Just cleaned out mt garage, closet, and attic. No clue why I kept every single box of anything electronic/tech based in the last ten years. I just tossed boxes for phones I haven’t had in years, old CPU and heat sync boxes, boxes for 100mbps nics, old modems I don’t have anymore. I’ve never needed any of these and have brought them with me through too many house moves.
Lol - I had the same problem for many years, until I finally decided to clean them out like you did.
My policy now is to keep them for a month or so before tossing them. That’s arguably when they’re most likely to break down and I’d still need to ship/take them somewhere in their original packaging.