6 Clever Ways to Reuse Cardboard Boxes So They Don't Pile Up in Your Home

If you have a pile of cardboard boxes sitting around your home and aren't quite sure what to do with them, consider reusing them to create home decor accents or a playhouse for your kids or pets. With a sturdy structure thanks to an inner layer of fluted material, a cardboard box can often be useful a second or even a third time.

Below, we share six clever ways to reuse cardboard boxes.

Furniture

Cardboard boxes can be upcycled and used to create milk crate bookcases and cardboard coffee tables, among others.

In more recent times, artistic types have proven how solid and versatile cardboard can be for furniture use: think the Wiggle Chair, which architect Frank Gehry designed for high-end furniture company Vitra, and much more accessible furnishings—including stools, desks, and shelves—by Chairigami.

Fortunately, social media is making it easier to find and copy or learn from posters on how to make stable DIY furniture pieces with the medium, such as this portable nightstand by industrial designer Adrian Candela. Since cardboard boxes are often made up of a raw paper material without any protective coating, it’s not ideal for all settings such as areas where it’s likely to get wet.

Cat Scratcher

Cat parents are well aware of how much their feline friends adore cardboard boxes and scratchers. But with just some cardboard, glue, and a box cutter, they can make their own cat scratchers using boxes already in their homes.

These can range from simple scratch pads or lounges to elaborate towers and, as shown here, a tree stump. It just depends on how much time you wish to invest, how ambitious you are, and how much cardboard you have at your disposal.

Decorative Storage

Dress up boxes with wrapping paper, self-adhesive wallpaper, paint, fabric, or solid-color adhesive craft vinyl to create decorative bins that match your home’s aesthetic.

It’s an affordable way to hide house clutter, store toys and photos, or hold magazines and documents. If you're not using a self-adhesive covering, you can use various glues, double-sided tapes, or spray adhesive.

Home Decor

If you like the kitsch of cabin decor, consider fashioning your very own decor accent, whether in a faceted origami or layered-and-slatted design style.

Once you find a blueprint or photos of what you want to make, use a box cutter, hand saw, and some sort of adhesive such as a hot glue gun. As an alternative, try using a jigsaw. Leave the piece in the natural kraft-brown finish or, especially if you’re trying to hide branding graphics on the cardboard, cover the material with decorative paper or a simple coat of paint. With the latter, be sure not to over-saturate as the paint can soften cardboard, making it lose its shape.

Lighting

Make over a table lamp or pendant by creating a shade out of cardboard. There is a slew of different styles, so you can choose the one that best fits your home's aesthetic.

Whether you go with a dodecahedron shade with sides cut in intricate patterns or a rectangular lantern with cutout patterns or graphics filled in with translucent vellum paper, the options are endless.

If you feel so inclined to try this but don’t have a lamp that needs updating, you can even consider buying a simple and inexpensive plug-in light socket. Just double-check that whatever light source you’re using can’t catch fire.

Playhouse

Parents, whether of pets or children, can make a range of playhouses: Ornate or simple style castles, tents, yurts, cottages, spaceships, teepees, or even a Spongebob-inspired pineapple dwelling.

When you’re done constructing the playhouse, you can add personal touches with paint, markers, wallpaper, or stickers. You’ll find an array of instructions and images online and in social media feeds.

Sourcing the Material

Some sources include temporary storage boxes you might have sitting in the garage, grocery and produce deliveries, corrugated shoeboxes, and old banker or file boxes. Don’t forget about cardboard sheet inserts and partitions that are sometimes included as cushioning in packages.

If you’re short on cardboard while already in the middle of your project, consider sourcing cardboard boxes from your local supermarkets (ask them if they’re trashing any produce packaging or other shipping boxes) or a workplace.

Read Next: How to Recycle Cardboard

Read the original article on The Spruce.