Packaging Without Paying

Is anyone else incensed by the outrageous prices of packaging?  I had to send a book someone bought from me via Amazon.com today, and I didn’t want to buy a box–I just moved, so I am tired of seeing boxes in general–so, I borrowed the design that Amazon.com uses to send me my textbooks when I buy from them (also a recent adventure).

In this way, I sent it for free (the box I used was given to me, the tape was given to me, the paper was bought in bulk, so the labelling cost effectively nothing, and the labor was about the same I would have put into the packaging I’d have to pay for).

I also had some breathable cloth that was used to wrap our new couch and keep it from harm.  I figured it could do the same for my book–so I cut some and wrapped it up (yes, I did refer to it as the “Book Mummy”).

 After that, I got to work on the book’s shipping “box.”  It is really a lot more like a large cardboard envelope, as you will see once you look at the picture of what it looks while we are folding up the flaps.  I used the top of a paper box (a box that paper comes in, not one that is made from paper) to make this shipping container.  I put the outside inside, that way the plain, unmarked, brown paper was on the outside–writing on it was a lot easier that way.

The basic design depends on the book’s dimensions, so it will be easier to make this to fit each book (I wouldn’t recommend this for much other than books–damages to other stuff is easier).  First, lay the book on the cardboard, then fold up the sides around the top and bottom of the book.  Make sure that you have some overlap and the top/bottom flaps fold onto the front of the book, again, much like a big envelope’s sides fold over and connect to the bottom (see below).  Crease the cardboard where it bends around the book corners.  Do the same for the sides of the book–but make certain that they overlap each other, not just go over to the front, or there will be a big square of book with no packaging on it.  Then, fold both top and bottom flaps up, fold one side up–I like to tape it here, to make sure it stays where I want it.  (See below, again)

From here it’s quite easy to fold the last part of the envelope (you see it now, don’t you?) and then tape the snot out of it.**  Just add labels and postage–and mail.

Until next time, be careful, sometimes dumpsters bite!

**Contrary to popular knowledge, cardboard has a surprising amount of snot in it.  If you ever saw it being made, you would realize that it is almost all a sort of pulpy, brown snot.