This Box Resizing Hack Is Perfect For Shipping Holiday Gifts

If you regularly ship holiday gifts, you probably know what it's like to hunt for boxes in certain sizes. One option, of course, is to visit UPS and pick up new containers. But what if you could resize a box you already have at home? As it turns out, this is easy to do when you need to lengthen cardboard boxes.

In a useful video, Instagram user @jillcomesclean breaks down the technique. The first step remove the tape on the top and bottom of a box. Next, cut the left and right flaps in half, then turn it over and repeat once more.

Now, it's time to work with each pair of cut flaps. Overlap the flaps, one on top of each other. This will automatically elongate the box. Fold over the remaining flaps and tape everything in place.

And just like that, you have a longer box!

jillcomesclean/Instagram

"What cardboard magic is this?" commented one user on the post. "This hurts my brain, but it's genius," said another person.

We can see this trick being useful beyond the holiday season, though. As noted by one Instagram user on @jillcomesclean's post, it's helpful for packing longer items while moving. Similarly, if you need to pack up a longer object for storage, this hack will come in handy.

While we're on the topic of gift giving, consider saving a few of our favorite tricks for wrapping.

One such technique is creating a built-in card holder with wrapping paper. This will let you neatly attach a card without using more tape.

If you need to wrap an oddly-shaped gift, there's a TikTok hack for doing just that. It involves making a flat-bottomed gift bag with wrapping paper. This way, you can enclose the object in the paper of your choice without having to buy a bag.