One of my greatest "trials" in packing Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes is fitting in everything I want to send-lol! So, I'm always trying to figure out how to get one more thing in. I love to hear other's ideas on the subject, and as there doesn't seem to be much out there on fitting more in OCC GO shoeboxes, I decided to start a series of posts on it. The first is a guest post I asked Amy Lukens to write!
How to Pack More into Less
You Really Can Fit a Lot into the Preprinted Boxes.
By Amy Lukens
Just as any of you reading this, packing shoeboxes is my passion. I am an Operation Christmas Child Area Coordinator in the Upper Midwest Region and have been packing shoeboxes for over 15 years. Lots of practice and natural spatial awareness have helped me to figure out ways to pack a lot in a little shoebox.
Before I go any further, I want to point out that this is how I pack my boxes. It is not the “right” way to pack. God has placed certain items on my heart to pack or not pack. He may have placed different items on your heart and that is perfect. The shoeboxes go to a variety of children with different needs and wants. Also I do pack mostly in OCC’s Preprinted boxes, but I will also pack a slightly larger box if needed. Certain items like teenage boy’s tennis shoes will not fit into the Preprinted boxes no matter how much you try. I will pack a little larger box such as a 6qt plastic box if necessary.
Here is how I pack my shoeboxes:
1. Remove packaging!
One problem I run into when packing Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, is how to fit in everything I want to send. A shoebox just doesn't seem to hold everything I want to give to the child. Over the years I've learned some things to help me fit more things in, and love testing to figure out new ways to make things fit. So I thought I'd share some things I've learned in case it could help someone else! You can see in the photo at left everything I got in this one box. Here's a list of what fit in (in no particular order):
