Everyone can use a good organization app. Whether you need to keep track of work hours, study nights, or how much money you make selling on eBay, you probably benefit from some kind of productivity app that keeps your organized.
Boxes is a cataloging app that helps you inventory everything you own with pictures, and even helps you sell some of it…
Boxes is a tool to help you make the most of the stuff you own by organizing and keeping track of all the stuff you love in one place. It enables opportunities that you wouldn’t easily have otherwise. People use Boxes to organize their collections, wardrobes, and most valuable things; to plan a move to their new home or office; promote their brand, products, or artwork; to buy and sell the stuff they love, and so much more.
Design
The home page of the app is similar to a blog roll on the iPhone. Users can see new item listings as they appear in a scrollable list with images and titles. You can “like” an item, add it to your wish list, or share it with others through Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
To see the app’s menu, tap the menu icon at the top right of the screen or swipe from left to right. The menu gives you access to the main list of items, your personal belongings that you’ve added, messages you’ve received from other users, and more.
When you tap on the image of an item that looks interesting to you, you will see its description, the user name of the poster, and comments that have been made about it. Plus, you can see a map of the approximate location that the picture was taken.
To refresh the feed and see what new items have been posted, tap the refresh icon at the top left of the screen.
App Use
The first thing you will have to do when you open the app on your iPhone is sign up with an email address and username. This is so that you can have notifications sent to you when people are talking about your items.
Once you’ve signed up, you’ll be asked to select a few people to follow based on pictures of items they have posted. There are pictures of dresses, shoes, comic books, cars, bikes, art, buildings, and more.
Then, you will be able to check out what other users are posting in their collections and start adding to your own, as well.
For me, the point of Boxes is to organize all of my stuff. However, it is obvious that this is a social app that encourages you to “like” other people’s stuff and share pictures of what you have, too.
To add your own items, start by taking a picture of something. You can take up to five pictures of each item. Then, you can add filters to enhance their look. For example, if you are posting a picture of a vintage children’s toy, you could use the Sinai filter to give the image a vintage feel.
After you’ve taken the photos and added filters, you can add a title to the item’s post. For example, if you took a picture of a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses, add that to the title so that others will know exactly what it is. Then, choose a category from the list.
You’ll be able to select from Clothing and Accessories, Electronics, Pets and Supplies, and more. Each category includes hashtags for subcategories. For example, if you choose Pets and Supplies, a list of subcategories will appear, like #Birds, #Cats, etc. You can also type in your own hashtag that will be saved for future use.
The next thing you will do is choose a box to put it in. Here is where the organization comes in. If you put all of your items into different boxes based on their category, you’ll be able to find them very easily. You can pick a pre-named box from the list, or add your own. You can even name the box whatever you want so that you can give it more detail. For example, I started out making a comic box, but realized that I wanted to have multiple boxes of comic so I could separate out the major distributors from the independent ones and keep my trade paperback books separate from my individual issue books.
Once the item has been labeled and placed in its box, add a description. The description is useful for letting others know what they are looking at. For example, if you post a picture of a record from an obscure punk band, you could include information on where the band is from, how many songs are on the record, and whether it is a first pressing.
If you don’t want to share pictures of your personal belongings with the world, tap the lock icon to make the item private. This will allow you to save your progress without making your post public.
You can also sell items that you’ve listed. I took pictures of my run of first-printing Marvel Zombies comics and listed them for sale on Boxes. I haven’t had any interested buyers yet, but I’ve had about a dozen people “like” it in less than 24 hours. When you list an item for sale, you can include what monetary denomination you will accept. Plus, you can add shipping costs, taxes, and whether or not you will ship internationally. When you post the item, it will include a banner that lets others know it is for sale. They can see how much it sells for and contact you to find out more about how to purchase it.
In addition to adding your personal belongings to your well-organized boxes, you can also check out what other people are posting. There are original pieces of art, toys, cars, bikes, dresses, books, and all manner of interesting things to look at or buy. There are even a couple of museums that post pictures of items from their collection. For example, the Miami Auto Museum has a picture of the original Delorean from Back to the Future and is selling a replica of the original Batmobile.
The Good
I love cataloging my stuff. I have a fairly extensive collection of LPs, board games, and comic books. This app is great for logging what you have, so that when you are out shopping, you can check out the list of items you already own so you don’t accidentally buy it twice.
I also enjoy seeing what others post. It is almost like looking into someone’s closet without them knowing, but with their permission.
The Bad
I’m not totally sure what the point is in making your stuff public for everyone to see. I don’t mind posting items that are for sale, but it seems weird to share your household items with the rest of the world. It is like giving permission for every stranger to come look in your closet while you are gone.
Value
This app is free to download and only asks for an email address in order to let you know when you receive notifications. It takes a bit of extra work to really create multiple boxes for organizing your stuff. However, there are so many great ways to tag and label your items that, if you can handle the effort, the payoff is worth it.
Conclusion
As an organization app for cataloging your stuff, this is great. You can take multiple pictures of individual items, label them, tag them, put them in a designated “box” and share them with the rest of the world. As a social app, it is a little bit weird to take pictures of your personal belongings for the purpose of showing them off to others. However, I can see the potential use. If the app gets big enough, it could be a way to let your friends and family know what you want for your birthday. It could also become a new way to sell stuff online without having to pay fees or deal with the hassle of eBay. Boxes is available for free in the App Store today.