SORABYCO | Life in Japan

Online shopping is convenient, especially in Japan where deliveries are fast and reliable. The downside is that cardboard boxes can pile up before you realize it. That happens in my home too. If a few packages arrive in the same week, I sometimes end up with two or three empty boxes near the entrance. Since cardboard is collected only on certain recycling days where I live, I cannot always get rid of it right away. So I started wondering: Is it okay to keep cardboard boxes inside the house for a few days? Can they really attract cockroaches or other bugs? The short answer is: clean, dry cardboard can usually stay indoors temporarily until recycling day, but it is better not to keep delivery boxes for weeks or months. Cardboard absorbs moisture, and corrugated layers create narrow, dark spaces where insects can hide. The bigger issue is not that every box is “dirty” or dangerous, but that old cardboard can become part of a damp, cluttered environment that pests like. A simple routine wo...