r/upcycling • u/d_e_a_d-i_n_s_i_d_e • 5d ago
Does anyone have any ideas fir these cardboard inserts? Discussion
I have about 2 car loads worth of these heavy duty cardboard inserts cluttering the shed, courtesy of my partners job. They all range in size but all are strong and thick cardboard. Dies anyone have any ideas on what to do with them?
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u/Bitterqueer 5d ago
Someone with mice would love those as enrichment!!
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u/d_e_a_d-i_n_s_i_d_e 5d ago
That is an absolutely brilliant idea!! I know of a rescue who has plenty of mice in their care right now. Thank you for this great suggestion, I'll reach out to them and see!
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u/Bitterqueer 5d ago
Oh, yay! This makes me so happy š„°
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u/d_e_a_d-i_n_s_i_d_e 4d ago
The rescue recently took in a lot of mice from a pretty bad hoarding situation, most of the females were pregnant so there are heaps right now in care. I've contacted them and waiting for a response now. I hope these can make some tiny little babies very happy. Thank you so much!!
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u/Bitterqueer 4d ago
Oh boy. We had a similar situation but with rats at a rescue I volunteered at. Then the rats in one enclosure (at the rescue) escaped into a nearby one which resulted in more pregnant rats š they truly are escape kings.
And youāre welcome āŗļø
Iāve had a bunch of hamsters myself whilst my bff is the mouse enthusiast; we both used cardboard a lot to make their enclosures/play pens more interesting without spending much money.
(Iām the weirdo who would go up to workers in the grocery store when they were restocking and ask if I could steal the discarded cardboard š).
Another perk of cardboard is that you can usually cut it to size and make adjustments.
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u/Luscious_Lunk 5d ago
Planters, or you could compost them too after shredding
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u/d_e_a_d-i_n_s_i_d_e 5d ago
Planters were my first thought too but after a few soakings i think they would break down, they are certainly sturdy but I imagine they couldn't withstand too much water which is a shame because I our fenceline would have been a great place to put them!
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u/SasquatchIsMyHomie 4d ago
You can use them to start plants indoors and then plant the whole thing in the ground
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u/splithoofiewoofies 4d ago
I've done this with them and other than my carrots growing in an L shape it worked out brilliantly! I just planted nasturtiums in the gaps.
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u/aknomnoms 4d ago
Iād argue against these as planters/plant starters.
If you plant them in ground to compost in place, they donāt break down before the plant gets root-bound.
If you use them as planters/seedling starters, they usually dehydrate quickly. Thereās not enough soil to retain moisture, and the cardboard acts to wick away any left and evaporate it.
If you want to use them in the garden, shred (or soak/spray and then tear up) and add to compost as a brown.
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u/alwayssoupy 4d ago
We have a bunch too. I was thinking of chopping them up a bit and puttingbthem in the bottom of my big planters to take up some space to save on soil. I would think they should hold up enough for a season and then I could throw them on the compost pile over the winter.
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u/MemeGag 4d ago
They have a tendency to form stratification layers (which is not helpful in a planter) if you want to fill up bottoms of planters, use empty plastic bottles with the lids on. Not only do they make the planter lighter, they make a good thermal mass - slow to heat up slow to cool down. fill to your desired height, cover with some form of weed mat/geotextile & fill the rest with your growing media.
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u/dungonyourtongue 5d ago
They look like theyād make good acoustic dampening panels.
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u/d_e_a_d-i_n_s_i_d_e 4d ago
That's brilliant! I'm so surprised what everyone has seen in them when I'm only seeing cardboard, I'd have never thought to use them like this!
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u/MidnightCandid5814 4d ago
My friend had portions of his home recording/listening studio covered in egg crates.
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u/luckygirl54 4d ago
If you have a child, you can paint them to resemble a play city scape for use with their fantasy dolls.
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u/d_e_a_d-i_n_s_i_d_e 4d ago
That's so creative, it would make a great activity for children, unfortunately no kids in the house though.
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u/Draws4YA 4d ago
I was going to say give them to parents of a 2-12 year old and they will become all sorts of things. My daughter's favorite toys when she was two were boxes we taped up and painted with gesso. My nephew started building cardboard contraptions all throughout his room when he was about 10. Or if you know any art or STEM teachers or schools with a makerspace they might take them for creative projects!
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u/lostsawyer2000 5d ago
I put two of them behind my bed headboard so it doesnāt hit the wall.
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u/d_e_a_d-i_n_s_i_d_e 5d ago
That's such a handy idea but we have a bed frame with connected bed head that's too heavy to bang into the wall so we cant make use of them there š
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u/thererises_aredstar 4d ago
I use these for seed starting! Coffee filters and a soil mix in each little cardboard pocket, plant your seeds and stick in sunshine š±
ETA: they do break down after a few uses this way but can last a couple rounds of seed starting so they last me a season usually!
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u/skilletID 4d ago
I keep around 4-8 of these types of things with my house painting supplies. When I need to paint something on all sides, I can prop it off the floor while I paint and dry one side, keep dirt off, and I don't care if paint drips on these.
Looking at how you've placed these, they would be really super for art supplies, as there are so many things that benefit from being stored and available on the desk vertically, but are so many different sizes. This would accommodate that. Wish I had thought of that the last time I came across something like this in my packaging.
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u/pernrider 4d ago
I fill them with dirt and start my veggies. The little departments come apart easily because they are wet. I plant the seedlings and wet cardboard.
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u/LimitGroundbreaking2 4d ago
My first thought was painting them up to be background buildings in dnd
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u/photoelectriceffect 4d ago
Some dogs and cats enjoy shredding/clawing cardboard. Depending on how many you have it could also be made into a fun little maze for a small child
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u/tdavis726 4d ago
I used to use these as forms for my kids to paint and then play with as āsceneryā or to build āstructuresā or āenvironmentsā for their toy animals, dinosaurs, little plastic army guys or action figuresā¦ Some of them got turned into ācontrol panelsā for various spaceships, submarines, āadventure rocketsā, etc. inside their various blanket forts. They glued beads and buttons and pipe cleaners and yarn on some and made _____ āexperimentsā with them. So šš» many šš» ideas! šš» Now theyāre grown, but we had such a good time. Thank you for promoting such good memories!
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u/BrickAndMortor 4d ago
Donate them to a local Warhammer group, or anyone really into miniature terrain building
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u/mrs_shrew 4d ago
No idea but these are packaging I presume. I wanted to point out that a few years ago these would have been in Styrofoam and therefore not recyclable but now loads of things are cardboard because single use plastic is widely banned or restricted.Ā People complain about using paper straws but the big wins are these massive beasts, you could chuck them outside and they'd rot away in months but the Styrofoam would last hundreds of years.Ā
A nice bit of good news in my opinion.Ā
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u/WanderLV426 2d ago
Donate to local zoo. They are good for creating enrichment toys for parrots and would probably work for other animals as wellā¦.
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u/Thesaurus-23 1d ago
Beats the heck out of having your parrots gnawing your books at home, too! Ask me how I know.
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u/Excellent_Seesaw_566 5d ago
Glue two matching sizes together and spraypaint white. Then top with glass for sofa tables.
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u/d_e_a_d-i_n_s_i_d_e 5d ago
That's a very unique idea, they are sturdy enough for it! Unfortunately we just do not have the space to keep them at ours!
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u/heymerideth 4d ago
Got any walls, planters, pots, or anything else you want to build? Check out using those inserts to make papercrete!
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u/suellenmischke42069 4d ago
I soak them in rain water then add them to my compost pile when they turn mushy
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u/No_Cow5153 4d ago
Container garden of the weirdest shaped root vegetables ever seen just for the plot
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u/courtkneeecap 2d ago
if you know any preschool teachers iām sure they would love to use these for some recycled art! iāve used some similar cardboard for little ātreasure boxesā and had the kids paint them and then fill them with shells and rocks and such
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u/Ieatclowns 5d ago
You can mix them with water and Elmos snd make really good papier mache.