Dealing with the storage nowadays

The year has been a wild one for the majority of Americans.  The  pandemic has changed the way we work, live, shop and so much more.  In my own personal life I have been at home for far longer than I ever imagined.  It has been fantastic, complicated, and sad at times.

The unexpected consequences of this has led to many things that are a bit annoying.  I have found that since I have been shopping online a lot that my doorstep is always full.  This normally would be an exciting moment, but now it has become a normal occurance and what this really means is that I have ended up with a ton of excess trash.  This is really sad because I have not been able to actually get rid of it at the pace that it is coming in.  So I finally found a solution and I want to go through that with you.

 

First I think it is important to let you know I feel like we should be kind to our surroundings. I am not a big fan of waste and if I end up using 4 trashbags of waste each week I would like to be able to lower that going into the ground.  I would much rather have that trash be reused if possible so less trees have to be used and less products have to be made if they don't have too.   I think reusing and keeping our planet as healthy as possible is simply a good thing to do.  It is truly a small addition but millions of small healthy things can lead to a big help.  So when it comes to the cheap moving boxes stacked up in my garage from all the shipping I want to have them be reused if I can help it. 

 

To be able to do this though I have to get these boxes into a large trash can.  Since we are not allowed to recycle legally in my area by driving to do a recycle station, due to it not being an emergency I must find a legal way to keep up with my own goals.  So the process began by me simply breaking apart the boxes by hand and trying to stuff them in the trashcan.  Well lets face it originally I simply threw them in and only got a few trashed a week.  But the amount of cardboard boxes simply piled up.  Now my garage is literally getting stacked to the ceiling with cheap moving boxes.  So now the game is on.

 

My new process for taking care of this problem is to not simply break them down by hand but to cut them down into the shape of the trashcan on the inside. I started this with a pair of scissors but my hands only got through a few boxes before I got a blister.  This was a good way to do it for a couple boxes, but not a long term solution.  So I went and picked up my dads old hunting knife.  It was rather sharp and I started to safely cut the boxes with a fixed blade knife.  First I put on gloves and also boots just in case.  I wanted to be safe so I only cut away from my body, but got pretty good at it. I was able to break down the boxes pretty quick and cut them to the right size.  I was able to get 7 big boxes broken down and in the trash can with little problem.  Also, I was able to get many small boxes in the gaps.  So give this a try and I hope it works for you!

All About Poly Bags

Do you work in packaging clothing, magazines, or maybe sensitive documents or a group of papers? 

If that’s the case, you might want to look into polybags. 

A polybag is a great way for you to protect things that need extra protection, and they don’t’ cost a ton of money. Here, we’ll go over what polybags are, and if they’re right for you. 

What’s a Polybag 

A polybag is a clear plastic bag that’s made to package and ship different products. They’re made out of polyethylene, which is one of the most common plastic variants available. 

This is about 1-6 mm in terms of thickness, with the thinner option being used if you don’t need extra protection.  The bags are made with specific plastics, which offer a packaging that is versatile, and simple for companies to use. 

Polybags are popular, simply because of the shape being slim, the textures being smooth, and of course a reflective surface. They also offer a lot of flexibility due to the different options. 

What can I use Polybags For? 

Ideally, they’re used for clothing, documents and mail, magazines and books, even pillows. However, many common types of products can be put in a polybag. They’ve since replace corrugated boxes simply because of how simple they are to use. 

Where did they Come From? 

They’ve been the slow replacement to boxes, simply because they involve less material, are far less costly on shipping, and less harmful to the planet. Like other kinds of packaging that’s flexible, they have a lower form of a carbon footprint than corrugated boxes do, and other more rigid forms of packaging. 

Polybags are preferred these days over the more traditional form of packaging, simply because they offer a lot of benefits. They also save companies a ton of money on both the products themselves, along with packaging waste for consumers to get rid of when they’re done unboxing items. 

Any Equipment Needed? 

For smaller companies, you can try the zip-lock polybags. You will have to add the seal manually however., for larger applications, you want to make sure you use the heat-sealable kinds. 

For ones which require heat sealing, you will need a bag sealer. 

This is different from other kinds of sealers such as a lap or side sealers, since this will seal it directly into the polybag by using heating to seal the sides of this. 

The sealers will hermetically seal this, and with this kind of application, the volume of your products will of course tell you the size, type, and even model of the bag. 

You can also do a vacuum seal on this too, in order to conserve space or take air out of the packaging. They can be used to help protect the product. 

Polybags are good if you’re looking to reduce your packaging costs, especially if you’re going broke using corrugated boxes. 

However, if you need something stronger, you might want to keep using your boxes, simply because polybags are ideal for less breakable items. But if you can lower your carbon footprint, and want to create a more transparent packaging for your products while also not caring about plastic, this is a great option. 

Polybags are also good for those who struggle with trying to package a lot of items at once. They do come in much more flexible sizing, so if you need that freedom, polybags are good for you. 

They’re a great packaging material, and for clothes and small items, this is a great way to package it and a good way to reduce consumption of energy.