Do you keep your Lego Boxes?

[Raven Brickroft]

I always did collect them. Instruction manuals, catalogue and all. They were all kept in a file bag. The boxes would be flattened so they would all fit. But then my dark age came. I never knew what happened to that bag that held ALL my boxes, catalog and instructions.

Today, there's a special section on our cupboard that I use to display the boxes.

[Etzel]

I throw them all away!

No need for them and they just taking up space (which I'm really short of in my apartment).

Although I have saved the Medieval Market Village box this far since it's really beautiful. But soon it will meet the same destiny as the others.

[keetong]

Actualy for some strange reason yes, and no, I kept most of the new ones. I got quite a few sitting in the top of my closet. I use to build them , put them on a platform and put the box behind it.

[Ricecracker]

I have absolutely no clue why, but for the past two years, I've been keeping the boxes, with no intentions of getting rid of them. I flatten them, and then stack them inside my closet, where there is room.

[AFOL SF]

For small sets, I recycle the boxes... for bigger sets, I keep the boxes but flatten them to save on space. These are mint boxes, but for the ones that are damaged, these are recycled, too. Knowing myself, I'd get tired of a display(s) after a few months and would be replacing it with a new one. So when that happens, I still have the box(es) to put the Lego and instruction booklets back.

If I have a choice, I'd ask TLC to use 'smaller' boxes - just enough space that will fit all the Lego inside. This will be environmental friendly with less trees being cut; we really don't need all these oversized boxes for our Lego. Sometimes I feel guilty recycling such boxes as the art on it are well done.

[prateek]

in the last 4 years, ive only gotten 1 set and i have that box but the boxes from before that are gone

[k_peek_2000]

I've kept every box i've gotten since my passion for legos was reborn. Even of the set's i've sold :p

[Peppermint_M]

I throw the boxes out after a while, some after a long time others as a matter of course.

We aren't allowed to put large boxes in the regular bins, so I save a pile and then we tack them to the recycling center or Ikea's cardboard dump, depending when we need to (ie, when going to Ikea we take the large boxes if we have any, but if we have loads of boxes and aren't going to Ikea we go to the tip).

[UserNameInvalid]

Currently I do keep the boxes.

Don't ask me why.

I won't be selling my LEGO anyway.

Although I pack the bigger boxes with smaller boxes, they are still very very BIG and take up lots of space.

So I don't know how long I will keep this up.

And why LEGO, why do the boxes need to be so big? It's a waste!

The instructions I ofcourse keep.

All nicely protected in these plastic document sleeves.

As are all the receipts and catalogs.

I guess I'm a bit of a hoarder.

[MetroiD]

If I have a choice, I'd ask TLC to use 'smaller' boxes - just enough space that will fit all the Lego inside. This will be environmental friendly with less trees being cut; we really don't need all these oversized boxes for our Lego. Sometimes I feel guilty recycling such boxes as the art on it are well done.

Definitely, but it's rather a marketing problem here... Because seeing a LEGO set that's half the size of the toy standing alongside it on the shops' rack yet costs more would put off not only children, but parents alike. In marketing, even such simple psychological factors do have a major influence and that's why LEGO have continously used boxes that are sometimes waaaaay bigger than the required size to fit in all the parts. I do however agree that for the environment's sake, reducing the unnecessary size of toys' packaging is really the way to go, since there's an awful lot of toys that are produced in the same manner - huge box and contents 1/3 or half the size of it.

We haven't bought any exclusive sets yet, so when we do I suppose I'll definitely keep the boxes of those... Since getting a hold of one of those would be an accomplishment by itself! Some of the biggest boxes I own right now are damaged (that's how I bought them - but the price was 50+% off ), so I guess I'll be throwing them out sooner rather than later.

But the instruction manuals, sticker sheet and the catalogue are, of course, kept separately at a safe location ;) Throwing them away is out of the question! Which reminds me... didn't LEGO use to include a smallish catalogue along with almost every set back in the 90s? What happened to those? I've noticed that they're missing from the new sets...

Thanks for replying to this one, I really was very curious what other people do with their boxes (especially if they don't have much space where they live).

[brickbitz]

Simple - once a set is opened the box goes in the recycling.

Its basically the LEGO I want. The instructions and stickers are saved as they are useful, the box isn't.

Of course I realise there are people for whom collecting the box is important too. Too each his own.

When I buy used LEGO myself, I'm not bothered about the box, just the condition of the LEGO.

Postage is normally cheaper too without a huge box to worry about.

[Dragonator]

I keep all the boxes, there is some nice art on a lot of them, and they are to me part of the set.

I flatten all the smaller boxes that can be easily flattened without tearing them, and store these inside the large boxes which open up from the top, that is cannot be flattened without tearing. This still takes up a lot of space, I have a number of stacks of them, but far less space than it otherwise would. I am currently in the process of putting all the boxes into labelled storage bags for long-term storage. It may take some time, like most of my other projects.

There are of course a few exceptions, such as older boxes like that of the yellow castle, which I keep up on a special shelf. I love that set.

This is an interesting topic, thanks for asking Chopper Otters.

[fenrir]

Before my dark age I threw the boxes away, the instructions just dissappeared.

I was so upset about that after my dark age, I keep the boxes under my bed now.

The instructions are placed in a showmap. So they´re kept in a great condition.

It´s a waste if you throw the boxes (and instructions) away!

[RangerBob]

I throw the boxes away. I don't see the point in keeping them. They just consume space.

When I want to store the sets, I just put them in plastic bags (labeled).

[Eilif]

Except for a few that I use to store LEGO or sort LEGO, they all go into the trash. I do save my instructions though. When I was a kid, I managed to hold onto the lid of Carribean Clipper for quite a few years before it got tossed. I kind of wish I still had that to hang on my wall.

[Erdbeereis]

I keep them, but if I have multiples of a set I just keep one.

To me it's mainly because I like having the set totally "complete", I also love the images on the boxes, which just makes it too hard to get rid of them. There's hardly anything more exciting than getting a crisp new set, and I like having every element of that set in hand. However, I definitely do not intend on selling any sets.

As for storing them, I used to just have them piled up, but now I stack them neatly in shelves in my storage room(so they don't get too much in the way), which almost makes it look like a library which is kind of fun.

I keep instructions, catalogs and stickers in sorted files so they don't get bent.

[WhiteFang]

I was wondering whether you guys keep your LEGO boxes after you've opened them, built the sets and/or added the bricks to your collection?

Very interesting topic!

There is a discussion similar to this too, and I have merged and moved to here, in order for us to discuss in one place.

Yes, I do keep my LEGO boxes, as much as possible, especially if I have one box for one single set and big sets. However, I will tend to buy multiple sets as much as possible and keep each unique set, MISB, so I can retain the box and open the other spare for playing and building, but this is a very costly way of doing it though. In addition, keeping boxes take up way too much space, and eventually I will choose those boxes that are much beautiful and better condition.

[AwesomeStar]

I keep most of my boxes in my attic, protected, of course. This is because if I want to sell a set. However, I sometimes chuck the big one's away, especially the ones where I only bought the set for the parts.

~A.S.

[CP5670]

This picture is a few years old now, but it's roughly what my box stash looks like. I don't have space for them in my current apartment, but I have kept them at my parents' house. I plan to bring them back when I move into a bigger place in the future.

One thing is that the boxes 15 or 20 years ago were much more impressive and high quality than the ones today, and I tend to keep the newer (2000 and onward) boxes more for completeness than anything else. I probably wouldn't be keeping any boxes if my collection only consisted of sets from the last few years. The newer boxes are easier to store though since they have no trays or packaging inside, so it's easy to put the smaller ones inside the big ones.

didn't LEGO use to include a smallish catalogue along with almost every set back in the 90s? What happened to those? I've noticed that they're missing from the new sets...

The last time those appeared was in 2003. I used to spend hours staring at the dioramas in them as a kid, but they're unfortunately a thing of the past. Marketing in general has increasingly moved away from printed materials and towards internet advertising in the last 10 years.

[Matn]

Before my dark age I threw the boxes away, the instructions just dissappeared.

I was so upset about that after my dark age, I keep the boxes under my bed now.

The instructions are placed in a showmap. So they´re kept in a great condition.

It's just the same here. When I was younger, my boxes were always thrown away, and most of the times together with the manuals. I think, because the manuals are no where to be found.

I keep the boxes under my bed, I put the smallest ones in the bigger ones and then the bigger ones in the large ones. It works fine, but I'm runnig out of space under my bed!

[JCC1004]

I always keep mine. I display the ones with cool box art.

[Bundalings]

I keep every box... because I'm a pack rat.

~Bunda

[The Who]

The last time those appeared was in 2003. I used to spend hours staring at the dioramas in them as a kid, but they're unfortunately a thing of the past.

So did I!! (Seriously, though. I would mentally create Pros and Cons lists for each)

I, since about two years ago, have started keeping one box for every set I get, just because I can.

Old boxes, like the Watto's Junkyard box, for example, I keep because I do really consider them works of art. They are old and often worn, but the pictures, setup, and design of the box(es) are just beautiful.

Creator and Brick bucket boxes are, well......85% of the time.....Crap. Unless it's like the Podrace Bucket, etc.

[Brickthing]

Although I didn't in the past, when I started collecting BIONICLE sets I was encouraged to keep the boxes because they were neat plasic canisters that had more relevance to the set than most boxes. Now I keep all the boxes I get, SYSTEM and BIONICLE, and I've got a cupboard full of the boxes along from my almost complete 2007-2008 BIONICLE lineup.

[ILikePi]

I've kept all my boxes since I started liking LEGO (around 2-3 years). The only sets that I don't have boxes to are two X-Pods (not sure if they had a box), and my brother's Technic Hailfire Droid. There might be others, but I can't think of any right now. I keep boxes because I always like looking at the art and designs on the boxes. I also use boxes for storage for small sets.

Can someone add a poll or something to this topic?

Edited April 12, 2009 by ILikePi