I found a creative way to wrap Christmas packages. I refused to buy wrapping paper, bows, or ribbon this year, so I began to save cereal boxes, oatmeal cartons, etc. I have accumulated quite an interesting array of grocery containers and they work just perfectly for most of our gift items.
My kids have started saying, "Mom has gone green!" Just think of all the space I am saving in a landfill by not adding to it with my pile of discarded wrapping paper. The boxes can be compacted and used in our garden this spring!
By Tabitha from Depew, OK
This page contains the following solutions.
My goal for this month is to declutter and sell my extras on ebay. In the past I have used the free flat rate shipping boxes from the post office. However, with prices on shipping so high, it seems I get less bids.
Use cardboard cereal boxes to make shipping envelopes. Deconstruct the box so it lays flat. Take off the small end on the right side or tape it down.
I have been selling some of my daughter's outgrown clothing on ebay. To ship the items, I save and use empty cereal boxes and wrap them in inexpensive brown craft paper.
Most cereal boxes can be converted into boxes to store magazines. Just remove the top flaps and cut the upper third of the box off at a diagonal angle. You can put contact paper on the outside of the box to make the box look better.
When empty, I use wide "scotch" tape to stick the top together of cereal boxes, then cut the top and bottom off to the depth of approximately 2 inches
I use cereal boxes to hold craft stuff. I use one for colored paper, one for wax paper, and one for little paint holders. I glue a piece of construction paper to the front, and let the kids color it.
Open them up, wipe them down and dry them. Use in place of waxed paper. They are especially useful cut into squares and used to separate hamburger patties.
Before throwing out that cereal box consider saving the pieces to uses as patterns for quilt pieces, purse patterns, etc. Simply cut away the 2 large front and back pieces and save in a Ziploc bag.
I save old boxes to wrap in gift paper to make my wrapping experience as stress free as possible by having them ready now. Using colored duct tape to finish the edges also adds to the festive mood.
Cut the whole box diagonally, close the top flaps and tape them shut, voilá! Two magazine files free!
My kids are always tearing the boxes that playing cards come in. I cut a Little Debbie oatmeal box down to where it is a little taller than the cards and put the cards in it.
I wanted a simple solution to throw out small trash and recycle cardboard boxes. I cut the four edges of the box along the creases, then I put tape on the top of the edges to make them smooth.
Here is what I do with some of my extra cereal boxes, and the end of the duct tape roll that has no adhesive on it. I join them to make pencil boxes for the table.
Reusing A Cornflake Box. I am presently working on a 100 other uses of cereal boxes but I will just give you the best one of them.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How can we make toys from empty Kellogg's cereal boxes?
By Asian mom
You could tape the boxes shut securely, and make giant building blocks. If they get flattened, make more. If you look at a site called ehow.com, there are directions for making a doll house from pizza boxes.
Depending on the kids' age(s), you can just give them the boxes to play with as is. Taping the end closed is great for making big "blocks" that are light enough for younger kids, and won't hurt anyone when they fall over on them.
The inner lining found in many cereal and cracker boxes can be put to a wide variety of second uses, from crafts to food prep and storage. This page contains a selection of excellent ideas for reusing these liners.
This is a page about making paper hats from cereal boxes. The light cardboard of these boxes can be reused in fun projects with the kids.
A fun upcycle of a cereal box is to make a purse or tote. The sturdy cardboard makes a strong finished product. The box can be painted, decorated or proudly left alone.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Instead of paying for boxes to wrap presents in, I save boxes from cereal, oatmeal, crackers, microwave popcorn; just about any kind of box and put my presents in them.
I use empty cereal boxes to put shredded paper in.You can close the top to keep it contained, and it will break down in the environment.
I find myself throwing out cardboard cereal boxes and things like pot pie boxes, etc, and I hate doing it, but I don't know how to recycle them as fast as we use that stuff.
Ways to reuse cereal boxes and the bag that comes inside the box. Post your ideas.
