It takes a lot of time and effort to pack your goods while you are on the move, or shifting houses. Similarly, once done, so many empty moving boxes are equally frustrating, because we do not know what we should do with those. Throwing them in the garbage is not really a great option as it harms the environment. Also, when you have many boxes, it is not really possible to throw all of them in the garbage.
With So Many Boxes Lying Around, Here Are A Few Things That You Could Possibly Do-
Storage
What can be the most common thing that you can do? We won’t give you any brownie points for this though! It would obviously be storage. In our houses, there are a lot of things that we possibly want to throw, and in other minds, store. If you are stuck in such a dilemma, what you can do is, you can keep those objects like tools, Christmas decorations, old books and magazines, in these cardboard boxes, organised and covered. Keeping them covered is absolutely necessary so that the dust does not make a mess.
Play Items for Kids
Though a fun way to reuse these boxes, it is a little time-consuming because kids we know are not impressed very easily. A carboard box can be reshaped and remodelled into castles, doll houses, sailboats and so on. You can place small kids inside the boxes and allow them to colour the walls. In this way, you can keep your kids away from ruining your walls. These will keep them busy and away from online games or TV.
Flattened cardboard boxes make good protective surfaces which you can discard after you paint your walls, after you change oil, or need something to kneel on while you garden.
Shipping
If you need to ship something to your friends or family, occasional or on a regular basis, you can easily reuse these moving boxes. All you need to keep in mind is to open those carefully when you use it for the first time. These can save you some bucks when you are shipping friends, or family staying abroad.
Pets
Cats and dogs love having new spaces to play in. Leave behind a box in your pet’s play-zone, and you will find them playing hide and seek or even napping inside the boxes. Old cardboard boxes can also be a great scratching post for your sweetheart kid. Cut them in wide rectangular pieces and hang them in places where they normally like to scratch.
Donate the Boxes to Local Recycling Programmes
Most of the towns and cities allow people to recycle large quantities of cardboard. You need not pay anyone to carry away the boxes in this case. Some associations won’t pick up from your doorstep, so you have to take your boxes to the recycling centre in that case. Information on many such centres is available online, check before you carry your boxes to them.
Sell Off the Used Boxes
Many cities and towns have companies or organisations that specialise in buying and selling used-moving boxes. You can Google and check if there is something in your locality. You can either look for someone who will pick up the boxes at an appointment time. There isn’t usually any added cost to list the boxes, but they do charge a commission on their sales.
Ask Your Neighbours
If you have just moved into a new apartment, ask the managers or brokers of the nearby apartment complex, if they can notify the tenants or residents if they have any requirement of moving boxes. You can also put-up flyers around your neighbourhood to let others know that you have stray cardboard boxes around.
Contact A Community or Charity Organisation
Local libraries, food banks, community centres, churches or other NGOs may need boxes for their work. They often go out distributing clothes and other goodies for which they need large cardboard boxes. They might also recycle the boxes. This might take some time of yours but this will help a lot of other people.
Save Boxes for Your New Shift
If you are working somewhere other than your hometown for you might require to shift from one apartment to other or from one place to another from time to time. If you have bought the moving boxes once, store those for your next move. In this way you will not only save money and space but also can share with someone in need of similar boxes.
Use Those as Compost Bins
Some people use cardboard boxes as recycling or compost bins. The community garden programmes that most cities and towns have quite a few, need large cardboard boxes to use in their projects.
These are just a few of the many creative ways in which you can reuse your moving boxes. Instead of throwing them, keep them around. You never know which one will come handy to you in case of need. In fact, if there is anything else that you do with these boxes, let us know.
