25 ways to use cardboard boxes

We had some fun making things with cardboard lately so I thought I would work on doing a round-up of various ways to use old boxes and cardboard. In my opinion the more stuff we can recycle ourselves the better it is for the environment and our wallet.

1. 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.
2. After you make the house, then you can use all sorts of smaller boxes to make the furniture.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Gift Tags. Use lightweight cardboard that is clean on both sides.
6. Kindling for a fire.
7. 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.
8. Use small shoe boxes and the like to organize sock and underwear drawers or kitchen drawers.
9. Use as makeshift sleds.
10. Let your kids use them to make a "car" or a "boat"
11. Make a playhouse for cats.
12. 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.
13. Make a stationary holder.
14. All sorts of fun crafts at this site!
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. Make a cardboard chair. Here is a video with another variety of chair.
18. Make a cardboard playhouse.
19. How about a baby cradle?
20. Maybe even a coffin? (personally I think this makes a lot of sense.)
21. It works great for making doll furniture.
22. A kids basketball hoop.
23. Make your own games. Cards or board games. Be creative!
24. Recycling bins/ trash cans.
25. 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.