.) If they don't have a manual online, they don't have a sale.

Exception: my Maggies, which I'd purchase even if they required each buyer to write their own manual. :>) Actually, the two or three page flyer that passes for a "manual" for each of the Magnepan speaker models could easlily go in a drawer. You didn't really think I'd go to the trouble of putting together a three ring binder for something I could just as easily call Parth at Audio Concepts to get answered, did you? :>)

[purplepeople]

I too keep the original packing material.

Boxes and foam are stored in my apartment's basement storage locker. Smaller boxes go inside larger ones. It's not that bad, but it does take up the whole 4' x 3' x 7' space.

ensen.

[Jeff]

I keep all my boxes. It seems to be a good selling point when you supply original boxes and manuals.

Although, my wide screen tv box is gone (they service it in home) I have kept the boxes of my B&W N802's. They're HUGH. Everything electronic piece I have doesn't equal the size of those two boxes. Oh ya, the box for the B&W HTM1 center speaker is much larger than one would think.

Being a "guy" means I can walk by those boxes every day and not even notice them. :rofl: Women are not blessed with this ability. :B

[JetFlyGuy]

I use them to fill the void in my wallet where the money used to go... Seriously, I do keep them in the garage attic, because I know that when the next case of upgrade-itis hits that I can get a better return on the gear I am selling

[DLA]

Apparanly I keep mine in the dinning room...God it's great to be old and single

[gd]

Apparanly I keep mine in the dinning room...

I'm not much better... there are a few in what is supposed to be a dining room but is in reality a seldom-used (or visited) studio area.

Other boxes are stashed in closets or actual storage areas.

Ya gotta keep the boxes... how else can we arrange shipping to fix all the problematic gear we post about here?

[Lex]

I too pitched my TV box, but those speaker and component boxes sit pretty empty... I liked Jason's Idea of breaking them down, however then they won't stack neatly in the space I have for them.

Yeah, I've tried that a time or two, and invariably, the inside styrofoam pieces get messed up, tossed, lost, confused, etc... Or they turn up and you say, hmm, what the heck is that for?

In the process of thinking about moving, I've been going through a lot of boxes. I save all major component boxes, but usually not TV boxes. I'm down to plasmas, LCDs or projectors now, I do keep boxes for both projectors, as they are small anyway. I started moving them down out of the attic, and that's created some issues as well with space. I may have to go back to the attic with some to make my house show better., that or rent storage for boxes, or move a car outside Bing.

[David Meek]

I use them to fill the void in my wallet where the money used to go...

Amen brother. :