How to Salvage a Trip Gone Awry

Recently I made a trip to a destination I’ve been at 9 times already.

I can honestly say I was both surprised and disappointed in my trip to this midwestern city. While the trip was amazing and I enjoyed the scenic views, the hours following the trip were quite a letdown.

You see, I kind of expect there to be food and places open at midnight on a Thursday in the downtown area of a city. Thursday nights are quite popular for college students and the likes, and this particular city was home of quite a big Division 1 school. So, why the heck was nothing open for us to eat at? It was almost eerie how desolate and deserted the blocks surrounding the venue and our AirBNB were. I almost wondered if there was some reason for it or something else big was going on in a different part of the city.

Luckily, our trip was salvaged the next day because of our visits to local restaurants. I’m quite of good foods, so trying out new foods in different environments and restaurants was my kind of trip. From sours and darts to IPAs and charcuterie boards, that Friday made up for the disaster Thursday night ended up becoming.

By the way, did I mention we had to traverse the cold that Thursday night only to end up getting snacks at a gas station? It was literally the only place we could find in walking distance that had food. While walking beneath interstates and seeing the multitude of cardboard boxes was enough to put a damper on the evening, snacking on gas station chips further amplified how crummy the night ended up being.

But as I like to think, one bad turn of events doesn’t need to determine the outcome of an entire trip. The next day went quite well with the various places we visited, and the city seemed livelier than the night before. (Much at the expense of that city, we kept joking about how all the restaurants would be closing down around 5 p.m.)

Creative Ways to Use Cardboard boxes

One of the biggest problems for many people is the slew of boxes that we tend to get as the holidays, moving, and other such factors come along. Even when we receive gifts, we get these cardboard boxes. Sure, we could break them down and recycle them, but did you know that there are actually use for cardboard boxes? That’s right, this article will give you some great ideas to help upcycle cardboard boxes, and how you can do so easily.

The first, is regifting. Now, many people knock this, but let’s face it, you actually can use the original gift box that you got a gift in to create a message. You can create some beautiful cardboard postcards, and you won’t’ even need an envelope. It’s a gift that does keep on giving. 

Dinner napkins are another strange one you might think about when you’re reusing cardboard packaging, but think about it this way. You might have that cardboard tubing that seems like it’s useless, but it’s not.  You can take a part of the cardboard tube, wrap it in foil, and then start to put some fabric onto there.  Typically a quarter yard of fabric can make eight rings. You can then secure this using fabric glue by putting the cloth on the inside of the coil. This is a simple, yet effective way to create amazing dinner napkins.

Another way to use boxes is actually to house plants in them. now, it’s important to remember that these do suffer from the elements, so make sure that you have a plastic bag in there, along with draining holes to help get the excess water out. But you can take a box, embellish it, put the bag and holes in it, and from there, you can put your favorite plants in there. It’s a new and simple means to house your favorite plants.

If you have a kid that needs help with motor skills, one way to do this is to create a sorter toy that they can work with.  You can get some dowel pins and put them into the cardboard. Poke holes in various shapes, and let your child put the shapes in the right places.

Then finally, there is storage. Storage containers can be made out of boxes, and it won’t look tacky. You can put some screw bolts and some spray adhesive onto the covers, and then, you can put some old belts on top as the handle to secure them. these create something akin to a purse, and it does look good.

When you’re looking to repurpose old boxes, this is truly the way to go. It’s a good, simple means to creating the best and most stylish cardboard items, and not only that, you’ll be ruing the boxes that you do have to create some amazing and very pretty shapes and such as a result of your actions and simple DIY activities that everyone can do easily.