Boxes!

I cannot contain myself. I have a love affair with boxes. Boxes are handy things. They can be plain and simple, or pretty and embellished. They can be big, small, wide, or tall. Cardboard, plastic, wood, glass, ceramic, and so on . . .

Think about how boxes are an important part of our lives. A festively wrapped present brings joy to young and old alike. And for many small children, the box is often more fun that the gift itself! Have you seen the recent commercial with a cute toddler crawling in and out of a box? Priceless! A box can be a house, a car, a hideout, or with some paint and a few holes cut out – a costume for dress-up. The possibilities are endless.

Boxes are good things. Here's why:

2. Everyday boxes are useful. They store lots of things like cereal, macaroni, shoes, mail, crackers, and even juice. I like boxes because they can hide things like the clutter that piles up on my countertop. They are a home for old toys, books, magazines, paperwork, or outgrown clothes. I even have a decorative box that houses many of my medication bottles. It sits on my kitchen counter within easy reach, and most visitors don’t actually know what’s inside.

3. Many boxes are the keepers of memories. I have boxes holding tons of photos, my children’s artwork and school projects, momentos from special occasions like our wedding or the kid’s milestones such as their births, baptisms, and first birthdays. Tucked away in my dresser drawer, I have the tiny red box from one of the most precious gifts I ever received– my engagement ring.

1. Boxes help us move our treasures (or junk) for one place to the next. My husband has unpacked boxes stored in the basement that we moved from our first home to our present home more than eight years ago! We have boxes for our holiday decorations – Christmas, Halloween, Easter, and more. I also have boxes storing my books and supplies from my past teaching days. We even have boxes that hold empty boxes! Needless to say, our basement is just one HUGE box holding many, many other boxes!

The list of wonderful boxes goes on and on – pizza box, jewelry box, hat box, Monopoly box, a box that holds a shiny new pair of shoes, a Chinese take-out container, a heart-shaped box filled with chocolates, a music box that plays a favorite song, a box for tissues, the 64-box of Crayola crayons . . . like I said, I just can’t contain myself!