Boxes: to keep or not to keep

[euripides]

OMG !!! Did you see ROOM's display in that thread that Debra posted earlier... I am -ill- with jealousy. That bookshelf! All that Tarot !!!!

Glad you asked about keeping boxes - I'm heading that way too. The box for my Norse is so old the plastic is shattering. I could possibly track down a newer one and slide the paper insert into it, but maybe I should just toss it, and keep the insert in a folder. (I've got loads of folders of artwork and stuff...)

I love the bookmark idea. Trouble is I do like the boxes for storing less-used tarots - its so neat and tidy and secure, but then the edges get so beaten up...

Apart from a couple of odd decks that I'm in the process of trading, even my collectable decks I'll (the Norse and Blake) I will never part with, so that's not a reason to keep them. I think if you think you might trade a deck, it would be a good idea to store the box - so many decks seem to have pristine cards but woefully shelf-worn boxes.

You could also use the boxes to make a collage picture - cut the panels out and arrange them on a large piece of dark-coloured paper, maybe cut contrasting coloured rectangles to make borders, like scrapbooking....

 

[Debra]

HeavensVault does collage art--she sent me a BEAUTIFUL card--and is looking for old tarot cards, boxes etc. that have tarot designs to use in her collages....

 

[Sakura Murasaki]

I really, really like the idea to use the boxes as bookmarks. I don't have a very large collection (yet), but I knew that the boxes might become a problem when my one deck's box began to fall apart. I bought a drawstring bag, and a new wooden box from a craft store.

Now, I don't want to have to buy a new bag or a box for every single deck I buy, so those extra accessories are for special decks that I use most frequently. For any future decks I buy, those will keep their original boxes. For me, they'll be easier to store that way.

 

[RaeBelle]

I keep my boxes, all of them. If it's a big box, and I don't plan on keeping the deck in the box, I unfold it and store it in a cabinet I have. I'm a bit OCD about keeping things a certain way, and I'm sure that contributes to it.

 

[greenbeans]

I've just taken a big step and recycled most of my small boxes...as pretty as they often are, I always feel a deck is a bit 'freshly shop bought' and 'off limits' in a box. Now the decks are in specially selected bags, they are more truly 'mine'- I'm not about to trade any of them. Its a scary feeling but nice too, kind of reminds me of a relationship where you decide to stop 'taking things slow' and move in together! Yeah, I'm a little crazy when it comes to my decks! then again I'm not a 'collector' I have a few decks and I love em all.

 

[kerri28]

I keep the boxes.

Though some of the above ideas are really lovely too. Has given me some ideas anyway.

 

[SunChariot]

I know a lot of people store and keep their boxes, but I just keep a very few in case I want to trade a deck later. Of my 33 decks I have. I have about three boxes in the house. The decks are all stored in their individual pouches.

The main point here is why would you want to keep them. What purpose do you see them serving in your life at some future date, what use could they be to you in your future? If you can't think of any purpose they could serve you in the future, you probably have no need of them anymore.

Bar

 

[Grizabella]

If you flatten the boxes so they don't take nearly so much room, it works out well. Every square inch of my apartment and every little nook and cranny have to do double duty for storage since this apartment is so small, so I can't even keep the boxes to my decks without compromising everything else.

Like another poster, I used to think there wasn't any way I'd ever trade or otherwise get rid of any of my decks, but boy--did I ever fool me! So I try to just flatten all I can and then save the ones I can't flatten in my dresser drawer. Or in the case of my Golden, I have the box sitting on my dresser because it's a decor touch.

 

[nicki]

I made my boyfriend put up a couple of shelves in our spare room for my cards, which he did, but being 6ft 5 he put it at his height so little 5ft 3 of me can't reach them, so i have to get a chair to stand on, men!!!

But like the thought of folding the boxes up.

nicki

 

[Grizabella]

I'm 5'1" and had a boyfriend 6'5", so I appreciate that dilemma. LOL We made a mean team for painting walls, though. He painted "up" and I painted "down".
He used to pick me up off the floor and show me the top of the fridge needed cleaning, though. That drove me nuts!

Flattened boxes take up very little room and you can store tons of them in a plastic storage container. You could even improvise some alphabetical separators to keep track of where each one was.

Or like me, you could just put them here and there and then do a very frustrating and time-consuming "treasure hunt" if you needed to find one.