Stuff vs. the boxes it came in

Having just completed the annual foray into the attic to get down Christmas stuff I am reminded of something.

The boxes that contain the stuff we buy often outlive the stuff itself. When my daughter was in junior high (about age ... 14?) one of her Christmas gifts was a CD/cassette boombox. The box it came in was the perfect size for storing Christmas light strings.

The boombox lasted a year, maybe two tops. The box just got retired last year after at least 10 years of use.

This year I pulled down boxes from long gone VCRs, computers from eras gone by and various other things that are no longer in service.