- Make a doll/barbie house. This was a huge hit at our house. It was fun to make and our children, as well as visiting children, have had fun playing with it.
- After you make the house, then you can use all sorts of smaller boxes to make the furniture.
- Make a puzzle by gluing a magazine picture, a child's piece of artwork or a photo to some cardboard and then cutting it into puzzle pieces. An exacto knife might be nice for this project.
- Use large pieces for mulch in your garden. Lay a piece down, spray it with water to get it nice and wet so it won't fly away and then cover with pulled up weeds, grass clippings or leaves.
- Gift Tags. Use lightweight cardboard that is clean on both sides.
- Kindling for a fire.
- Make some slippers. This has been a fun recent project and we did make ones that are more useful than the ones pictured above, the ones above were for a play. Check out the other post to see more information.
- Use small shoe boxes and the like to organize sock and underwear drawers or kitchen drawers.
- Use as makeshift sleds.
- Let your kids use them to make a "car" or a "boat"
- Make a playhouse for cats.
- Make "drawers" for a shelf. We have in our house a deep shelf with a countertop on it that I have used for a changing table for my kids. We were low on dressers so I found 4 boxes that would fit the shelves and then covered them with some extra fabric I had and used them for the drawers. I did that around 7 years ago and it has been in use ever since (currently it is a craft supply holder). I am amazed at how well the box "drawers" have held up.
- Make a stationary holder.
- All sorts of fun crafts at this site!
- Make a Solar Oven. (This is something I really need to try!) Here is instructions for a pizza box one, a minimum (easy to make) solar oven and a larger variety.
- Use cardboard to mend things. For instance in the picture below one of my picture frames had broken at the corner. I was able to cut a piece of cardboard that fit on the inside and then glue that in for durability. I mended it probably a year ago and it is doing just find.
- Make a cardboard chair. Here is a video with another variety of chair.
- Make a cardboard playhouse.
- How about a baby cradle?
- Maybe even a coffin? (personally I think this makes a lot of sense.)
- It works great for making doll furniture.
- A kids basketball hoop.
- Make your own games. Cards or board games. Be creative!
- Recycling bins/ trash cans.
- Picture Frames.
Hey! I would love to hear your favorite ways for reusing cardboard. I know there are a bunch more uses out there!
For more Thrifty Green Thursday tips visit Green Baby Guide.
