Reuse Cardboard Boxes To DIY A Smart And Stylish Home Storage Solution

It's easy to find cardboard packaging strewn about your living space if you're on the tail end of a big move, or if you happen to be ordering a lot of boxes from Amazon that need to be decluttered. Cardboard is considered a highly recyclable material, so there's no shortage of options in which to deal with this clutter. Even so, a substantial amount of landfill waste includes recyclable cardboard and paper goods, and over $4 billion in lost economic value according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Though recycling is a great way to save energy, use less water, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it can be just as beneficial to reuse cardboard boxes for your home DIY projects — how about a storage solution made from cardboard and jute to help you organize your home office?

Cardboard can be used for very extensive builds; for instance, Cedarville University engineering students race canoes made from cardboard every single year. Your reuse of cardboard boxes doesn't have to be nearly as complicated. If anything, it's probably better to focus on a smaller-scale project to help you get organized ... but that you can still keep over the long haul. Given that their primary use is for package shipping, storage solutions are perhaps the best avenue to take on your DIY itch. You just need to pick up some jute cord from your local Dollar Tree to get the process started with a simple, yet stylish upcycled desk container.

This DIY hack comes courtesy of @SarahVanderkooy on YouTube, who posted a short of this "cute storage" idea. The craft starts with a small, rectangular cardboard box that has one entire side removed via a box cutter. All four walls of the box are then run over with a hot glue gun, starting from the bottom corner of one side and gradually moving up toward the rim. Lines of jute cord are attached on each layer as they go, the thick twine rope creating a rustic "homespun" look that ultimately gives the impression of budget basket weaving. With the open end placed right-side up, the creator is able to store any number of desk essentials like pens and notepads.

It's a simple idea for reusing cardboard boxes that has a lot of potential to be even more with some creative hands at work. Jute cord isn't the only decor that could adorn your new desk storage container; it's just as easy to imagine matching your room's aesthetic with some sort of painted paper mache design, or replacing the rustic twine with fake vines and flowers to give it a natural bent.

One could also scale this project up with enough time, patience, and materials on-hand. Covering a larger cardboard box with jute cord would create the same woven basket aesthetic, but instead of holding small desk ornaments you could set it in the corner of your living room to act as a cover for your DIY planter.