Since recycling has become such a huge hit in the recent years, converting and upcycling items has also risen in popularity.  We have become so much more aware of how much of something we are using, and we are coming up with more and more alternate uses for something when we are done with it.

Perhaps the most popular thing of all in this entire scheme is cardboard.  More specifically: cardboard boxes.  Cardboard boxes are constantly being used to ship millions of items all over the world, and their use is so incredibly temporary.  But no longer!  You can do almost anything to them and with them!

1. Cards– cutting postcards out of cardboard is super fun and clever. People love getting them in the mail!
2. Plants– decorate some cardboard boxes and then line them with paper bags, fill them soil to use as pots for plants! Very boho.  Cardboard is also biodegradable, making it a perfect weed killer. Lay a sheet over a patch of weeds, water, cover with soil and seed and you will have great grass in no time.
3. Games– cut the cardboard into shapes and then paint them different colors.



4. Storage– there are a lot of ways to upcycle cardboard boxes into fabulous storage containers, but my favorite involves painting them, embellishing them with brass brads, and giving them a tall leather strap over the top. Cereal boxes can also become perfect magazine or file holders.
5. Pet-friendly– cut strips all the same width and then tape them together to form one long strip. Roll them together until you have a piece about the size of a plate. Your cats will go to town on this as opposed to your walls and furniture.
6. Play– make a maze by connecting all of the boxes and cutting doors in the sides, or use them to make play kitchens, trains, cars, or dollhouses. Anything!



7. Décor– instead of spending money on party decorations that you are just going to throw out, cut the shapes and designs out of cardboard instead. Looking for something more long term?  Prime and paint the lids to cardboard cartons and they look just like canvas art (which is much, much more expensive).
8. Crafts– By now you get the point that you can make just about any kind of craft out of cardboard, but my favorite is one I do with my kids: take cardboard rolls and cover them in peanut butter, then sprinkle with bird feed. Hang by a string from a tree and watch the fun!