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Amazon Wants to Help You Keep Your Something-In, Something-Out Rule (And For a Good Cause)

Shifrah Combiths
Shifrah Combiths
With five children, Shifrah is learning a thing or two about how to keep a fairly organized and pretty clean house with a grateful heart in a way that leaves plenty of time for the people who matter most. Shifrah grew up in San Francisco, but has come to appreciate smaller town life in Tallahassee, Florida, which she now calls home. She's been writing professionally for twenty years and she loves lifestyle photography, memory keeping, gardening, reading, and going to the beach with her husband and children.
published Apr 6, 2017
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A “one-in, one-out” policy is a super-logical way to keep our homes from becoming overrun with clutter. The concept is simple: Did you just pick up three new tops? Choose three to say good-bye to. But the theory isn’t always easy to put into practice, especially when online shopping can make our mailboxes a gateway to the surging tide of stuff. Well, now there’s a new way to keep the clutter in check, one that’s almost as easy as clicking Buy It Now.

The Give Back Box allows you to fill your empty Amazon boxes (and other boxes) with clothes and household items to donate through Goodwill.

The whole process is simple. Here’s how it could work for you: When you get a shipment from Amazon, relish in your new stuff, then quickly decide which items are going “out” to make room for the new stuff. Stash it in the box you just got, then print your free shipping label from givebackbox.com. Then, you can either drop your box off for shipment at a UPS or USPS location or arrange a pick-up from your house. Notice you’re also recycling your box and getting it out of your house. The Give Back Box program even generates tax deduction receipts for you.

Goodwill uses its revenue to “help support employment placement, job training and other community-based services to create strong families and communities,” so the Give Back Box program is a win for everyone involved. And Amazon isn’t the only partner; check out the Give Back Box story for additional participating retailers.

Filling a Give Back Box keeps the clutter at bay a whole box at a time. Go here to get started now. I for one have a gaping Amazon Pantry box calling my name.

Read more: Implement a One-In-One-Out Policy — Now!

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