Ouch! Threaded where I dreaded!
I believe it's time (for moi) to rethink this whole box thing. Not only is it a space-taker-upper thing, but it's an affront to the aged, feeble-of-recall that I am, IMHO. I mean, you see this crisp box lurking beneath the layout, on a shelf,....wherever...and you think, 'Wow, I should take that out and run it!....only to find that you already have.....and it's somewhere gathering dust on the layout!
So, in a sense (or trying to make some, thereof!) getting rid of the boxes of items that ARE being utilized on the layout, display shelves, etc., would leave a stark indication of the wretched excess for which there's no room, no priority interest, no usefulness,......and, therefore, should be disposed of....in a fiscally responsible manner, of course!!! The remaining 'boxes' would all have stuff in them that is just, ...well....,'stuff'.
It's sort of like the current media advertisement for who-knows-what that asks the question 'Will a new pair of shoes make you a better person?', for which the answer is an obvious 'No!, of course not!". Will boxes and boxes of unused 'stuff' under, around, above, etc. the hobby domain make you a better hobbyist? (Oh, dear....now I'm REALLY in trouble!!...............no.)
And, saving the engine boxes, only?.....reminds me of the ol' Magnavox "Works in a drawer" advertising from the 1950's.....its an admission that the item is doomed to failure and in need of repair in my lifetime. Better keep the 'emergency stretcher' handy for the patient! So sad.
Value for the next owner? So, what?.... I should help myself be miserable to end by selling off in my lifetime one of the few things, my hobby, that provide an enthusiastic quality of life? Or, I should care that the administrator of my estate gets a few extra bucks from musty old boxes to give to ????? when I'm gone?? Seriously? Do ashes or a crusty corpse really care about such things????
Have we taken 'Box-mania' to a ridiculous level of passion/necessity??
Just a question.......
Struggling with the answer, I remain...