Cover and Reuse Your Folding Boxes

Each day, thousands of shipping boxes arrive on doorsteps across the country. In many cases, they are thrown away after their contents are removed, and many people don’t recycle them. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways you can reuse folding packaging, one being to create a covered box that can provide you with ample ways to reorganize your home and belongings.

Use Folding Boxes to Create a Covered Box

No matter what your folding boxes held in their past lives, adding a simple fabric covering can transform them from trash to a treasure. Ensure that any dirt, dust, and labels are removed, and then measure and cut your fabric to the appropriate size. While doing this, bear in mind that the fewer number of cuts that you make, the better it will look. Then, place the fabric onto the box by gluing one side at a time.

Using Your Covered Boxes

After you have created your covered boxes from your old shipping boxes, you can use them for long-term organizational solutions:

• Plastic bags: Use you covered box to store your extra plastic bags after you have unpacked your groceries
• Holiday decorations: Store your seasonal items such as ornaments, lights, and other decor in a covered box. This is especially helpful if storage space is limited in your home, as they can serve as both décor and an organizational combined into one.
• Chargers and electrical cords: Try to reduce the clutter in your living room or free up some space on your desk by placing any power cords or chargers into a box. If you want to avoid knots and tangles, consider pacing each individual charger into an empty toilet paper roll, and then place the rolls vertically into the box.
• Wrapping paper supplies: If you have a taller box that you want to recycle, consider converting it into a wrapping paper supply station.
• Important paperwork: If you don’t have enough room for a filing cabinet or other organizational system, consider making a folder system out of a covered box. Use this to file tax documents, bills, receipts, and other important papers.
• Mail: Use your box to sort your incoming and outgoing correspondence, forms, and mail. Covering multiple boxes can also provide you a greater organizational system.
• Junk drawer clutter: Use your covered boxes to de-clutter your junk drawer so that you can always see where your items are.

[11/21/2013]