Empty Cardboard Box Has Exceeded Its Original Mandate
A delivery arrived three weeks ago. The box remains. It has acquired a position in the room.
I.
The delivery arrived on the fourth. A medium-sized box. Inside: something ordered. The something was removed and placed where it belonged. The box was broken down and leaned against the wall for recycling.
That was three weeks ago.
II.
The box was not recycled because the recycling collection happened on a day when the box was forgotten, and then again on a second day when it was remembered but too late, and then on a third day when it was remembered correctly but not carried downstairs because downstairs required shoes.
The box is now leaned against the wall with intention.
The governing rule: once a empty cardboard box acquires a daily workaround, the workaround becomes the official storage system.
III.
The box arrived with contents. The contents have been redistributed into the household. The box has remained, taking on a different kind of occupancy.
Last week it held a jacket briefly. The jacket has since been moved. The box is now empty again and serves as a reminder that it is available for holding things.
IV.
"Should we get rid of the box?"
"It might be useful."
"For what?"
"If we need to move something."
This exchange has occurred once. It resolved in the box's favor. The box is not clutter. The box is infrastructure for a future in which boxes are needed.
V.
The household has several boxes. They do not know about each other. Each was retained under identical reasoning.
Eventually moving it requires consensus, historical evidence, and a reopening of the domestic constitution.
The box is still against the wall.
A new delivery is expected Thursday.