About Cardboard Boxes

One of the lasting impressions which I have of USA was that it was big on recycling. Cardboard boxes were used, where possible, and in so many varied ways, not limited to the ones detailed below.

Cardboard Boxes in lieu of Plastic Bags

In our weekend grocery shopping which we would always do at Aldi, 2348 Ardmore Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15221, our groceries would come in boxes. Not that we bought the entire box of goods, rather it was the way of living of the locals - to reduce the use of the environmental scourge - the lowly plastic bags. In a sense, it fit in nicely into the lifestyle of the locals as they would be driving around to buy groceries and the cardboard boxes would go into the car boot. However, it would seem that much as the locals loved the environment, they loved their gas guzzlers more. Probably, it was a symbol of freedom to travel around that the Americans hold close to the heart.

Besides Aldi, there were also other grocery stores such as Grand Eagle which we would drop by when we went to the campus, Shop 'n Save and of course, the ubiquitious Walmart. Shop 'n Save made an impression on me as it introduced me to the key fob rewards card, where we would produce at our purchase and earned reward points. With driving a vehicle their way of life, a key fob attached to the car key was simply brilliant. For smaller purchases, the plastic bags were still dispensed.

Cardboard Boxes as Lego Pieces and also Furniture

It could have been the environment which promoted creativity and innovation. My two boys quickly found new uses for the cardboard boxes. These cardboard boxes became their life-sized Lego pieces. They would arrange the boxes to make different modes of transportation - on air, land and sea - and play pretend.

Towards the end of our stay, these boxes also found new uses as our makeshift furniture. It was the time whereby we had sold off most pieces of our furniture via the online garage sale.

And if you could just think harder and add on to the above list of uses of cardboard boxes.