Y’all – I love the idea of subscription boxes. My first experience with them was back in 2015 with Ipsy. $10/month for five sample-sized makeup/beauty-care products was an awesome deal. I can’t remember how long I subscribed, maybe six months or so? Eventually, I stopped the subscription because I just didn’t use that many products and they started to send me stuff I’d specifically asked not to receive (like perfume).

A few years later, I heard about Hunt a Killer – monthly mystery in a box – and their paranormal off-shoot, Empty Faces. Jason and I bought an Empty Faces subscription and quite enjoyed the first five-month episode. We continued to get the monthly boxes for the two remaining five-month episodes, which honestly weren’t as good as the first. Empty Faces has now been discontinued, but Hunt a Killer has put out a Blair Witch mystery box (six months) that we’re in the process of playing. It’s fun and makes a great date night at home.

Recently, I watched Dan from Real Life Ghost Stories Podcast do an unboxing from Abominable Book Club, which comes with books, drinks, and other goodies. And it gave me the urge to find a subscription box of my own – something more like Ipsy, where I don’t know exactly what’s coming. Aaaand I ended up down a rabbit hole, because did you know there are about a billion types of subscription boxes available?? Once I found Cratejoy, which brings together hundreds of different boxes, I knew I was in trouble…

My finds:

• Cairn – outdoor products, including “gear, apparel, nutrition, energy, skincare, and more” per the website – $30/mo
• Bibliophilic Excursions – Books and travel, each box contains books (you choose fiction, nonfiction, or both, plus goods made in the destination – $40/mo and up (many different levels of options)
• CatLadyBox – all about cats! Each box is themed and includes “cat-themed shirts, accessories, home decor, & more for YOU, plus toys for your cats, too” – $40/mo
• Succulents Box – options to get 1-4 mini succulents monthly – $10/mo and up [I’m particularly interested in this one when I start building my succulent zen garden!]
• KIWI Eco Subscription Box – each box contains 5-6 eco-friendly “essential items for cleaning, storing food, personal care, traveling, all items are biodegradable and compostable” – $25/mo
• Book Club Box – interactive reading experience – box includes a book and several wrapped items that you open only after reaching the part of the book that specifies doing so, and ties in with the story – $33/mo
• Wild Woman Box – outdoor products for women, including “gear, inspiration, snacks and body products” – $38/mo
• Wanderkarma Travel Box – each month travels to a new destination and the box contains 3-5 handmade fair trade items from that location, plus travel guide – $30/mo
• My Garden Box – garden projects including live plants and other items to build the month’s project – $36/mo
• Escape the Crate – an escape room** in a box, which I’d guess is similar to the Hunt a Killer boxes I’ve received except each one is self-contained – $27/mo

So…yeah. I had to stop looking because ten boxes is already WAY too many, and that list doesn’t even include the family subscription to Universal Yums that I’ve wanted to get for years now! I had no idea how many options were out on the market these days. Now, obviously I can’t try them all at once, because how rich would you have to be, yeah??? But I’ve decided to start with one, check it out for a few months, and then use a randomizer to choose my next one.

First up on the list? Cairn. I wanted to begin with one of the two outdoorsy ones, and something just called me to Cairn first. There were all sorts of incentives and free stuff offered for a pre-paid longer membership (six or twelve month), but I chose to go with the monthly because you never know – it might end up being wrong for me. But in any case, I ordered my first box this week and I’m excited for it to arrive – it’s already on the way! I feel like I ought to do some kind of unboxing…but I’m not really a video/youtube/reels person and I think I’d be completely awkward at that, ha!

Real quick: If you’re interested in Cairn specifically, they gave me a referral code to share, which gets both you and me a free $10 toward a Cairn box: 87yvsn

**There are actually a lot of different options out there for escape room themed boxes. I linked to the first one I found, but if I choose to do an escape room box, I’ll do more research and choose the one that seems I’d most like, and I can’t guarantee it’s this one. This is, however, likely the last one I’ll choose due to already subscribing to the Blair Witch package, so I didn’t want to make a choice too early. Who knows what will be around by that time?

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Note: this post includes a lot of links to external sites as well as to some previous blog posts that review products. None of these links are affiliate thingies, and I make no money off of them if you follow them out or subscribe or whatever. The only affiliate thing is the referral code at the end of the post. I also can’t vouch for any of these companies except those I have used (Ipsy and the various Hunt a Killer boxes), though I did try to choose boxes that have a lot of positive reviews. All images in the post, except my coffee photo and the Empty Faces photo, are courtesy of the various box websites.