Making the Most of Your Extra Cardboard

Getting rid of old cardboard and cheap moving boxes can be as simple as tossing them in the garbage, but wouldn’t you rather do something more environmentally friendly, cost efficient, or even repurpose it for your own use? Rather than tossing it out like any old trash, think of leftover cardboard as a resource.

Too often we discard things as if they are of no use to us any longer, but that’s simply not the case with a lot of materials. In fact, I’d say that we could reuse over half of our waste if we really put our minds to it. The fact of the matter is that people just don’t want to go through the effort of thinking how they can repurpose things, and changing up your lifestyle isn’t always as easily done as it is said.

Recycle it.

At the very least, attempt to recycle your cardboard instead of throwing it directly in the garbage. Many places accept cardboard as a type of paper recycling, so make the effort to take your cardboard somewhere that can reuse it. If anything, recycling your cheap moving boxes may get you into the habit of recycling in general, which could put you on a kick of saving your plastic containers and glass jars, too.

Compost it.

Bet you didn’t know this was an option, did you? The best way to take advantage of composting cardboard is to cut it up into small pieces, soak it, and then put it in with your compost pile. It’ll have a much easier time of breaking down if you size it down and soak it with water. As another option, though, if you don’t use compost piles but you do have a green thumb, cardboard can also be used as mulch. Would you have guessed that such a common material could be reused for both compost and mulch prior to reading this?

Use it to house multiple small potted plants.

You know the small black plastic pots that indoor plants and herbs grow in at the store, right? Sometimes it’s not as appealing to just leave those out in your home to drain on whatever shelf or window sill they’re sitting on. Instead, place multiple plants in a cardboard box that’s been cut off low to the bottom of the box to keep a mess away from wherever the plants are sitting. If you plan to upgrade your plants to nice decorative pots later down the road, that’s no big deal at all. From there, just reuse or recycle the cardboard with the methods listed above!

6 Things You Need To Know Before Packing and Moving Your Christmas Decorations

‘Tis the season to be jolly, but it is also the season for packing and moving, and it doesn't necessarily mean you're moving away. It could just mean that you're moving the Christmas decors that you packed last year so that that you can use them again, and of course after the season for Christmas trees, you need to pack them again for next year. Of course for others, moving Christmas decors could really mean you are moving to another place. Either way, you will need to know how to properly pack and move your Christmas decors because if not, you could end up with broken Christmas lights, shattered decors, and other things. These six tips will also let you know how to pack your Christmas items in cheap moving boxes yet still have the guarantee that your decors will be intact and fully functional until you arrive at your destination.

Sort your things out and separate the holidays decors from other items – That simply means that you should be organized in packing all your things, of course including your Christmas decors. Do not put your Christmas decors with your other regular items like shoes, toothbrushes, clothes, etc. This allows you to easily find your holidays decors throughout all the ruckus once you arrive at your destination. This also prevents any static electricity sometimes produced through clothing from affecting any electronic Christmas decors you have.

Use plastic bags to store your holiday paper decor – The last thing you want is to get any holiday paper décor accidentally wet during a move, so it is highly recommended to store them in plastic bags, boxes or even folders. Storing them in plastic folders is a great way to prevent them from wrinkling as well.

Be sure to untangle Christmas lights before you pack them – Christmas lights give Christmas a different kind of meaning, to many, christmas without Christmas lights is empty. However, it could be dangerous to use them if the wires are tangled together. It is a basic in electronics always to use them the right way, that means properly organized wiring and no tangling up!

Use ornament boxes or egg cartons to store ornaments – Ornament boxes are specially designed boxes for the storage of ornaments, so you can be sure that they will protect your ornaments adequately. You can also DIY some egg cartons, these cartons are tough and are a great tool for storing round objects. They can protect fragile eggs, why not your ornament!

Use a tree storage bag to store your artificial Christmas tree – The use of artificial Christmas trees instead of a real tree is more practical and of course environmentally friendly. You can use your artificial Christmas tree every year, and you won't need to go through the hassle of buying a real tree for the next Christmas. To store your artificial Christmas tree properly and protect it from the elements like moisture and dust, store it in a Christmas storage box or bag.

To pack wreaths, use a durable box or wreath storage container – wreaths make Christmas special but it can also make you sad if you find your wreath smashed or broken inside a container, so be sure to use a durable box or a specially made wreath storage container for your wreath.