Clever Alternatives to Expensive Packaging Materials

Fun, random fact of the day: It’s probably common knowledge by now that the Disney story of Cinderella is not the original one. The one by the Brothers Grimm is perhaps the most familiar to us, and it is chock full of disturbing elements. For example, I was horrified to find out that the father doesn’t actually die, but most versions just kill him off because it’s better than his lack of character in the way his daughter is treated. And of course there’s the bit about the stepsisters cutting off parts of their feet to fit into the slipper…

Anyway, it’s time to talk about packaging materials. Perhaps packaging materials are not nearly as interesting as grim fairytales (yes, that pun was intended), but they are a pretty constant part of our lives, and so it would behoove us to talk about some clever alternatives to the expensive store bought stuff.

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I did a quick walk through of my house, just wondering how many things I could point that would be useful as packaging materials, and I was surprised at how many things seemed to fit the description. I thought a couple things, sure, but I wound up being able to put together a short list, and here are some of my findings:

Shredded paper- depending on who you are sending something to, your shredded documents are a great alternative to other more expensive, less environmentally friendly options.
Old boxes- just because your coffee maker box says Mr. Coffee doesn’t mean you can’t cover it in plain paper and use it instead of spending a few dollars on a new one, on top of the shipping costs.
Grocery bags- those plastic grocery bags really start to accumulate. I know in my house we use them for dirty diapers, cat litter, sending stuff home with people, an overnight bag, lunch box… You name it. They are also really useful as stuffing for packages. And they have a dual function: wrap up books or clothes or other vulnerable items that might became ruined if the box gets wet or broken into by vermin.
Rubberbands- yes, even rubberbands can serve a big purpose! Consider using them to keep loose items taunt and you will wind up saving a lot of space, and hopefully have cheaper shipping costs as a result.
Old socks- make sure you wash them first! I save old socks and use them when I’m sending breakable items by actually putting the item in the sock and then rolling it up (of course this is to people that I know will be offended to receive one of my old socks as well).

Improv Skit: Discount Packaging Supplies

I go to this club every weekend where they do improv comedy skits and I wind up laughing to tears every single time. They say that laughter is good for the soul and that has to be the truth, because I feel like colors are brighter, food tastes better, and there’s a new confidence inside of me. It’s kind of like being in love, I guess you could say, but it’s really just endorphins.

When you get to the club you can write a suggestion on a slip of paper and put it in the box and after every skit they will go into the box and pull out a suggestion. I wanted to think of something really hard, really challenging. I had been to the post office earlier in the day, and and for some reason “discount packaging supplies” popped in my mind. Now that would be hard. I don’t know how anyone could come up with funny material for that. So I wrote it down and put it in the box. Maybe I would get lucky.

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I took a photo of the slip of paper and sent it on Snapchat and Instagram, and then I added a few hashtags: #comedyinthemaking, #lornemichaelsprotoge, #discountpackagingsupplies, #howcanthesebefunny, #letsseewhatyouvegot, #ivegotagoldenticket, #pickmepickmepickme… That kind of thing. I kept my phone primed and ready, with the video camera open at all times, and every time they pulled a suggestion from the box I started filming just in case they pulled mine out.

Lo and behold, the next I think knew, the guy was reading, “Discount packaging supplies…?” And then everyone was having a good laugh because of the way his voice trailed off at the end and how his face was like…whaaat? I was filming and laughing and later I put up the fifteen second clip of this part and added some more hashtags, including all of the originals: #nailedit, #copyrightinfringement, #hisfacewaslikewhaaaat, #ivebeendiscovered…

It was a really good skit. It lasted longer than all of the other ones, because somehow those people made discount packaging supplies really stinking hilarious. Everyone was loving it- just eating it up. We couldn’t stop laughing, and they were just going with it, just feeding off of us. I put as many fifteen second clips of the skit up as I could, which wound up being a lot, but it was worth it. My final hashtags really represented how I felt: #fiveminutesoffame, #icandiehappynow, #suggestionaddict, #bestnightofmylife.

Honey, where is the Packaging Tape?

“Honey, where’s the packaging tape?” This is what my husband asked me one day while we were trying to get together a couple of boxes to send to our children, who were all off in college. If you think it sounds insane to have three children in college at the same time, imagine what it was like when they were all in diapers at the same time. To be honest, I would prefer the former. I suppose, in part, this is because we pay for half of their school, and when they were all in diapers there was no contributing from them except in the aspect of why we needed to keep buying diapers.

Which isn’t really contributing, in my opinion. Regardless, three times a year for birthdays, and many more times a year for random holidays or stressful exam weeks, we send off care packages. Every single stinking time my husband will ask me where the packaging tape has gone off to. As if the packaging tape had somehow decided it would like to move to a different cupboard, or out of our house altogether. Now, after being married for over thirty years, this does not take me by surprise. For one, this is a normal occurrence with men in general. Every single wife all over the world can attest to this, whether it’s a bushman in Africa asking where his nose bone has crawled off to, or a Japanese business tycoon who is looking right at the chopsticks but wondering out loud where they are. To be honest, I think it’s kind of endearing.

Of course I roll my eyes, and of course it’s annoying sometimes. But for the most part it reminds me that I am married, that I am spending my life with someone, and that even though it doesn’t make sense to me why he can’t figure out where the packaging tape is on his own, I wouldn’t trade his company, everything that he contributes to my life, simply to have that one phrase erased.

I mean, really, if I didn’t hear that question anymore it would mean thirty years of my life had disappeared. It would mean that I don’t have children to send care packages to. And then who would I be scouring the one and three dollar section of Target for? Cycling in the new products is the only incentive I need to send off another couple of boxes.

Bin Liners as a Baby Gift

Although this entry is going to be primarily composed around babies and all things associated, it still offers some valuable information for people of all walks of life. Because we all know someone with kids, right? Or who are expecting? I mean, I seriously doubt any of us have no children in our lives. It would be incredibly difficult to manage, although I guess the person with pedophobia would beg to differ. Even say it was necessary. The fact of the matter is that it’s impossible to avoid the little buggers.

When I had my first kid I thought that I was too cool for school and wasn’t going to get one of those diaper genies that wraps each individual diaper and sucks it down into the compartment, sealing in any stench and saving everyone in the vicinity from instant nausea. I took one look at the price of those bin liners and thought, “Nah, I’ll pass.” Seriously, though, maybe if they didn’t insist on packaging them in the most expensive way possible…

By the time we were having our second kid I still wasn’t completely resolved to make the commitment. I mean, it’s all well and good to get everything as a gift, but you are the one that has to keep buying the bin liners. It’s a long term commitment, if you think about it.

Well, when baby number three was on the way I couldn’t wait to ask for a diaper genie. I was ready for the commitment. I was ready to be done with the nasty diapers lying around. I was ready to be done with a pile of poopy diapers right outside the front door. Some people would wrap up their dirty diapers in old shopping bags. Not me. I couldn’t bear adding another step to the whole process. As soon as all buns were wiped clean and reswaddled I wanted to march that bundle of refuse outside immediately. Outside being the key word. I didn’t want to march all the way to garbage can, mind you.

Not until I had amassed enough to make the trip worth while. I’m sure all of this sounds pretty heinous to most of you. So you will gladly rejoice that I did indeed commit to the diaper genie, and faithfully paid for the bin liners for the three years it was in use. I then sold it at a garage sale for five bucks. It really is the gift that keeps on giving. Keep that in mind when having your own, or buying for someone else.

Small Shipping Boxes are the Right Size

Contrary to popular belief, bigger is not always better; you know what I’m saying? People can tell you that it is, that you are getting more for your money, so to speak, and all that jazz, but if you are dealing with something smaller it goes without saying that bigger will just be bad…or at least a waste. Since we are talking about small items that need to be shipped (that is what we are talking about, right?), it would behoove us to talk about small shipping boxes.

Could a shoe box become part of this category? Absolutely it can. In fact, it should. Converting shoe boxes into small shipping boxes is just the thing we are looking for these days. This is called recycling, and it’s become really popular, with good reason too. Throwing something away that could easily be used for a different purpose just plain old doesn’t make any kind of sense. Don’t be embarrassed to mail some books off in the same box you got your snakeskin stilettos in (just make absolutely sure you didn’t forget to take the receipt out so that no one discoveres how much you spend on your shoes, and how much you don’t spend on anyone for Christmas and birthdays…That could quickly become a Facebook scandal…).

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How small is too small? I get this question a lot. The general rule of thumb seems to be this: big enough to write the recipient’s address, your return address, and to include the packaging label/ barcode. And all on the same side. The crew will not consider it a neat game if they have to turn the package every which way to try and get the different pieces of information. If the box does wind up being too small you will be encouraged to put it in a larger box, or in a bubble envelope. You should want to do this anyway because the odds of something that small getting lost in translation are very high indeed.

Post offices and shipping stores in general often carry a variety of small shipping boxes. They also carry anything else you might need, like cardboard cylinders for posters, and boxes with balloons on them to act like wrapping paper, and tape and labels and, if you are lucky, shredded paper for stuffing. There is always something to fit your needs. The point is, don’t try to overdo it. There are enough options out there for you to find the size you are looking for.

The Not-So-Obvious Shipping Supplies

I always wind up forgetting some of my shipping supplies when I go to the post office, and then I wind up having to buy something from them that seems to be quite over-priced and also under-quality. This usually makes me pretty annoyed, and I tend to be annoyed at the post office anyway. I don’t want to come across as one of those people that always need to have something a certain way, but there are definitely two places on this planet that will wipe the smile off of your face: the DMV and the post office. No matter how resolved you are to go in there and keep your head high you always wind up leaving with leaky-gut symptoms. Thankfully, the post office right by house is usually amazing. Unless a certain lady is on duty, and then not so much. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her in a while…

Shipping Supplies

Here is a list of packaging and shipping supplies you may want to consider keeping on hand in your car for those days when, spur of the moment, you throw the box for your grandma in the back seat so you don’t keep forgetting to send it:

Address book. Unless you have all of your addresses in your phone, like a lot of people, consider keeping an address book in your glovebox. You don’t have to put the names down, for safety purposes, but you should be able to tell who the address belongs to by what letter it’s filed under and then the city and state. This might not seem like it belongs under “shipping supplies” but, believe me, if you don’t have the address that baby isn’t going anywhere.

This might seem pretty obvious but I guess it’s not, because I always forget it. I have taken to keeping a roll of packaging tape in my glovebox so that I don’t have to keep spending upwards of 4 dollars on a new, crappy roll at the post office.

Black Sharpie. Yes, even these should be considered as shipping supplies. A Sharpie is a good way to make sure the address is big and bold, and that it can be written on just about anything and still show up. And they fit nicely in a center console.

I keep a book of stamps in my glovebox and I also keep one or two in my wallet. The time that I didn’t I accidently put my letter in the letter box without any postage and I had to call to have somebody come fish it out.

Just Say No to Cheap Packaging Tape

I have been known to want to cut corners. It drives my husband kind of crazy. Thankfully, for his sake and for mine, I have grown out of it for the most part. I should clarify that I have never cut a corner merely to be lazy. If there was one thing my mother taught me it was to do a job well the first time, and that has been a true piece of wisdom consistently. (For the record, she taught me much more than just that, and most of it was good to know. I hope to pass on more than this little piece of information to my own kids as they grow older.)

What I actually mean by cutting corners is that I want to save money where I can- also known as “being cheap”. While frugality is an admirable trait, being cheap winds up doing the opposite. It turns out that buying something cheap is rarely the better option. This doesn’t mean you should buy the most expensive option on the shelf. I rarely put anything with a brand name in my cart. Usually the store brand is good enough. It’s the really off brand that starts causing problems. When it’s miles cheaper than all the other kinds, and not on clearance for some good reason, you should really just say “no”.

For instance, I have learned that you can’t cut corners when it comes to packaging tape. If you try to buy the cheap packaging tape you will just wind up screwing yourself. It happens to me every time. The thing is that the cheap stuff is thinner. So as soon as you manage to pick at the edge enough to lift it, and then you pull some, it just can’t handle the resistance and it will tear until it is the width of dental floss, and it will continue to tear at that same, minimal width so long as you keep pulling. Trying to unravel all of that to get back to the wider tape is crazy-making, to say the least. What you wind up with is a giant wad of ripped up, cheap packaging tape before you throw up your hands and go out to buy some decent stuff. I have learned this the hard way more times than one. From trying to ship a box to a friend to trying to pack up our house, it never worked in my favor to cut the corner. I just wasted more time and more money. I had to learn to just say “no” sometimes.

Stretch Wrap Dispensers are a Must

If you deal with stretch wrap then odds are that you deal with the stretch wrap dispensers. If you don’t, let me give you a few reasons for why you should (just keep in mind that they aren’t listed in order of most to least important, because they are all equally important). And now, reasons why stretch wrap dispensers are a must:

There are many different sizes. Just because you use a certain kind of stretch wrap doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have a dispenser. El contrare! There are actually stretch wrap dispensers for mini stretch wrap, the bigger ones are adjustable, and they even have a dispenser for bundling wrap. Also, there is an extended handle which allows for packaging and bundling taller loads, and it also eliminates the need to bend over when wrapping the bottom of the load.

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Using stretch wrap dispensers offers a tighter wrap, and that’s exactly what you want. When wrapping or bundling by hand you are susceptible to hand fatigue and just awkwardness in general. Those stretch wrap rolls are pretty stinking heavy, and they are either too big or too small to handle effectively.
By wrapping tighter, the chances of whatever you are shipping arriving in its intended state increases exponentially. Otherwise, all manner of obstacles and impediments could cause the load to shift and the product to be damaged, even beyond repair.
If you think that you are saving money by cutting the corner of using stretch wrap dispensers, I would stand to reason that you aren’t. Saving money, that is. Dealing with stretch wrap manually often results in a lot of waste since unrolling the wrap is harder to start and stop without the dispenser. Not to mention the wrap is not as tight as it could be, resulting in more stretch wrap being used than is necessary for the job.
If the actual stretch wrap dispensers seem like overkill to you and exceed your needs, there are other options. Consider the double handle wrapper. When using this, you don’t have to spend unnecessarily on extended cores; this rod goes through the regular core and allows you to hold onto both ends securely. Last but not least, if you absolutely refuse to invest in any type of dispenser, consider the handi-ring set. Quite simply, these are two plastic rings that fit into either end of the roll and makes for wrapping by hand quite a bit easier.

The Best Packing Supplies for the Best Moving Experience

Packing supplies can really make or break the whole moving experience. I have moved numerous times. Like, a lot. Sometimes it was just a dorm room, and then sometimes it was just a one-bedroom apartment, and then a two-bedroom apartment, and then a house, and most of them was more than once at each kind of place. Thankfully, I have not yet had to move now that I have children, but I know that it’s coming. And, thankfully, I have had plenty of experience so that I will know how to make the best of it when that time comes.

Packing Supplies

It goes without saying that the best moving experiences I have had were invariably linked to the best packing supplies. Granted, the one at the top of the list also came with an entire crew. They wrapped big things up in heavy duty brown paper. They wrapped everything else up in brown paper too, and put them in boxes. They came with the boxes that have the sections for kitchen materials. They came with the boxes that have the hanging metal rod so you can just transfer your clothes right from the closet to the box. Not only did they come with the packing supplies but they did all the packing and moving and transporting, too. And the unloading.

So, yeah, that is not the type of experience most people will have, and it was a one-time thing for me too. But the thing I learned from that time is that the materials are a must. This is because I have tried to be super cheap and I wound up on the verge of a breakdown. So not worth it.

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When I say that I was trying to be cheap I mean that I was using hand-me-down packing supplies, all of which were some sort of awkward shape or size and I found myself playing a virtual Tetris game in the back of the moving van. The last thing you want to do after packing boxes and carrying them down three flights of stairs is move them all around trying to figure out how to make them fit and also best utilize the space of the moving van since you were too cheap and got the smaller one (another way that I was trying to be cheap and just wound up shooting myself in the foot).

I’m not suggesting you go in debt buying the highest quality products, especially since you are more or less just going to be getting a one time use out of them. I am suggesting you take the time to figure out what type of packing supplies are the best for the job at hand.

Cardboard Storage Boxes and Other Storage Ideas

Cardboard storage boxes are quickly taking the front seat when it comes to organizing and storing. There are several reasons for this. At the top of the list is a two-in-one: you can buy the “paper” version in bulk, and at a fraction of the price for the “plastic” version. This is the route that a lot of businesses take, specifically for this reason, and it seems that the common household has caught on to the secret.

Of course the largest complaint is that cardboard is not nearly as durable as plastic, and no one would argue that; but when using a proper technique the cardboard storage boxes will last just as long, if not longer, since they would have been treated well from the beginning. I know for myself that I used to buy the biggest plastic totes and bins that I could find, and stuff them full and stack them on top of each other until they were bowing and bending and the lids couldn’t fit properly anymore.

Once I heard about the “paper” system, I started at the first step: shelving. I know people who have gone all out and bought some serious-business wire systems (because that’s exactly what they were. Elaborate systems that required some pretty specialized tools and YouTube videos to put together). Apparently the more frustrating something is the more expensive it is, too, because they were spending upwards of four hundred dollars per unit.

Well, my husband and I decided to go with the old tried and true method and we bought some boards and nails from our local home improvement store. (We didn’t even need to use a handsaw because someone had given him a circular one for his birthday last year.) Within a couple hours, and for about a tenth of the cost, we had constructed a really decent set of shelves. We were then able to maximize the space using the cardboard storage boxes, which fit together like a perfect solid wall.

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Once the boxes have all been packed, it would behoove of you not to forget the second crucial step: labeling. Do not blow off this part of the process as something only Type A people need to do. Properly labeling the cardboard storage boxes will keep you from needing to mess with more than the box you are looking for, thus greatly minimizing the wear and tear (both on the boxes and your body). So be sure to write the contents on an index card, put it in an envelope and tape it to the front of the box.