Smart Ideas for Reusing Your Unwanted Paper and Cardboard Boxes

Most of us end up with a lot of unwanted paper and cardboard boxes. A lot of times we end up not knowing what to do with them. Even though recycling is the best way to re-purpose them, a lot of people are still not environmentally aware enough to do so. Most of the unwanted paper gets either burned or thrown away. The same goes with cardboard as people would rather throw it away than recycle it.

But there is a solution for that. If you are not going to recycle it you can find a different purpose for it. Reusing unwanted cardboard and paper can be done by making something useful out of it. It does not require you a lot, only a little bit of imagination.

If you are not sure or do not feel inspired at the moment, we are here to inspire you and give you great ideas on how to re-purpose these types of materials.

Make Something Useful for Your Home

Since throwing cardboard and paper is not an option that we allow, we can make use of it around the house. There are a lot of great ways to make something that will replace or gain a specific purpose within your home in some ways.

A Shoe Rack

If you have a lot of old cardboard on your hands, you can easily make a shoe rack out of it. Simply fold it around and make triangles out of it. Do so with as much as cardboard that you can and make a little pyramid out of it. The result is outstanding and you can even paint it any way you like to match your home.

Shoe Box Cord Holder

If you have a lot of old shoe boxes lying around you can re-purpose them into something more useful. Combine it with some old toilet paper rolls and put them inside the shoe box. Now we are getting somewhere. Put all of your cords neatly inside each roll and next time when you are looking for it you will not have to untangle a whole bundle of them.

Cat Scratch Post

Your pets also need attention, so you can make some useful stuff for them. Excess cardboard can be used to make something that can make your pet extremely happy. Cats like to cuddle and to be scratched so a cat scratch post is perfect for them. Cut out the excess cardboard into smaller bits and glue it together by stacking it onto one another. Your cat will love and will not use your furniture or your leg as a way to scratch.

Make Some Fun Decorations

You can also make a ton of different decorations using old boxes, cardboard and newspaper together. There are a bunch of ways that you can decorate your home or any place that you want. On RubbishWaste you can find some interesting ideas for reusing newspapers for decoration. Take a look and get inspired!

Letter Signs

Old magazines and newspapers can easily be turned into letter signs. If you want to make writing on a wall or make decorations for a specific holiday you can use them. Old newspapers and magazines are perfect for this as you can cut them out and paint them in colours that you wish. Or you don’t have to, you can just leave them that way and they will look equally good.

Paper Beads

This one is particularly useful for girls. You can use any old type of paper to make paper beads and refresh your jewellery a bit. Magazine paper is the best for making beads as it is stronger then newspaper. Simply roll it up and paint it any colour that you like so it holds. You can also glue the parts together. When you are finished, simply like them up on a piece of string to make a necklace or use it for your earrings.

Homemade Gift Boxes

You can also make somebody else happy by designing a custom gift box for them. If you have a great present in mind for a special somebody, you can surprise them by putting it in a homemade gift box. Use old magazines to make it as it is strong enough so it won’t break apart. You can leave it that way or repaint it as well. Simply fold it up into a box shape and glue the sides together. After it sets you will have a very nice box to put your gift in.

Use Them for Fun

If you have kids then you can have as much fun as you want with them. Old cardboard is perfect for making lots of fun stuff that you can use to play together or to make fun Halloween costumes with. The kids will love it and you will find a new purpose for some old cardboard materials.

A Cardboard Castle

Your children will absolutely love you for making them a fun place to play in. A cardboard castle is excellent particularly if you have small kids. You can make a bigger or a small one depending on the materials. The point is to have fun and enjoy your time together.

Outdoor Furniture

Making stuff out of cardboard is really fun and you can make a lot of outdoor furniture as well. You can easily use old cardboard boxes and re-purpose them into a table or even a chair. The kids will really like having a set laid outside with different kinds of furniture there. It will also be a lot of fun making all of it together.

A Wall Storage Folder

A wall storage folder is both useful and fun to have. You can put all kinds of things there, especially some small things that you can’t just leave lying around. Old shipping boxes are perfect for this. You don’t have to throw them away as it can be made into something very useful and pretty. Decorate them with other materials or fabrics and you can even hand them on the walls.