Sometimes, Life is just a bowl of Cheerios. And then there are those days when you think, well, that’s just the way the Cookie Crisp crumbles!
Apart from recreating [really witty] new sayings, cereal boxes, or any food box, can be repurposed into both practical tools and fun projects.
- 1. Mailers/gift boxes. Turn a cereal box inside-out to create a custom gift box or mailer. Here’s another tutorial from Curbly.
- 2. Drawer and desk organizers. Cut off the bottom 3-4 inches of several cereal or food boxes. Arrange them in a drawer to keep thumb tacks, rubber bands, pens and paper clips neatly organized. Bella Dia has a great photo tutorial. You can also use them for desktop organizers, per Martha Stewart’s suggestion.
- 3. Postcards/greeting cards. I remember doing this project in grade school. Cut down a colorful cereal box into mailable postcards or greeting cards. This is a fun (and cheap) way to encourage children to write thank-you notes. Go here for USPS size requirements to mail postcards.
- 4. Magazine holder. With a few simple cuts, a cereal box-turned magazine rack can help tame the clutter in your house. If you want to get extra fancy, cover the box in contact paper or scrapbook paper. Check out this simple set of instructions at RePlayground.
- 5. Giant building blocks. Kids just love blocks. Save a bunch of food boxes in varying sizes. Be sure to tape the open end of the box. When you have about 8 or more accumulated, hand them over to your aspiring architect and let her imagination fly!
- 6. Document/photo protector. Cut two pieces of cardboard from a cereal box to protect a photograph or document when mailing or storing.
- 7. Scrapbooking. Cover pieces of cereal box cardboard with scrapbook paper and use them in your scrappy projects. Scrap Matters has an awesome project made from cereal boxes.
Wait!
Don’t toss the cereal bag into the recycle bin! You can reuse a cereal bag for snack storage, to pack away frozen food, as separators between frozen food (cut down into smaller shapes), in place of wax paper (if it is a typical waxy-style bag), for packing lunch items…or to store almost anything! It will save you money on purchasing Ziploc bags, not to mention cut down on your need for extra plastic.
Photo by Bubble Pop 2007.
Ya know, I thought I was doing really well with my recycling habits until I read this. You sooo have me beat. I was getting a little “weary familiar” with my ways of recycling…….
~Mary
Great ideas for the cereal boxes…I think I will have Ethan decorate some boxes for for bills…etc!!
I found your blog thru make and takes, and i am so glad, i am such a lover of recycling (reduce, reuse, recycle) what can i say i grew up in oregon!!! I am excited to stay posted and it will help me remember to always do my part. thanks pamela http://www.frenchknots.blogspot.com
Great ideas! I also love the cereal box business card holder from Craft magazine. Here’s the template: http://craftzine.com/09/recycle/
[...] 7 ways to repurpose a cereal box [...]
That’s really cool! Thanks for linking to the template.
[...] 7 ways to repurpose a cereal box [...]
[...] cereal box into a book and magazine [...]
[...] 7 ways to repurpose a cereal box [...]
[...] this has to be one of my favorites, using them to make a brand new box to wrap gifts in. Cara from Repurposeful had the wonderful idea of cutting up cereal boxes into postcard-sized cards to use as thank you [...]
[...] repurosing or “finding new uses for everyday things.” I particularly like the idea of turning a cereal box into a magazine holder. I figure this craft could also be used to hold scrapbooking [...]
Here’s a neat way to repurpose a….If you’re blonde I hope you don’t take offense. I have actually done this myself. More neat things on my website. Smile..
A blonde calls her boyfriend and says, “Please come over here and help me. I have a killer jigsaw puzzle, and I can’t figure out how to get it started.”
Her boyfriend asks, “What is it supposed to be when it’s finished?”
The blonde says, “According to the picture on the box, it’s a tiger.”
Her boyfriend decides to go over and help with the puzzle.
She lets him in and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over the table.
He studies the pieces for a moment, then looks at the box, then turns to her and says, “First of all, no matter what we do, we’re not going tobe able to assemble these pieces into anything resembling a tiger.”
He takes her hand and says, “Second, I want you to relax. Let’s have a nice cup of tea, and then …” He sighed ……………. “Let’s put all of the Frosted Flakes back in the box
[...] my favorite eco-blogger, has 7 great ways to reuse cereal boxes. I love the postcard idea. And since my hubby is a BIG cereal eater, we have plenty of material to [...]
[...] long as you have the proper postage and labeling, USPS is happy to mail your package. Cara at repurposeful suggests turning them inside out. She also lists a ton of other really cool uses for cereal [...]
You not going to believe it but I have lost all day searching for some articles about this. You’re a lifesaver, it was a essential read and has helped me out to no end. Thanks again,. – The <a href="http://ezinearticles.com/?Scrapbooking-Page-Layout-Ideas
i was beginning to presume i might possibly be the sole guy which thought about this, at the very least at this point i comprehend i’m not extreme
i am going to make sure to take a look at some several other posts immediately after i get a bit of caffeine in me, it’s tough to read without having my coffee, I was really late last evening practicing facebook poker and after downing a few brewskies i wound up losing all my facebook poker chips cheers 
there are many greeting card options that you can see in online stores but i love those that generate cute sounds ;*;
I love to save cereal boxes for wrapping Christmas gifts.
I used cereal boxes to make index action cards…Simialr to levenger, but free
Greetings from California! I’m bored at work so I decided to check out your website on my iphone during lunch break. I really like the information you present here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m shocked at how fast your blog loaded on my cell phone .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyways, fantastic site!
[...] This one is about cereal boxes and on the wordpress website http://repurposeful.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/7-ways-to-repurpose-a-cereal-box/ [...]
These are such great ideas! I love it when I can re-use containers from the grocery store for other things. Gift boxes are the best idea!
I did something really cool with a few cereal boxes! I drew an diagonal outline from the top right corner to about 1/4 of the way down oppisite… then cut along the line (on both sides of the box til it had no top) and covered w wrapping paper and made a PAPER HOLDER/organizer for the desk
like the one seen here: http://www.cropperhopper.com/images/products/detail/CH259.jpg
Liner bags from the larger cereal boxes are good for storing lettuce in the refrigerator. I just use a clothespin to fasten the top together.
Very good blog post. I absolutely love this site. Continue the good work!