I love online shopping. Amazon and I have a very close relationship.
But a side effect of all that convenience is what feels like an endless pile of cardboard boxes. When everything from toilet paper to Christmas presents arrives on my porch in a smiling box, I end up with an extensive collection of boxes in every size and shape.
You, too?
So the real question is, what do we do with these ever-growing piles?
Pinterest has about 10 million ideas for a cardboard box reincarnations, but I’m just not into excessive amounts of cutting and crafting. Instead, I chose a few of my low-key favorites and included some other strictly practical suggestions.
Make Christmas Wrapping Easy
Those small boxes are perfect for putting books, clothes, or the oddly shaped toys in. I know this isn’t a radical idea, but sometimes you have so many boxes that you forget to use them!
When a funky shaped present arrives, often included with seven other ones because I like to minimize the contribution to my cardboard collection when possible, I try to find a box that fits and put it away in my stash right then to streamline the process when it’s time to wrap.
Tunnels and Obstacle Courses
I know I promised low-maintenance, and really, this is the worst one on my list. Boxes can be taped together to make long maze tunnels for kids to crawl through, or you can use them to build obstacle courses when you go over, under, through, and around to get to the finish.
Bonus points, if your kids are old enough, they can spend hours making their own obstacle course with boxes.
Craft Protection
Anytime there’s a craft that involves messy mediums such as painting and Play-Doh, I encourage my kids to use a broken down box as their workspace.
This eliminates the need for a paint plate (just squirt the paint right on the box!) and makes clean up a breeze because everything can go straight into the recycling bin afterwards.
Stick a Kid in Them
My kids are seven and nine, and they still love boxes. While they enjoy all types of play, one of the favorites is to sit in the boxes to read, draw, and watch movies.
There’s something rather calming about sitting in an enclosed space, and I catch my kids spending more time reading and just being still when they have a good-sized box that’s just right for them.
Recycle
Of course, you can always recycle your cardboard boxes. Fort Worth has several different recycling options.
If you’re like me and have a relatively large amount of boxes that just won’t all fit in that bin, even when you break them down, consider heading to one of the convenient recycling drop off zones around the area, such as these in Fort Worth and Arlington.
Ship to Goodwill
With new things arriving all the time, it only makes sense that you’ll want to do some cleaning (and hopefully donating!) of older items as well.
Amazon has teamed up with Give Back Box to make it easy for you to give. 
Simple fill an Amazon box with items you want to donate, download a prepaid shipping label here, and drop it off at the post office! (For those of us who don’t want to leave our houses at all, you can also arrange for a USPS pick-up!)
What Will You Do?
So, now you know all my secrets when it comes to attempting to get rid of the cardboard mountain that lives in my garage.
Feel free to pick a favorite and get on board with getting out of the box!
And if you have any ideas yourself, help a mother out and share the wealth!
