The move is finished and the unpacking is done. All that is left now is to deal with the pile of boxes. The recycling center comes to mind—it’s going to take multiple trips—but perhaps there’s a better fate for your boxes than paper pulp. Moving boxes can have a second life in several useful ways around your new place.
1. Mulch them
If you have areas of the yard where you would like to remove weeds or grass, large cardboard boxes provide an easy solution. With a few easy steps, the boxes make the area weed-free and ready to plant in a few months.
Some gardeners do warn against using boxes that are coated to be waterproof for this process, but this does not apply to standard moving boxes. Look for those printed with soil-healthy soy-based inks (most are).
2. Make them pretty
Glue on attractive papers or fabrics, or prime and paint, and you have customized organizational boxes for your home. Smaller boxes can line office shelves or sit atop a child’s dresser to hold toys and books. Larger boxes can serve as a chest for extra blankets and pillows or to hold bulky items in the garage. Flaps can always be cut off to provide a neater opening.
By cutting off the top and bottom of a large box and then cutting along the seam, you could create a simple decorated folding screen or room divider to be used as needed. This could also have paper attached with clothespins or binder clips at the top to provide children with a coloring easel. A more secure base could be added by attaching the folding flaps to wood blocks.
3. Take advantage of extra storage
Not feeling artistic? The boxes would make great hidden storage as well. Boxes could be cut down and covered with a fabric top attached with adhesive Velcro for under-bed storage. The hanging-garment boxes would be great to have in an unused closet or the garage for out-of-season items like coats.
4. Make over your closets
Didn’t get the closet of your dreams? While saving up for a closet overhaul, use the boxes to DIY it. Make cardboard dividers to put on a shelf or in a larger box to create a shoe organizer. Same-size boxes glued together open side in front create a shelving unit perfect for folded clothes. Smaller boxes can be attached to walls or placed on shelves.
5. Form fun and functional furniture
If you’ve moved to a larger space, you may not have all of the furniture to fill the space yet. A sturdy box, weighted well at the bottom and with a piece of wood or plastic secured at the top, could be draped with an attractive piece of fabric and be tucked in a corner or behind a sofa or chair. A tall box reinforced, painted, turned on its side and given a sturdy top could substitute for a coffee table.
Children, of course, know how to have fun with box furniture. A kitchen, astronaut command center or castle is always just a few well-planned cuts and paintbrush strokes away.
If you got boxes from a moving company like Elite Truck Rental but no longer have use for them, consider stowing the boxes away. You could make a friend’s day a month or a year from now by offering them exactly when needed. When the move is done and only the boxes remain, take a moment to consider whether these workhorses of the move have one more job they can do for you.
