If you’ve followed Banana Box for a while, you know that we’ve got some strong feelings about moving with cardboard boxes. Cumbersome, wasteful, inconvenient and flimsy, cardboard boxes are terrible for moving. That said, we never meant to hurt cardboard’s feelings. While moving with cardboard boxes is like sailing the ocean with nothing but a paper towel and a prayer, cardboard boxes have some, if not several, great uses. Keep reading to learn how to appropriately use cardboard boxes.
1. Make a Garden
If your cardboard box is unwaxed, free of tape, and doesn’t have heavy printing on it, it provides a number of potential uses in the garden. Start plants in it and pop it right into the ground. The cardboard will protect against weeds and essentially melt into the soil, adding carbon and making a perfect breeding ground for helpful little earthworms. Use it to prepare next season’s garden beds by laying it flat over the area where you’ll be planting and secure it with stones. Moisten it, add a layer of mulch or soil over the top, and come spring you’ll have a grass and weed-free bed, ready to till. You can use cardboard to lay out a path, or shred it and add it to your compost. See, cardboard? What makes you bad for moving makes you great for gardening!
2. Make a Pet Bed
Cardboard boxes come in all sizes, just like dogs! Reuse your cardboard box as a pet bed by adding some cushioning and writing something on the outside of it like “Mister Wrinkle’s Very Own Cardboard Bed.” Dogs instinctively don’t like to pee where they sleep, so there’s a pretty good chance you won’t have to worry about dealing with that. You’ll just have a cute little pet bed and the joy of telling your friends, “I care about the environment so I repurposed this cardboard box to make Mister Wrinkle’s Very Own Cardboard Bed.”
3. Make Postcards
Remember when mail wasn’t just bills you cast aside, hoping that if you ignore them they’ll stop existing? Bring back happy mail with DIY postcards made from repurposed cardboard! You can mail anything as long as there’s a stamp on it, and quite frankly the USPS could use the support. Pull out your paints, markers, and crayons and get creative! Cut your cardboard boxes down and make postcards for friends and family. They’ll think, “Wow, [your name] is so thoughtful and creative!” They’ll also feel obligated to keep their handmade cards so you won’t need to worry about that box ending up in a landfill, which would have been likely even if you tried to recycle it.
4. Make a Magical Land in Your Basement With Cardboard Buildings and Trees Where You’re the Queen, Nay You’re the God, and No One Can Tell You What to Do Because You’re In Charge Here
This is also a great opportunity to bust out that old model train.
5. Make Your Break-Up Epic
Breakups = Drake with his hand up like “nah.” Epic Breakups = Drake smiling and pointing like “yah.” Cardboard boxes are great for breakups, unless you’re cohabitating in which case you’ll need to stick with Banana Boxes. Place the few things they’ve left in your home, and bring it to them in an open cardboard box on public transportation. Even if you drive, it’ll make the breakup more epic if you cry on a bus. Leave the box outside their building with a note that says “thanks for the memories xo.” You can also store love letters and mementos in a cardboard box under your bed. Pull them out every now and then when you’ve decided you’re not ready to move on. Unrelated: cardboard boxes also make great kindling.
Make Your Move with Banana Box
When it’s time to move on to a new place, make your move as seamless as possible with Banana Box. We drop off and pick up your Banana Boxes, so you won’t have to hunt down and dispose of dozens of cardboard ones. Unlike cardboard, our boxes are durable, strong and waterproof, keeping your belongings safe during any moving conditions. Leave gardening, crafting, and make-believe towns to cardboard. Make your move more a-peeling with Banana Box.