The box that led you here was made from recycled materials, and was made for being reimagined, reused, and recycled.
Proper box recycling instructions
STEP 1: Break your box down—flattening it completely.
STEP 2: Remove tape & any sticky labels (while this isn’t always totally necessary, it does help guarantee that your cardboard won’t end up in a landfill!)
STEP 3: Store the box somewhere dry until recycling day—and if it does happen to come into contact with water, cut off any wet/soggy pieces before handing it off.
STEP 4: Check with your local waste management company to ensure that you are properly preparing your boxes for pickup—as even collapsed boxes can take up quite a bit of space. Another option is to find a drop-off location nearby where you can take all of your flattened cardboard to be recycled at the same time.
Give your box new life
Now this is the fun part. There are SO many creative ways to give your recycled box another life. Some of our favorites?
Construct a cat playhouse. Every cat parent knows that there is nothing more exciting to cat than a cardboard box. You can buy them all of the fancy toys in the world, and they’ll still probably spend most of their time hopping in and out of a random box than anything else. This guide from Martha Stewart Living will have your kitty on their way to living in paradise in no time.
Build a rad box fort. Are humans really that different from cats? Maybe all we need to be satisfied is a cardboard playhouse, ourselves. Either way, constructing a box fort is the perfect bonding opportunity for adults and children alike. Forts not really your style? What about a box tent—and better yet, one that only requires ONE large box to complete? No brainer.
Battle it out, Boxwars style. Every year, tons of cardboard-loving creatives release their angst via an epic box battle—in which they come armed with cardboard weapons, protect themselves with cardboard armor, and win—you guessed it—cardboard trophies. Boxwars started in Australia in 2002 but the concept has since swept the globe. Why not use your Real Thread box to start preparing for the next fight?
Practical ways to reuse your box
Cut it up & compost it. This is the perfect solution if pieces (or whole boxes) of your cardboard have gotten wet.
Collapse & store it for future use. Whether it be to ship care packages, help keep things organized, or box things up for a big move—cardboard boxes can actually come in handy more often than you’d think.
