Today, I grapple with a persistent question: Not everything in the garage is in a box. In fact, the garage has a number of items that are free-standing. Many of the other objects in the garage are empty boxes. Do the rules of “365 Boxes” allow me to grab some of these free-standing items and place them in one of the empty boxes for sorting?

Box 37: Monday, Feb. 7, 2023

CONTENTS: What a stupid question! Since “365 Boxes” is my project, I can make the rules — and, in this case, this practice would seem to be a step forward in clearing the garage of clutter. So, the objects gathered for this box include an empty plastic container (empty plastic containers are a big issue in this project), a handful of three-ring binders and a magazine rack (more office supplies), a collection of pages from a 2004 cat calendar, a copy of a useful Poynter Institute VHS tape about coaching reporters (that is, it would be useful if I could locate a VHS machine) and, oddest of all, a plastic container that used to hold baby spinach that now holds clippings of comic strips that we must have found funny.

DISPOSITION: Actually, I could use a couple of three-ring binders, but most of these will be donated. I wonder if Poynter has that video about coaching reporters available for streaming. The cat calendar pages will make for useful scratch paper. Most of the comic strips will be recycled, although a handful might make their way to the refrigerator door … and there’s a “Pearls Before Swine” Sunday strip about cleaning out your garage, which I will share tomorrow.