tranum

Mother had a small home but it had walk up attic and she had a huge stockpile of boxes up there. When we were getting her house ready to sell, DH was going to throw them and I vetoed it. I ended up using every one as we boxed up things to sell. I save good boxes myself under the stairs & find they come in handy.

When we were first married, Grocery stores used their empty boxes instead of sacks for our groceries. They’d lift the flaps up and tie a grocery string around to hold in place. I, for one, wish they still did that ! I even saved the string and reused it different ways. Sometimes I ask for groceries in paper because I keep one in the garage for recycled newspapers. Mostly I use my reusable bags for grocery trips.

My kitchen trash can is small, fits under the sink and I use plastic store bags for liners. The heaviest & best bags come from the hardware store. I never buy bags for trash cans. (more money for quilting LOL)

i reuse gift bags if they are in good shape - but I usually give money so don’t need many.

Can you tell I was raised by parents who grew up with nothing ?

quiltingcandy

For years we saved boxes that things came in. But one time we walked into the garage and we could barely get around. It took most of a day, but we broken them all down and off the the recycler they went. I save a few boxes in case they are needed for sending things.
As for bags, we re-use some and the others go to be recycled, unless they are dirty. When my mother passed away I was in charge of going through and throwing out things that could not be sold or recycled. There were so many bags with more bags in them. I could understand it because when the plastic bags first became popular we all re-used them until they got a tear. But with time we had more than we could use and they tore much more easily. But my family mantra was always, "Never throw anything away." So I came home and got rid of the majority of our plastic bags. Luckily we can take them to Walmart and have them recycled. My parents even brought home paper napkins from restaurants. Which I do that too - but I found a couple boxes filled.

Anniedeb

Haha!! You sound just like me! We recycle the "normal" stuff, but gift boxes and gift bags are definitely kept, and reused. At Christmas, the bags and boxes are reused for the same people, because I use stick on labels! The kids and grandkids laugh at me, and they make jokes about it. I do not take it so far as my MIL did...she saved, ironed and reused wrapping paper!

Doggramma

Unfortunately yes. The boxes have taken over the dining room. I guess I need to get rid of some of them, but I like having different size boxes on hand. They’d still work if I folded them down. As for plastic bags - there are a lot of those too. I do re-use them for trash can liners. But the bags grow really quickly. I need to get back to using the fabric reusable bags.

Rhonda K

Oh Dear! I will save a couple of bags for current use but I don't save them in stacks. I know I can get a machine box from my LQS and dealer any time. If we ever move, the movers will pack and move us.

There are only 3 plastic containers for food storage in the kitchen cabinet. No stacks of butter tubs to fall out. LOL. Food (as in leftovers) in the refrigerator goes out after 3 days too if not eaten.

SillySusan

Oh yes! I save boxes. You never know when you'll need one. Before I retired, I got several boxes that reams of paper come in. Now I have no source of those wonderful, strong boxes so my 'stash' of them is dwindling, but I still have a few.

I use the plastic bags in the small trash cans for trash and garbage and I have a supply (another stash) of them saved up.

I have a supply of those large 'kitchen size' bags, too. I got bunches of them when I volunteered at the thrift shop. People donated stuff in them and the volunteers would toss them when they emptied them. What a waste! So I rescued them. Recycling at its best!!

Except for plastic bags for food, I haven't bought plastic bags for many years.

nativetexan

Oh I do. I used to mail things a lot, even overseas. boxes came in handy and i didn't have to buy them. I still keep some but after awhile, i usually toss them out. old habits are hard to break.

NJ Quilter

If I have a need of a box in the relatively near future I will save one of an appropriate size. Otherwise they go in recycle. I do save plastic grocery bags as they are used as liners for small waste baskets in the house as well as 'poopy bags' when we walk the dog.

Don't generally save plastic takeout food containers as I have enough reusable containers of the size I like. Will save several paper grocery bags for some garbage needs but not many. Our recycle program is quite handy. We have several 40 gallon plastic bins. Paper; plastic; glass - all in the same bins; no sorting necessary. Pick up is every 2 weeks.

lberna

I save boxes that I break down flat. I also save ribbon and tissue paper that gifts are wrapped in. I have a drawer full of tissue paper and when I need a certain color and the paper is wrinkled, I iron it. Several years ago, my granddaughters were amazed that I iron tissue paper. I just can’t throw them away and it’s hard to store them without them getting wrinkled.

quiltingshorttimer

nope--I will only keep a few plastic bags to replace as trash can liners, recycle the rest at Walmart. As far as boxes, no--they just pile up in the basement! My DH is a box saver, so regularly I will trash them. We generally use USPS to mail stuff and opt for the flat rate as much as possible and that means purchasing the box too. I plan to put the DH box stash to use this summer in getting rid of tons of "stuff"!