Recycled packing materials don't have to be a part of a dumpster dive and purchasing new materials can end up costing you nothing with just a little effort.
Here's some steps to save you money, help the environment and put the jingle back in the change box.
1. Networking : Yes, you have to make some friends and not necessarily those from social media. Make a little handout to give to your doctor, dentist, beautician, any place you visit or any business that you are constantly going past on a daily driving route. Put your name, your phone number and your wants on the flyer and make them small enough to tack on a bulletin board, the side of a cpu or some place an office manager keeps notes.
Just make sure you spend a few minutes telling someone what type of materials you are looking for and even provide a box they can put somewhere for you to stop by and empty. I've yet to be turned down as everyone wants to recycle. Make sure you put a note on the box, too. Be sure and insert the time of day you will be dropping by.
I gave these to four businesses on my route to the post office. It takes about 15 minutes to make the four stops.
2. Recycle Ink Cartridges
My local Staples gives $2.00 in store credit for every ink cartridge recycled. I can recycle up to 10 per month so that is $20 in store credit I have each month. I purchase the absolute best packing tape that $20 will buy and on a good month, there is a coupon or a sale. How do I get ten cartridges, well, remember those businesses, they just hand them off to me, also.
Here's a hint, people want to recycle, they just don't have the time to leave their office, don't want to make the time or will be willing to do it if someone else puts out the effort.
3. Bubble Wrap and Plastic Foam Sheets
I live in an industrial area and several of those industries packaged hundreds of boxes a day. They also recieve hundreds of boxes a day and they don't re-use what was sent to them. I stop by and pick up two sacks of packing material each week. Sometimes its blocks of foam, sometimes it packing peanuts and sometimes it that cool long white foam sheets.
4. Padded Envelopes Galore
I stopped by the Navy Recuriter's Office to pick up a package for a friend. There was a box of bubble padded envelopes. Of course, I asked and now once a month, i stop by and get all of those I need. All three recruiter offices save those for me know. I just have to peel off labels or actually stick one over the old ones.
5. Newsprint - Yuck, no way do I use the printed stuff, but I use virgin newsprint.
Here is how Newsprint goes on the press :
and once the paper is printed, here is what is left
6. Be a Packaging Artist
Take one plastic shopping bag you brought home from your shopping trip. Now stuff it with that virgin newsprint or some tissue paper or anything else that will fluff within the sack. Okay, now fold the top over and tape it down. You should have something that looks like a plastic pillow. You have now made some nice clean packing material. You can make it to the size you need to fit your box and give your merchandise a nice ride to its new home.
A word of advice : stay out of dumpsters. You will bring home bugs, you will get into all sorts of trash and I don't care how clean you think it is, an outside dumpster will carry the remains of the little bugs and animals who gave it a good look.
So you don't have to spend a fortune on packaging, you just have to think outside the box !! LOL.
Stop by and visit with me on Etsy, I have two shops now.
Salvagenation and MonikersIncorporated.
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