10 ways to upcycle cardboard

Image Courtesy: www.pixabay.com

Look around and you’ll notice you’re surrounded by products that arrive in cardboard boxes. From personal care products, to breakfast cereal, and from shoes to electronics, whether you buy online or offline boxes pile up! If not recycled, these voluminous otherwise super-efficient boxes, end up in landfills, clogging space and adding to air pollution. To add to that, a spell of rain sends toxic chemicals from their prints (think online branded boxes with their company logos on them) seeping into the earth and eventually water sources.

Buying fresh foods, or opting for products that come in reusable packaging are two ways of making a difference. Another way is to upcycle cardboard boxes into uber cool utility products. Listed below are 10 ways to do so:

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  1. Storage boxes: Use old cardboard boxes as storage boxes for those drawer-less areas of the cabinet, or shelves. Cover these up with a pretty fabric/paper (again ideally recycled – old saris, shower curtains, pillow cases, or wrapping paper for instance) and glue it on. Slice out a rectangular piece to work as a handle. For instructions on fixing one yourself, click here. You could also use the same thing as a storage unit for under the bed. Read our post on upcycling old drawers to see how to fix these.
    Image Courtesy: http://www.sassymamadubai.com/10-ways-to-upcycle-those-cardboard-boxes-mama/

    Image Courtesy: http://www.sassymamadubai.com/10-ways-to-upcycle-those-cardboard-boxes-mama/

  2. Create your own plastic bag organiser: There’s always a dearth of space for stacking plastic bags from your shopping escapades. Though we strongly recommend you carry your own shopping bag to save additional plastic usage, recycling plastic bags instead of throwing them out is your other option. Here’s how you can make one of these at home, so when you need a plastic bag you can easily find it. All you need is a long cardboard box flattened and cut out in parts, to create areas for pulling out the bags (refer to the picture). That’s it, no more mess from loads of plastic bags being scattered around.
    Image Courtesy: http://playandgrow.blogspot.in/2012/07/organizer-for-plastic-bags.html

    Image Courtesy: http://playandgrow.blogspot.in/2012/07/organizer-for-plastic-bags.html

  3. Magazine file: Eat cereals? The next time, don’t throw away empty cereal boxes. Attach two of these old cereal boxes post cutting them in shape together to form a super utility – magazine stacker. Use a pretty printed-paper/fabric to cover it up. For instructions on making one, click here.
    Image Courtesy: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-make-custom-magazine-fi-73140

    Image Courtesy: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-make-custom-magazine-fi-73140

  4. Gift bags: Stop spending money on gift bags and instead make these at home easily. These bags made from old cereal boxes add a lovely personal touch to the gift. For details on making one, click here. You could also add to that a gift tag, cut out an old cardboard and string it to the bag.
    Image Courtesy: http://thecraftalternative.com/how-to-make-a-recycled-gift-bag/

    Image Courtesy: http://thecraftalternative.com/how-to-make-a-recycled-gift-bag/

  5. Desk organiser: If you find it hard to keep things at a place where they can be found easily, this one’s for you. Stack about 5-8 sheets of cardboard and cut them in 2-3 slots, depending upon need. Ensure all the slots match up in size, when stacked one above the other. Glue these together, paint, and put the organiser to use, so you don’t have to look out for things again.
    desktop-organizer-cardboard-upcycle

    Image Courtesy: http://www.curbly.com/users/diy-maven/posts/15781-make-it-7-diy-desktop-organizers

  6. Cords organiser: Entangled cords are always an eyesore, to add to that the pain of not being able to find them or knowing which one belongs to which, just makes things worse. Here’s a simple solution. Reuse old toilet paper roll tubes to keep cords in. Make them look pretty by using washi tape and make sure to label them so it’s easy to identify one from the other. Also read up on post on how to upcycle other bathroom waste.
    Image courtesy: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/251286854181251339

    Image courtesy: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/251286854181251339

  7. Jewellery organiser: If you’re an egg eater, then don’t junk those egg cartons the next time. They make for perfect jewellery organisers. Bring out your creativity and paint it/decorate your jewellery safe keeper the way you’d like.
    Image Courtesy:http://craftingagreenworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/egg-carton-organizer-by-disdressed.jpg

    Image Courtesy:http://craftingagreenworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/egg-carton-organizer-by-disdressed.jpg

  8. Make a playhouse for your kids: Avoid the plastic playhouses, they’re expensive and terrible for the environment. Here’s how you can use empty cardboard boxes to make a fun playhouse for your child. Alternatively, you could make other toys like a tall post box, an airplane etc. (there are tonnes of ideas on Pinterest).
    Image Courtesy: http://www.sassymamadubai.com/10-ways-to-upcycle-those-cardboard-boxes-mama/

    Image Courtesy: http://www.sassymamadubai.com/10-ways-to-upcycle-those-cardboard-boxes-mama/

  9. A perfect disposable paint palette: For those of us who love to paint, this one’s a perfect thing to have. Cut out a hole in it, so there’s grip for you and get this one going as a use and throw palette.  
    Image Courtesy: https://theroommom.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/art-gallery-paint-pallette-paint-dabs.jpg

    Image Courtesy: https://theroommom.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/art-gallery-paint-pallette-paint-dabs.jpg

  10. Weed killer: Weeds have a way of coming back, every time you pluck them out. That’s because their seeds are still there. Next time you got some weed growing around in your lawn, just take a piece of cardboard and put it on the area, cover it with soil and water and wait it out. The cardboard will kill the weed seeds itself by insulating the ground temperature. Be cautious to avoid using cardboard with ink prints and wax on them.

Try these ideas next time, and if instead you plan to dispose off cardboard boxes, here’s how you can do so:

  1. Tear them into smaller pieces, so they fit in your recycle bin
  2. When dealing with boxes in which you’ve received food, make sure the box is empty and free of any food before disposing it off
  3. Don’t mix up the wet cardboard in your dry bin, as wet cardboard will convert to mush, which would hinder the recycling process.

Have cool ideas for recycling and upcycling them, please share them with us. We’re all ears for this one ☺.

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