There is always this box. The one who has survived one move, sometimes two, without ever being truly open. We vaguely know what it contains, but we prefer not to think about it too much.
According to INSEE, 6.8 million people moved to France in 2021, or 10.1% of the total population. A figure far from being marginal, reinforced by another equally telling piece of data: a French person moves on average 4.6 times during their life, without even counting student accommodation. In other words, the majority of us will experience several complete moves, each time with its share of boxes to pack, transport, then unpack. Except that unpacking, unlike packing, is not automatic.
This discrepancy between frequency of moves and actual pace of unpacking largely explains why certain boxes go through the years without ever being opened. Each new move, we take the time to sort what is immediately useful, we install the furniture, we organize the main rooms. But boxes containing less urgent objects, souvenirs, seasonal items or occasional equipment, regularly end up relegated to a garage, a cellar or a corner of a cupboard, awaiting sorting "which we will do later". And since one move rarely chases another too closely, this box can travel from one home to another, year after year, without ever really being confronted.

What this task actually involves

Storing and sorting a box consists of opening a box that has been accumulated for a while, examining each object it contains, and deciding for each of them: keep it and find a real place for it, give it away, sell it, or throw it away. Allow around 30 minutes for a standard size box, a time which can vary greatly depending on the volume of objects and the emotional charge they represent.

Tips and tricks for efficient sorting

Setting a timer before starting often changes the situation: giving yourself a time constraint avoids getting bogged down in endless thinking about each object, and transforms a potentially endless task into a one-off and manageable exercise. Once the time is up, we stop, even if it means taking the cardboard back during a next session.
The three-pile method remains extremely effective: “to keep”, “to give or sell”, “to throw away”. Taking each object once in hand and slicing immediately, without putting it down "to think", avoids falling back into the indecision which precisely led this box to remain closed for so long.
For objects with a strong sentimental charge, often the most difficult to decide, a simple question helps us move forward: has this object been seen, touched or used since the last move? If the answer is no, there's a good chance it can find a new life elsewhere, with someone who will actually use it, rather than continuing to sleep in a closed box.

With 4.6 moves on average over the course of a lifetime according to INSEE, it is not surprising that some boxes end up accumulating miles without ever really being opened. Tackling one of them from time to time is as much about regaining control of your space as it is about finally making peace with what you continue to carry around without really knowing why.