Ever finish up a box of our pods and wonder what you could do with the box other than just recycle or compost it? Over the years we’ve seen customers come up with brilliant ways to repurpose these containers. It’s inspired us to get the creative juices flowing within our own team and by scouring the web for the best DIYs! We’re not here to brag, but we are pretty proud of our Dropps boxes and love coming up with new ways to use them. Here are some of our favorites ways for you to repurpose your cardboard box into something great!
1. Sort and store your cosmetics
Organize hair ties, bobby pins, makeup, and more by designating different compartments for each category. This makes things easy to take on the road with you as well!
2. Box up your generosity
Use it as a gift box! Our friend @sustainablyamber recently shared this image to show how she used our box as a gift box, putting different items in each compartment, and taping some cold hard cash in the center. Brilliant!
3. Get your business together
No one likes having to dig up paperclips out of the bottom of a desk drawer. Use a box to organize your office supplies! Sort all your small items into sections of the box and set them in your drawer for easy access.
4. Plant something new
Our smaller boxes are perfect for planting seeds and smaller plants in, especially when you need a cozy space to start them in before migrating them to the yard. Windowsill herb garden anyone?
5. Decoupage it up!
Who says cardboard can't be beautifully decorative? During quarantine we saw customers get all kinds of creative, and this box above was one example! Who says recycling and reusing can’t be art? This would be a wonderful place to store letters and mementos from loved ones.
6. Save the furniture!
Don’t let delicious beverages leave rings on your furniture. Use our boxes to make quick and easy coasters! Cut the cardboard into squares and paint them, use washi tape to decorate them, or leave as is! This is particularly great for large parties when your normal coasters may not be enough for all your guests.
7. Save the floors!
Moving soon? Rearranging the furniture? Furniture sliders really can make all the difference. Use those same cardboard squares to set under each leg of a table, bookshelf, or couch so you can easily slide those heavy pieces out of the house without breaking your back!
8. Save your knees!
Once you’ve moved in and are doing work on the house or yard, you can use those same cardboard squares one more time to support your knees! Take your collection and stack them to the desired length, then use them whenever you need to kneel down.
9. Address your gifts
Another fast craft is making gift tags from cardboard boxes. Cut it, decorate it, write your college best friend’s nickname that no one else is supposed to know on it. That’ll keep the holidays fun.
10. Fight weeds like a pro
Did you know you can use old cardboard to control weeds in the yard?! Flatted out the cardboard (using water to soak it if need be), place it a few inches under your soil, and cover with dirt. The wet cardboard smothers the weeds and feeds the soil! Double whammy! This is also called sheet mulching, and traps moisture in the soul so you can save water too. (Guess that means its a triple whammy!)
11. Be an eco-friendly Picasso
Even some of the world's most renowned artists will tell it to you straight: there’s no need to use fancy materials. Don’t waste money on a plastic or wooden paint palette from the store. Trim one of our boxes to the desired shape for your palette and you’re good to go!
12. Make a cute apartment door number
Ever lived in a less than fancy building with poor markings on the door? (We all have). Cut and paint a piece of cardboard and hang it outside with string and a nail to individualize your front door!
13. Spice up your centerpiece!
Cardboard is truly versatile and can be cut, painted, or covered in paper to make any kind of decoration! Cut it into the shape of a turkey for thanksgiving, snowflakes or presents for Christmas, hearts for Valentines day… the possibilities are endless! Our friend @madd4cats made a cute pumpkin for festive fall décor.
14. Get holly jolly!
Cardboard is the perfect material to use to make beautiful holiday decorations. You can make Christmas tree ornaments, garland, wreaths, tree toppers, and more. Find a plethora of tutorials on Pinterest!
15. Show those cords who's boss
Just about any household item nowadays comes with some sort of chord or charger. Keeping track of them all is as tricky as holding on Tupperware lids! Set aside chargers of different types into the compartments of our boxes and store in a closet or drawer.
16. Finally! A place to put the lint
Another smart use of our boxes is to use it as a lint keeper! Remember, lint cannot be recycled. Catch and keep it to use in other household project, like weed control or making fire starters.
17. Everyone loves snail mail
The stiffness of cardboard makes it perfect for making personalized postcards to send to loved ones. You’ll need to cut out the standard postcard size and shape and then get to work decorating it. This is a great craft for children and a great way to teach them the importance of reusing early on.
18. Get crafty
All it takes is some time on Pinterest to find and endless amount of other fun and decorative crafts to do with kids (or on your own!). Cardboard really is one of the most versatile materials. Make little cut out zoo animals, light features, mobiles, airplanes, the possibilities are endless!
We love our boxes! Through the years our team has worked to make our boxes more convenient and eco-friendly with each update. We’ve removed product labels from our box and instead use non-toxic, low-VOC water-based inks to print directly on the box. Our packaging is designed with the intention to reduce single-use plastic and leave no trace on the environment, made from corrugated cardboard that is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified! By choosing Dropps, our community has helped keep over 1.7 million single-use plastic bottles, jugs, tubs, and pouches from polluting our oceans and waterways.
We hope you’re just as excited about them as we are, and feel inspired now to get crafty and resourceful with every shipment you receive. Got more ideas for us? Share them on our social channels!