While it’s no secret that you look forward to hauling out a load of cardboard boxes to the curb, there are other, more environmentally-friendly means to dispose of the unwanted boxes.
Cardboard boxes can be recycled and reused for many fun and purposeful ways around your home. Before you rush to throw out your used moving boxes, consider these 10 ingenious ways to reuse them!
1. Sell them
Depending on where you live, there are local companies that specialize in buying and selling unwanted moving boxes. If you need extra cash to cover the expense of your recent move, check with your local moving company to find a company that does the selling for you!
While there’s no upfront cost to sell with these companies, they do, however, charge a commission on the sales.
2. Donate them
If you don’t want the hassle of trying to sell your boxes, it’s always a good idea to donate them rather than chucking them out with the trash. Pass them down to a friend or family member who is also moving.
If you just moved into an apartment complex, let the managers of your rental office know that you’re willing to donate your used moving boxes to someone in need. There’s a high probability that a neighbor in a nearby unit is gearing up for a move themselves and could be in the market for cardboard boxes.
When all else fails, contact a charity or community organization. Nonprofits are always looking for boxes to use for their own purposes.
3. Create postcards
With a new home, comes a new address. Sending postcards to friends and family with your new address is the perfect way to make use of your used moving boxes.
To create the postcards, cut a piece of the cardboard in a rectangle no bigger than 6 inches x 4 inches. Once you’ve decorated one side to your liking, address the other side with a sweet note, address, stamp and then send it off! This a clever way to not only save on postcards but to announce your new move!
4. Use them for storage
Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash
You know all those random products and cleaners taking up space in your garage or storage closet? Yeah, I’m talking about those products that just don’t seem to have a place of their own. Well, now they will when you use a used moving box to store all those bottles. Using a cardboard box as an all-purpose container is an efficient way to declutter and organize random products to your liking.
5. Make a bed for your pet
Believe it or not, cats love sitting in cardboard boxes. So, listen up cat owners, because this hack is for you! Using one of your spare moving boxes, trim down the sides of the box so that just the bottom and 1/4 of the sides remains.
Using paint or markers, decorate the new cardboard bed to add some extra pizzazz! Once completed, add in a soft blanket or towel for comfort and voila – you have a pet bed! If you don’t have a cat of your own, create one for your friend’s cat. We promise they won’t be disappointed.
6. Use them for arts and crafts
You know how some kids are more excited for the big boxes on Christmas rather than the toy that actually was inside it? Well, guess what? Kids will still feel the same excitement overused moving boxes.
Cardboard boxes make the best foundation for arts and crafts. Whether you’re constructing a fort, castle or car from the box, there’s no shortage of imagination to what you can do. If you’re up for the challenge, cardboard boxes can be extremely beneficial when constructing homemade Halloween costumes as well!
7. Create your own coasters
There’s nothing worse than drinks leaving ring stains on the coffee or end tables. In order to prevent these stains from occurring, your used cardboard boxes are here to save the day!
Using the boxes, cut a circle to the size of your liking. With decorative duct tape and a good pair of scissors, wrap the circle with the tape, covering it all. This will not only add a pop of color, but it will also protect the cardboard from condensation.
8. Use them as holiday gift tags
Gifts tend to be expensive enough, which means you shouldn’t spend an excessive amount of money on gift wrapping. With your unwanted moving boxes, cut the cardboard into fun shapes and decorate to your liking. You can then punch a hole at the top and add ribbon to connect your gift tags to either a box or bag of your choice.
9. Feed the birds
Your used moving boxes are just sturdy enough to create your very own take on a traditional bird feeder. After cutting and securing your cardboard piece into a cylinder or house, cover it with peanut butter and roll it in a mixture of birdseed. Hang your new feeder or bird house from a tree and watch as birds flock to your recycled treat!
10. Kill your weeds
Did you know that cardboard is a compostable material? That means your used moving boxes are the perfect solution for your weed problem. In a weed-prone area, lay down the cardboard and water them thoroughly to keep them in place. This is will help eliminate those pesky weeds that want to pop in your lawn.
While your used moving boxes can be a bit of a hassle and an eyesore following a move, get creative on how to reuse them rather than being wasteful. How you ultimately chose to use your boxes is up to you, but you’ll feel better knowing that you opted to recycle them to help your community or environment.
