Tips for Using Cardboard Boxes as Book Storage

Books are one of those things no one feels bad about purchasing. You intend to read something new in order to expand your knowledge, hone your expertise, or just open your mind to something new. While many items cause the onset of buyer’s remorse, books are almost never one of them.

However, how often do you finish that book you just bought all the way through? It seems that half the time, it just sits there unread, taking up space on your shelves.

There comes a time when storing your extra books makes sense. Maybe you’ll never get to a certain book but don’t want to toss it. Or maybe your bookshelves are overflowing and you need to tidy them up. Whatever the cause, CArdboard boxes are a great choice for putting your books away in storage.

Prepare the box for packing.

If you buy new boxes, you’ll first need to put them together. Make sure you seal the bottom well by doubling the amount of packing tape. Once you’ve assembled your boxes, put a few books in to see if the bottom holds. You don’t want the boxes bottoming out when you’re carrying your books to the place you’ll be storing them.

How to pack your books.

You can pack your books by placing them in the box standing upright, making sure that the spine is against the box's side. Alternatively, laying the books flat is another great option. Just make sure that they're all packed well, but not too tightly. They can be damaged when removing them if they’re squeezed in too tight.

Another tip is to use filler paper to fill the gaps in any remaining spaces. Books can shift easily when being moved. You don’t want hardback books damaging the paperbacks.

Picking the right environment to store your books.

Keep the boxes in cool areas with low humidity. You don’t want your books warping because of an unusually high damp area that you could’ve avoided.

You should also keep them away from sources of heat. Books stored too close to appliances or heat ducts may also warp. Just remember to keep them stored in cool temperatures—a room temperature of 60-70 degrees will do.

Keep away from light sources. Direct sunlight will bleach out and even ruin the binding and pages in books. If you’ve chosen a place like your basement or completely enclosed your books in a taped cardboard box, though, this shouldn’t be a problem.

With all that said, books are for reading! Get to reading those untouched books that you bought at some point long ago. And show off your collection with your bookcases. While putting some away in storage is sometimes necessary, you’d probably rather have most of them out on display, right?

Save Your Unused Boxes!

As you begin taking down your holiday decorations, one glaring problem begins to present itself as your decor undressing party unwinds: you’re not going to have enough storage boxes for all the stuff you put up.

How is this possible? You specifically remember having all the boxes once you put everything on display two months ago. How are you magically out of boxes now?

The likelihood of it all is quite common, honestly. We often repurpose boxes to other items in storage, wrap gifts in leftover cardboard boxes, or break boxes down and toss them without thinking.

Well, make sure you’ve got some handy for when this scenario happens. Otherwise, you’ll be making a trip to the store asking for old cardboard boxes for free.

Here are a few things you can remember to keep aside old boxes of cardboard for.

Wreaths and garland.

Where else are you supposed to store mini-wreaths and strands of garland? It may not be a bad idea to put these in trash bags in order to keep their shape, but boxes work well enough if the wreaths can fit within them and the garland isn’t crammed in. Considering keeping around one or two extra cardboard boxes specifically for your greenery.

Ornaments.

Whether you layer your ornaments in boxes already (good thinking!) or just throw a lot in holiday bags you’ll likely use down the road, it’s sincerely a good idea to think about getting dish boxes. Dish boxes are meant to be used for moving your dishes from one place to the next, but these things are superb for ornaments simply because they have dividers and add extra protection, especially to those round ornaments that are so prone to breaking easily.

ALL of your lights.

Alright, your lights are in desperate need of organization. And I don’t just mean to cram a few strands into one box because you will absolutely hate yourself next year. No, you need to seriously consider investing in a spool for lights in order to wrap them nicely and neatly. Once they’re wrapped and secured, only then can you stack them in your boxes. From here, it’s smooth sailing and the next time you put them up, you’ll save yourself loads of time and frustration.

Figurines.

From nativity sets to little winter woodland creatures, figurines that stand on their own are typically small enough to wrap up in tissue paper (or newspaper) and lay in a box for the next year. They’re just too small to have their own space in your storage, so having a box or two dedicated to all of your odd statues, sculptings, and other figures is a good idea.

The thing is, people don’t like change. Well, most people don’t want to welcome it, I should say. Change, for the most part, poses an effort to adapt to something new, and people typically prefer to stay lazy and do things how they’ve been going as of late.

But for me, well, I’m quite opposite. While I do enjoy my normal monotony as much as the next person, there’s something exciting about switching it up, trying something new, and revisiting old things.

Some of those things I like to revisit are clothes.

Like most people, I have two to three different “wardrobes”, if you will. Summer apparel probably takes up the most of my closet simply because those clothes can be worn anytime of year, even under the heavier stuff I’d put on during winter. On the opposite hand, winter gear is specific only to the winter, and my sweaters, boots, and under shirts are all relegated to a few months out of the year.

It’s nice to dig into those old cardboard boxes containing my heavier stuff, though. For one, I like the cold because I’m just always so dang hot. Summer is a time when you can wear little clothing and move about freely, but I always feel like I’m sweating too much all the time. But in winter, I can step outside to cool off, even if it means I’m not fully dressed to the max with heavy coats and whatnot.

I quite enjoy the colder months for that reason, but I also like them in order to break out some of the heavier sweaters I own. And some of my boots are specifically made to handle snow or slush.

So whether or not you enjoy one season or the other, try to embrace the changing of the seasons as a natural, yearly event that allows you to pull out the cardboard boxes in storage and wear some of your more obscure clothing items. Perhaps there’s an old pair of shoes you have been neglecting that could fit perfectly with a winter outfit. Maybe you haven’t yet worn that scarf your in-law got you last Christmas. Or maybe you keep forgetting about that pair of gloves you could use when driving to work.

No matter the case, welcome the new season in as a chance to dress differently or express your sense of style in a new way. By letting a drab and predictable routine of the same old same old determine what you wear, you become kind of boring in general. Switch it up for the sake of your own fashion, style, and mindset.