For sending presents by mail instead of using brown paper to cover the box, try recycling a cardboard box that can be gotten from a grocery store or any other store (before they crush them, of course). Instead of blacking out all the writing on the box as the post office suggests, turn the box inside out.
Cut the tape or pull open the glued flaps as if you are going to flatten the box. (If you are lucky you can get the boxes already cut open from the store because some of them flatten the boxes before they crush them.) Carefully cut the seam of the box with a knife so it is able to be opened up flat. Turn the box over to the non-printed side (inside out).
Tape the seam back together with packaging tape inside and outside if you want it to be more stable although taping outside will suffice. Tape the flaps on the bottom closed again. You can then put whatever you are sending in the "new" box and seal it up with the packaging tape. This not only saves on the brown paper and recycles the boxes but also helps the post office because the brown paper often rips off or rips so that it gets stuck in the machinery used to process the packages. The only drawback is that you can only do this once unless you are careful when opening the box and you use easily removable labels on them.
I have done this countless times with no problems at all. Every time the box arrived intact. Happy shipping.
Great idea, thank you so much! I'd never have thought of it! I can also get them anytime I want from work & recycle them myself, no more purchasing them from the Post Office.
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