If you have kids at home, chances are you go through a lot of cereal! In an effort to save the planet and to repurpose what you have for the sake of your wallet, check out these ideas for reusing your cereal boxes. Not only is it the smart thing to do, many of these ideas are packed full of fun for your cereal-loving family.
Drawer Organizers
If you don’t care too much about what the end result looks like then all you will need for this project is a pair of scissors. Simply trim off as much of the top of the box as you want or need to to fit the bottom of the cereal box into whatever drawer you are looking to organize. If you want to make it look more aesthetically pleasing then you can tape or glue a heavy duty paper to the outside of the box. Cardstock or scrapbook paper works great for this. Drawers can hold a shocking amount of things, and if we aren’t careful they can become so cluttered that they are no longer useful. Start saving your cereal boxes today to have a more organized home tomorrow.
Book Reports
Cereal boxes make the most fun book report template! Your kids will be excited about this school project, and you can find a template here along with other equally fun book report ideas. This is especially great for those last minute projects that seem to have slipped both you and your child’s mind until it’s almost too late. Speaking of school, make sure you check your cereal boxes for box tops. These can be turned into your school and redeemed by the school for a few cents. Schools are still painfully underfunded and they appreciate every box top that is given to them. Most food items that are primarily in school-aged children’s homes will have box tops on them such as cereal, mac and cheese or spaghettios.
Gift Bags
This is definitely one of those money saving and time saving tips. How many times have we found ourselves needing a gift bag and not wanting to go to the store to get one? Or needing a gift bag for a boys 10th birthday party and only having a pink baby themed bag. If you save your cereal boxes, this is a sturdy solution to your problem. You can choose the box that best fits your gift, and then cover it with wrapping paper, cardstock or scrapbook paper as always to cater it to whatever theme you are looking to achieve. If you want to go the extra mile you can hole punch two holes on each side of the box to insert ribbon handles.
DIY Guitar
The more common version of this craft is done with a tissue box, but it can done just as well with a cereal box. Simply cut a circle into the front of the box, wrap with a few rubber bands and attach some kind of makeshift handle or neck as it is more properly referred to. An empty paper towel roll works well for this piece of the guitar. Your music loving kid will love this project from beginning to end. Music is a great sensory activity for young kids, and can expose them to a variety of talents and hobbies. How can we evolve the next Jimi Hendrix if we don’t give our kids the chance to learn?
Puzzle
Are you sick of spending money on toys only to have your child more interested in the box that it came in? Well, cereal can be the same way. I remember choosing cereal for breakfast as a kid just so that I could do the activities on the back of the box. When the cereal is all eaten and the activities have all been done, there is a way to keep the fun going. There are many free online printouts of puzzle templates that you can place over your cereal box to trace and then cut. This is a customizable activity because you can choose a puzzle template based on the difficulty that your child can handle. Whatever side of the cereal box you don’t use to cut for the puzzle can used as the sturdy backing.