Original question by: @poppichew@piefed.social
If you buy things to any extent, you’ve probably got some leftover packaging hanging around. What are some cool ways you’ve found to make use of all these materials? Special props to ideas that can be replicated!
Both of these options involve taking the time to remove all tape, stickers, and other add ons.
I run cardboard through the bandsaw and slap the strips together to make new scratchpad inserts. Walmart now wants $10-13 for a small one, up from $3-5. It also breaks down boxes fast. Use a tiny bit of nontoxic school glue, in the middle of the strips. Too much glue and they’ll be too hard and the cat won’t use them. If I had to do the cutting by hand, I wouldn’t do it.
Break boxes down flat to kill swaths of lawn for garden space. Cover with garden dirt & compost. Alternatively, cover with wood chips, gravel, or rocks for borders or pathing.
I tried the cardboard trick in the garden one time, but it just rotted after a good rain, and the grass/weeds came through pretty quickly.
We had similar results. Some spots held up better than others, so overall it’s not a terrible idea, but it’s not 100% effective either.
I always think it’s so insane the way they charge for scratch pads. It makes my brain hurt, because it’s just like you show here - a culmination of cardboard. I am glad you take the precautions you need to make it pet friendly. Speaking of which, I heard if you have an issue with cats scratching up couches putting a scratching post of some kind near the couch keeps the cat from doing so. Not sure, cause I’ve never had one. But I just figured I’d toss it out there if anyone might need that advice.
Oh, this is a solid idea here too! One time, in one place we were at I decided I wanted a “secret garden” and I took all our moving boxes and blocked out the sun on a small space of land and it actually worked. This is golden, because if you use stuff that doesn’t have any glossy exterior or fine printing (er I mean stuff like tv boxes) I am pretty sure you’re just being ecological. Of course I could be wrong, but it seemed right.