8 Ways to Repurpose Shipping Boxes

You know that the typical cardboard shipping box has a very short life span – it’s used to ship an item, then either tossed in the recycling bin or in the trash, right? You don’t want your beautiful design to live only as long as it takes to get your product from point A to point B. Luckily, there are plenty of clever and sustainable ways to repurpose shipping boxes so they can be reused over and over again and last much longer than they do if used only once. Let’s take a look at some of the best ideas!

Garden Bed Starter for Weed Control
Prevent weeds in your garden with cardboard. While preparing your garden bed after tilling, follow these helpful instructions for how to use cardboard as an environmentally-friendly, pesticide-free way to keep your garden weed-free from the start.

Storage
The most obvious use for shipping boxes is for extra storage containers around the house or your business. From doing absolutely nothing to your box to full-blown DIY felt coverage with handles - you can use cardboard boxes for decades as storage if kept in a dry place and packed with care.

Kids Playtime
Whether you have an adventurous toddler on your hands or a creative prodigy, turning shipping boxes into playful structures and canvases can benefit children's creativity and imagination. Kids can create structures or hideaways, forts and castles, play-pretend kitchens or even simple building blocks made from recycled materials. Just be sure to supervise children when they play with their cardboard toys!.

Feline Scratching Post
If you have cats, then you know that they love boxes and scratching, so scratching boxes is a no-brainer. Follow this tutorial on how to create a scratching spot for your kitto! Rather than toss that cardboard shipping box in your recycling bin, consider cutting out a small hole near one end and turning it into a nice little cat house or decorating it to your DIY-er heart is content.

Speaking of pets - many animal shelters use cardboard boxes for a variety of things and will happily take donations.

Furniture
Rather than trashing your used boxes, think about how you can repurpose them as furniture. Some people turn old shipping boxes into chairs and shelves for their home or business. Check out these instructions for how to make your own stylish cardboard chair.

Grocery/Trash bag Dispenser
Keep your kitchen cabinets neat and organized by creating a convenient place for your plastic grocery or trash bags. What if storing and using your bags were as easy as tissue paper? Watch this quick video on how to store your plastic bags for a convenient solution for grocery bag storage.

Simple Projector
You read correctly - you can make a projector out of a shipping box using just items that are likely in your junk drawer. Check out this video on how to make your own projector.

Shipping Box - Again!
By far, one of the best ways to reuse your shipping boxes is to make it easy to re-ship your box. Including graphics that the recipient can circle or mark off themselves, adjusting your own marketing to be minimal, and including instructions for how to best use this box as a shipping box again can encourage your customers to reuse the box.