Monthly Archives: December 2018

Tips for Packing Christmas Gifts

Christmas is almost upon us! That means many of us will be shipping gifts far and wide as we send presents to our friends and relatives. The last thing any of us would want would be for our hand picked gifts to arrive broken or damaged. Here’s some tips for packaging your gifts in a way that ensure they arrive safe and sound.

1) Choosing your shipping boxes.

The best rule of thumb is that the box you use should be the smallest possible box that still fits your item. The larger the box, the more likely your gift is to shift and shake during transportation. And the more shaking, the more likely there will be damage. Additionally, using the smallest box possible will also cut down on your shipping costs! Some mail providers even have boxes of various sizes with a flat shipping cost, no matter how much the box weighs.

2) Choosing a filler.

Even if you choose a small shipping boxes, it’s unlikely that your item will fit perfectly. There will probably be some areas of empty space. It’s important to fill this empty space up using a cheap, light filler. In a pinch, balled up newspaper will do the trick, but there are also other options like bubble wrap. Crinkle cut paper strips can be a great way to add some filler to a box, while also making your gift look inviting and festive. You can typically find crinkle cut paper at a local craft store. Regardless of what you use, fill the box as tightly as you reasonably can. Having tightly packed filler will also prevent your gift from shifting around in the box during transport.

3) Tape.

You know how they say the more the merrier? That’s totally true with tape too. Tape keeps your package closed during its journey and so it’s best to use a lot of it. Admittedly, your gift recipient may be a bit annoyed at the amount of work they have to go through to get to your gift, but better to have it arrive safe than damaged!

4) Insurance.

When you send your package, most places will ask you if you’d like to add insurance to your shipping. Really, this is up to you. But, if you’re sending an expensive gift, adding insurance can ensure that, if your package ends up damaged or lost, you’ll be compensated accordingly.

Hopefully, following these four tips will make sure that all of your Christmas gifts make it to their intended recipients safe and sound!

3 Things for Your Home That Have Multiple Uses

Choice is the essence of humanity. If we were all forced to do one thing and one thing only, we’d go mad, dying out from boredom alone.

Decorating your home is no different. And having useful tools within your home is just the same. You want versatile, useful, and interesting things in your house that you can use for not just one reason, but multiple. Check out these things that you didn’t know you’ve been missing out on for your home.

Cheap moving boxes.
Yes, these aren’t necessarily things you decorate with or use daily, but they’re amazing for storing or transporting your picture frames, lamps, or even dishes. Did you know that there were boxes specifically made to protect those exact items? I’m not sure about you, but lamps seem awkward to ship or store, and yet there are cheap moving boxes to get the job done for these very things.

 

Ottoman.

Growing up, I found these things amazing. As a kid I would ride around on it with my brother pushing me from behind.

Okay, I know that’s not the main (or even secondary use) for an ottoman, but it serves to highlight just how versatile these things are. With that said, these are so perfect for storage. Blankets, pillows, slippers, and even chargers for your technology can be stored within your ottoman. If that’s not enough for how great these are, they’re the perfect footrests and extensions to your furniture without having to spend more for a chase when you foot the bill for your brand new couch.

Convertible standing desk.
The new thing in a lot of startup companies, standing desks that can convert down to a seated desk are all the rage. Who doesn’t like having the option to stand or sit when they’re working on their computer? Sometimes it’s just more comfortable to stand up and get your body stretched out and in use from time to time, especially if your computer chair is overly comfy.

Anything that’s a hybrid usually gets better use simply because you have the choice. And as humans, we love our choices on how to use things. The standing desk is no different. In fact, I’m thinking about getting a new desk for my office, and a convertible desk is at the top of my list so that I can be more productive while feeling healthier by standing from time to time.

 

 

Using Cardboard as Insulation

Extreme conditions in the weather can really make us quite uncomfortable, especially if we’re exposed to them during long periods of time.

When it’s seriously hot out, sweating happens, making us extremely uncomfortable. But so long as we drink plenty of water, we are, for the most part, able to survive just fine. Perhaps the sun can be pretty bad with UV rays, but again, with any layer of clothing covering your skin or proper application of sunblock lotion, humans are fine.

When it comes to the cold, however, things aren’t as easy. No longer is the temperature extreme just “uncomfortable.” Rather, it’s dangerous. While we eventually begin to lose feeling in our extremities, meaning you don’t feel as much one way or the other, this is bad soon after in that frostbite can occur and your body can begin to shut down. So, having proper gear is extremely important when the weather turns freezing.

The thing is, a lot of that appropriate gear can be quite costly. From heavy duty snow boots and gloves to insulated tents, clothing, and materials for your vehicle on the road, your expense can begin to rack up just preparing for cold weather.

But what if I said that a common, everyday material would suffice as insulation? What if cardboard happened to be that material?

Because corrugated cardboard has pockets of air within its walls, it makes quite an amazing insulator. You may be padding your tent walls and ground space with cardboard (which also helps to make a more comfortable floor in the tent to sleep on), which would be smart in colder, mountainous, and snowy areas. You may also just have cardboard in your vehicle in case the need arises.

There’s a reason that people who are homeless sleep on and in cardboard, and it’s not just because it’s free. The insulating properties of old shipping boxes and other pieces of cardboard is amazing, as it keeps the coldness of the ground from seeping into someone’s body.

Similarly, you can use it in your vehicle if you had to sleep in it on a long road trip, as it’ll do some good to keep a vehicle warm after the heater and vehicle have been turned off.

No matter the case, old cardboard from shipping boxes or packaging boxes should be appreciated for the uniqueness and versatility they possess in all of their various uses.

Organizing Your Home Entertainment System

A lot of us like to splurge a little bit when it comes to having an entertainment system in our living rooms. We get a large HDTV with a sound bar (and sometimes peripheral speakers). We convince ourselves we need the cabinets and stand. And we even include things like old record players, DVD racks, book cases, video game systems, and decorations. Well, at least I do.

But the one thing everyone knows when it comes to these electronic masterpieces is how dang messy the cords and plugins can be. Things become tangled of their own accord. Plugs pop out of their sockets. Extension cords are in abundance just to be able to reach an outlet that’s farther away than you’d like it to be. Everything is in a state of disarray, and it only becomes worse if you don’t get it all organized from the get go.

We’ve got a few quick tips on taming the beast that is home entertainment system hookups, and it takes less time than fixing it all months down the road.

Bind your cords.

This is one of the most important and useful tips I can give when it comes to organizing your home entertainment system. If you have any cheap shipping supplies lying around like labeling tape, zip ties (these work best), or even twine, get to using them on your cords.

One thing I will note is that you’ll want to bind together like cords. So, having your video game console cords bound together separate from your TV cords is a smart idea. You can even go so far as to color code them if you want. Some electrical tape is colored and would do the trick here.

Use an outlet extension.

And no, not the two outlet brown cord we all seem to have lying around. Get yourself a heavy duty extension cord that has a power button and at least 5 to 6 outlets on the strip. These will allow you keep everything in its proper place and have an extension cord that’s grounded. Without this useful tool, powering your entire entertainment system is nigh impossible.

Keep it hidden behind the system.

You don’t want unsightly cords and the shipping supplies you used to bind them all to be all over the place, do you? Keep it all hidden and away behind your TV stand and cabinets so that it looks clean and organized up front.