Before you toss your used cardboard boxes into the recycling bin, consider some of the brilliant ways you can reuse them.
Gardening pad
By flattening out one large cardboard box, you can easily create a gardening knee pad. It’s portable and unpretentious. It will ensure your knees and feet don’t get wet, or get covered with soil as you work in the beds.
You can garden in comfort and, once you’ve worn out the cardboard kneeler altogether, you can rip it up into tiny pieces and add it to your worm farm in tiny edible chunks. In no time at all, your cardboard box will transform into nourishing soil food.
Pet accessories
You can create all sorts of pet accessories with a cardboard box. If you’re a cat lover, take a dozen or so small, strong and uniformly sized boxes, dismantle them and make them flat.
Glue them all together to create a tall tower, or stack. You can anchor the stack by fixing it to a larger cardboard stand. And presto, you’ve got an easily portable cat scratching post!
Doggie people can open two or three large cardboard boxes, and lay them flat on top of each other. Lay your dog’s favourite blanket over the cardboard and he or she will have an extra-warm bed to keep out the chill this winter.
Makeshift dolls house
You can easily transform a few old boxes into an entrancing, double story doll’s house, provided they are solid and robust enough. Once you’ve created the roofed structure with the help of scissors and a smattering of glue, you can paint on the windows and doors.
You can cut away the front section, so your little one can play with the dolls and diminutive accessories you purchased at the outdoor market, or corner toy store. Use one or two large boxes, or several small ones, and glue them together to create a more palatial kid’s toy.
Kiddies’ playpen
If you need to keep your toddler both entertained and in one place, simply dismantle two or three large cardboard boxes, lay them flat and stick them together as a makeshift playpen floor.
You can draw colourful patterns, or map out a fantasy neighbourhood with roads, parks, petrol stations and more.
To encourage a toddler to stay in the playpen you’ve created, you can create a double-folded cardboard barrier, designed to look exactly like a picket fence.
Recycled business card holder
If you’re looking for a free, easy and environmentally friendly way to display your business cards, a sturdy, small cardboard box will do the trick.
Simply cut away one side, but keep half of the bottom intact, and fold it to form a channel for the cards. Bend the rest of the cardboard in half and bend it over to form a functional little stand.
You can dress up the cardholder with a bit of paint, or you can cover it with your corporate colours to make more of an impact.
Funky outdoor furniture
If you’re looking for outdoor furniture you can easily carry to the beach, the cricket oval or the sunset concerts venues, you can create comfortable low chairs and a sturdy little table out of a few thick cardboard boxes.
You can cover the set in a thin plastic coating to keep it strong and partially waterproof. Alternatively, paint the furniture in bright outdoor colours. It’s a foldable, stackable and super affordable.
Cardboard photo frames
You can give your photos and works of art a lift by framing them with double-thick corrugated cardboard. Simply dismantle the appropriately sized heavy duty cardboard box, draw the outline of the frame on the cardboard, and cut it out with a razor blade, or shape knife.
You can seal the edges with paper packing tape, place it neatly on the backing and glue it into position. It’s an easy, unique and free way to make your displayed images look great.
Pretty all-purpose containers
You can create really attractive containers of various sizes without doing much more than decorating. Cardboard boxes can easily be converted into toy boxes or magazine and book holders.
You can also use several cardboard boxes as a matched set of extra shelves. Simply slip them into the gap under a table or chest of drawers. You can cover them with patterned paper or try your hand at trendy paint techniques.
Storage with XtraSpace
A final use for cardboard boxes – one we’re all familiar with – is storing items, from books to clothes and shoes, photos, kitchen accessories, computer paraphernalia, tax records and seasonal ornaments.
When you need boxed or other items out of the way, temporarily or for a longer period, give us a ring at XtraSpace, on 0861 250 259 (or contact us online). We offer affordable, secure self-storage at centrally located branches nationwide.