3 Ways to Breathe Life into New Obsolete Cardboard Boxes

It is easy to consider things becoming obsolete. The challenge lies in saving it from obsoletion. It would surprise you, but all it takes to prevent obsolescence is a little nudge in the right direction. Let’s take the example of cardboard boxes. While packaging material suppliers may try their best at recycling the boxes or reusing them, there is a point when the boxes become too frail as they are no longer able to serve the purpose for which they were created. 

Once this stage is reached, there is nothing much that can be done. In my personal opinion, the best thing that you could do is to sell the “dead” boxes for whatever they are worth and then invest in new obsolete boxes. These obsolete boxes are good as new and most of them are unused / fresh. The reason behind their obsolescence could be incorrect sizing, incorrect printing and incorrect board grade. Technically, there is absolutely nothing that is wrong with these boxes so they can be put to good use. In fact, they come pretty cheap so you can actually end up saving money by using new obsolete boxes for your packaging solutions. 

Many people are unaware of the actual condition of the so called “obsolete boxes” and just because of a technical name, they don’t consider these boxes. Here are 3 ways in which you can breathe life into the new obsolete boxes and contribute towards sustainable practices in the packaging industry.

E-Commerce Packaging

Everyone knows that ecommerce packaging requirements are quite diverse because the order made by a particular customer would be unique and can contain any number of items. This requires the ecommerce business to have boxes of differing sizes to incorporate the different order sizes. Instead of investing in new boxes, it would be a smart approach to get new obsolete boxes (available in printed as well as plain format) and use them as per requirement. 

By getting plain boxes, you can brand the boxes yourself or even come out with special labels for seasonal offerings. Even the printed ones can be used by simply putting a label on the print. This would save a lot of time, money and efforts in the process.

Personal Storage Box

This is probably the best use that can be made for the new obsolete boxes. There are no specific requirements for personal storage so boxes of any size or print can be used quite easily. You may store clothes, books, crockery, delicate items or just about anything that you wish to store. Since these are for your personal use, minor technical errors won’t make much of a difference to you.

Individual Delivery Box

The problem with recycled or reused boxes is that if they are used too much, then the fibres tend to lose their strength and this compromises the durability of the package. You can invest the same amount in new obsolete boxes and get the benefit of strong cardboard material as these boxes have never been used before. For individual delivery requirements, the new obsolete boxes are perfect because you can use them to pack any item and send it after proper packaging and labelling has been done.

How to Pack Books

Readers around the world might have gotten used to ebooks and digital text, but nothing beats the experience of holding a book in your hand and flipping across those faintly aromatic pages. You just can’t replace books irrespective of the extent to which technology has been integrated in our lives. 

Every day, hundreds of books are moved from one place to other. Even if we think beyond transportation requirement of books, there are many who would prefer storing them till the time they are actually needed. In both conditions, it is important to pack and store the books safely to minimize risks of damage to them. if you don’t pack the books properly, then moving the books can prove to be a daunting task that you would definitely not like to undertake. 

Just follow these tips and you should be able to pack the books without any trouble. 

1. Start with a good cardboard box. It should not be too big or too small. Just get one that feels right. Anyways, you don’t have to stuff the box completely with books, so a little space left on top should be much of a problem. 
2. Start by reinforcing the bottom of the box with two layers of packing tape. Make sure you tape all the seams so that the bottom is secured completely.
3. Line the inside of the box with a layer of crushed packing paper. Crushed packing paper is the best option for providing cushioning to the contents and also for filling up the void. 
4. The next step involves sorting the books by size and preferably, their type (hardback, paperback, etc). This would make it easy for you to arrange them in the box and ensure better storage safety. 
5. Hardback books need to be placed spine to spine while paperbacks should be stacked vertically. Special books and important resources should be wrapped in packing paper and taped off before putting them in the box. 
6. The most common ways of packing books includes the standing position, stacked and spine down placement. 

• For the standing arrangement, place the books just like you would do in a shelf. Make sure the pages are directed towards the outside walls of the box with the spine facing inward. For a second row, repeat the process with the spines touching each other this time. If you have room for a third row, separate it by using some packing paper. 
• For stacked arrangement, place the pages towards the external wall with the spines facing inwards. Fill in the gaps with crushed packing paper. 
• For the spine down position, the spines need to be touching the base with the pages directed towards the top. While this may be a good option, but you won’t be able to fit in as many books as is made possible with other arrangement methods. To finish up, place some crushed packing paper on top and then close the box. 
• Once you have placed the books in the box along with the required cushioning, tape it off and seal the ends carefully. 
• Mark and label the box and you are good to go. 

Now that the books are packed and prepared, you can either store them in your storeroom or you can send them off on their new destination without worry too much about damages. With such carefully selected packaging supplies and creative packaging solutions, your books will never be subjected to damage ever again.