Ways to entertain your kids with boxes

This year has been a crazy one for parents.  Many Americans have been forced to work from home and have been doing this with all their family home with them.  This has led to a new family dynamic and certainly has made life a bit tough for some families.  Understandably, it has also made life better for some families as they are able to spend more time together. Though spending time together is great, some ways to entertain your children while you work or get things done around the house is important as well.  So we have found that making crafts out of boxes is a great way to keep your kids entertained and in some cases even when you are not there.

With all the increase of online shopping our garages are full of shipping supplies and boxes.  This leaves us with tons of extra shipping supplies to make into crafts.  Yes the bubble wrap and inflatable wrapping along with the boxes all come into play.  With this extra material sitting around until trash and recycling day there are other things you can do while you wait. I think the most classic thing to do is make a box fort.

To make a box fort you will need lots of cardboard boxes.  This is usually not an issue these days since the shopping that we do is mostly online.  There is also the need to make sure these boxes can be put together and that will require tape. I suggest a real thick packing tape but that is simply the kind I buy for my house so it is already sitting around.  I like to be able to slap boxes together because they are useful for a lot of different things.  Now scissors are also another tool you will need and maybe a knife if you feel comfortable and safe using one.  But scissors will do nicely. Now that you have all the tools, find a good plan.

 

It is much more easy to make a cool structure if you don't have to think about how to do it.  Yes, some people find that to be half the fun and if it is, then do it.  Make it all up in your head and have a blast, but some of use are simply too tired to think and just want to make something quick to get your kids busy!  If this is your than youtube or google is your friend. There are so cool quick plans at your fingertips and they don't cost a thing.  Once you start putting it all together, I find I feel more like a kid and get some energy back.  It really is fun to make a cool fort and then see your kids get into it and start their own imagination stories. It is also a great way to spend 30 minutes and find that your kids will spend a few hours a day using it till it breaks down or till it is trash day.  That is a wonderful thought and a wonderful break in the day.

 

But make sure your kids are old enough to play alone. Also make sure they are old enough to use tape or scissors. If not this will all be on you. So build quickly and enjoy!

Wooden moving boxes

When it comes to shipping boxes, there is one that is great for anything too heavy for cardboard boxes. Wooden boxes are an excellent way to ship heavy goods securely. The benefits of wooden boxes for shipping are not limitless, but there are a few key factors that make them stand out. For example, wooden boxes are very sturdy, more than cardboard boxes by far. Secondly, wooden boxes are surprisingly cheap to ship, not as cheap as cardboard and plastic but close. The weight plays a role in the higher price tag. Finally, they are good for the environment as they can be constantly reused so long as they are taken care of. 

Wooden boxes are very sturdy when compared to the other shipping methods like cardboard and plastic. Since it is made out of wood, like the framing of a house, it must be strong. Most of the time, wooden boxes are used to ship heavy goods like machinery, like a car engine, for example. Because of how wooden boxes are made, they can sustain heavy vertical pressure, so they are great for stacking, creating storage for them very easy. Wooden boxes are the safest way of shipping since they are made of wood. They are very durable and will keep your package well secure and free from any bumps and breaks. 

It may be surprising to you to hear this, but wooden boxes are cheap to ship. Wood is an easily sourced material, so the demand is low. The crafting of wooden boxes is affordable and straightforward. The process to do so is not that demanding, and turning wood into boxes is cheap. Since the manufacturing cost is low, this is a cost-effective way for companies to ship goods when compared to plastic or metal. The price per trip is reduced because most boxes can be made to be reusable. This is eco-friendly as we are killing trees to make this box. When compared to cardboard, it is not as cheap, but for heavy goods to be shipped, this is a good route.

Wooden boxes are good for the environment, which is weird in a way. These boxes can be made to be reusable, so there is no waste of the material. Often times when people get a wooden box, they will turn it into a piece of furniture or a flower pot, for a few examples. Wooden boxes that are too damaged to be reused will be recycled into mulch fule and even animal bedding at times. This is good because every day there are fewer and fewer trees, so being conscious of what the material is and how it can continue to help after its usefulness if over is good for the environment. Most of the time, when a wooden shipping box is made, it is for long-term use. This means that it will have a long life of shipping, traveling the world. 

Wooden shipping boxes are the best when it comes to reusability and heavy item shipping. I am not that big of a fan of the fact wood is used for shipping, but I am glad to know that once a wooden box is made, it has a long life ahead of it. The reusability is a critical factor for this shipping method, along with the strength and low shipping cost. 

Plastic Packaging Issues and Solutions

The development of a circular economy continues to host a lot of sustainability targets for those in packaging. But the challenges do remain, and a lot of the public at large can overcome this. This was echoed through a webinar, about how the plastic recycling is creating a circular economy, where there is access to recycling and the availability for it. An investment in the recycling infrastructure is going to be met, and with more recycling plants being built to help with this, it’s something that is being considered by many people. But there are other elements to look at this. The embracement of the supply chain, the investment of the gathering and processing of materials, and a society that’s educated and motivated to reduce the plastic within landfills. 

Recycling with the EPR 

There are less than  50 recycling solutions that emanated from the US currently, with different ways to get rid of bottles, lower the recylate post-consumer, the content of such, and the responsibility of the extended producer protocols that are discussed. 

As they span  though, starting the campaign to make sure they have the least amount of recycled types of concentrate in beverage containers, and two weeks ago with Maine doing something similar, it can start to change the future of recycling in the world today. There are other states too that have started to focus their attention on chemical recycling and development, which offers the ability to transform the different plastics into a chemical feedstock, which can be remade into virgin plastics too. 

But the industrial scale type of chemical recycling remains at least five to ten years out, simply because it is still not fully integrated, and right now is considered a more complementary process to the manual recycling, and right now, this is still short and mid-term in terms of sustainability. Federal legislation may provide a framework for a single recycling solution, which would be helpful. While this is still fragmented in nature and is still a challenge. This is because a lot of recycling is now on the Midwest and east coast, with the west coast mostly scattering the facilities, since they usually ship out a lot of it to China. 

The east and Midwest don’ have the option to do it. However, there is anow another problem with this. That is that China is now not taking our plastic waste, since it’s been a few years. This can be challenging for customers and for companies, since it is hard for a brand to properly get the right materials for their brands. There are plastic converters, which are good at turning the packaging for the right specifications that each owner wants, whether it be colors, performance, layers, and the like, but it can be hard to properly recycle. 

While some are still pushing for the hard task to have the recycled plastic look just as good as virgin plastic, a lot of companies are changing the swing of things, embracing the look of recycled materials, simply because it can build their brand as well just from the existence alone. And of course, with this, it also pushes for circularity as well for a lot of people, especially those who want to push for this. 

Many customers, and a lot of brands are looking to change all of this, and there are a lot of great things that can happen over time when you’re looking to get the right plastic packaging. It’s a struggle, but hopefully we not only see some major changes in the future, but companies implement other types of items as well to help with this too. 

Selling on eBay in 2020

There are a lot of amazing things about being able to sell things online.  I love the ability to pocket some extra cash when I find an item that I don't use any more.  There are a few things to know about selling online before you just jump right in because if you are not smart you may end up losing money instead of making some when you sell on eBay.  It happens all the time and it is not because people are dumb, but because no one told them what actually goes on when you sell online and how things work.  There is a lot to take into account and if you don't run a business, you basically are about to do it on a tiny scale when you sell on eBay. So today I want to go over some basics from how it works to getting shipping supplies so you don't find yourself losing money when you should be making some extra running around cash.

The first thing to know is that eBay is not free.  Well it certainly looks like it is free to log on and even post your item.  But when it all comes down to it. eBay makes a fee from every single item sold.  Most of the items are listed for free up to a certain point, but then they take 10% of the sale price.  That means that if you sell an item for 100 dollars that eBay will charge you 10 dollars at the end of the month.  So now what you really made was 90 dollars.  But wait there is also more.  There is a 3% fee from PayPal for every single transaction.  so now your 100 dollar sale only gets you 87 dollars.  That is on every single sale that you do.  So make sure that you are taking that loss into effect. But not only do you lose money on that end there is also another fee that always occurs as well.

When you finally sell your item you now have to ship it.  This means that you have to pay the post office or UPS to go and ship your item.  But how do you do that? Well, now you must actually package your item to ship safely.  This costs money as well.  You must get shipping supplies to package your item up and get it to the buyer.  So this could be 10 dollars in a box, 10 dollars, in shipping fees, and a few bucks for tape and labels.  Wow did you just spend 33 dollars after the purchase?  That is a 33% loss. That is a lot of money and if you do this every single time you may end up spending 33 dollars on an item that you only sold for 30 dollars. 

  Get it, it could cost you money to sell on eBay.  So be knowledgeable about those fees and try to find shipping supplies at a lowered cost in order to be able to sell happily.  Use old boxes that are lying around and try to find old stuffing or newspapers to fill the gaps so the items do not get destroyed in shipping.  These are all important things to know and to prepare for when you sell online.

Resealable and Zip Top Poly Bags for Retail

Lots of companies are not just using poly bags to carry items, but they’re adding new features that benefit their customers. One example of this, is a resealable poly bag, which means you can zip this up again to hold onto the item if you plan to keep it around for a while. 

There’s also zip top poly bags, where for the resealing purposes you lite

rally just have to zip it up again and you’re there. 

The wealth of benefits is apparent, especially in the world of food, fashion, and even small parts, as it keeps everything in place, can make it last longer for a lot of customers, and even makes it simpler for you to use. 

These days, resealable bags are in, and here, we’ll go over why that is, and the many benefits of these types of bags. 

How it enhances the Customer Experience. 

Being able to reseal your items isn’t just good for those who are buying now, but it works well for future-proofing your items.   When customers are able to keep their packaging in a unique place, it enhances the overall customer experience, since they’ll be able to use this again. Unlike other types of packaging which only focuses on building one-use items, the resealing tells your customers that you’re able to improve the experience, and it can improve the overall way customers see your packaging.    

When a customer can use this again, they see that there’s more use in this than just for one application.   If you’re someone who is looking to sell items that need to be reused, then you’re in luck, because it will offer you high-quality, useful designs that are perfect to seal and reseal your items. 

Types of Resealable Poly Bags 

Poly bags come in opaque or transparent resealable poly bags. The transparent ones are great because while you can have them nicely packaged, making it see-though will help those who buy from you get an idea of the product inside. It’s great for food types of bags, because you’ll be able to improve the food that’s in there, and make it even better for customers. 

Opaque ones offer the benefit of security. With better security, customers get a better peace of mind from such actions. It works out well, because it can help with the sealing aspects. Making it not stand out as much will help to improve the experience for customers, and can also keep stuff that causes spoilage like UV rays away, allowing for better freshness. 

Child-Resistant Pouches 

These pouches even offer child-resistant locks and seals. Some have locks that you can click onto them, which is great for if you’re worried about the item being opened and the contents spilling. 

Keeping kids out of stuff they shouldn’t be having is good. A lot of products such as tobacco and cannabis use this because it offers a stronger safeguard against children. 

This innovation is great for resealable pouches simply because it takes out the possibility of a kid getting into something they shouldn’t. 

Storage Convenance Sells 

Storage made convenient isn’t just a nice suggestion—it sells.   Many people who use these resealable storage bags are able to use the items again and again, thereby making it a selling point. 

For a lot of businesses, adding repeatability to your packaging is a good way to get more interest. Sometimes, for food items, it makes or breaks it, so don’t be afraid to use this to make sure that you’re getting the most that you can out of this packaging.

How to Create Circular Economy Packaging

Circular economies focus on keeping the product packaging alive, and when virgin materials are used, they are incorporated in a more sustainable manner. That way, when it’s done, it can continue to be used.

This optimizes the materials, and it can help with improving the way your packaging is handled at the end of the life cycle. Overall packaging gets reduced with this, and the packaging is less single-use, but instead more recyclable and cost-potable for people.

Circular packaging fits into the circular economy because you want to reduce the materials, and properly design them so that you’re using less resources, and also helps with recapturing waste so that it’s used. 

What Packaging in a Circular Economy entails 

Packaging for circular economies has a specific need for it. 

The goal: to reduce the waste you make and also helps with also conserving the resources.  When designing this, you should focus on the utilization of reusable and recyclable materials. 

Biodegradable items, such as mushroom and cornstarch packaging, might be used in place of plastics to make it better for a person to use.   Recycling might entail using corrugated boxes with water-activated tape, instead of the plastic tape. 

The packaging for this also needs to be designed in a manner where the raw materials are extracted, then processed, and crates items.   There is a flow of materials that goes into this, with the goal of improving and extending your product and packaging.

For instance, reusing a box is one way to do this. redesigning boxes so that they’re smaller and more compact also is something that’s used in a lot of cases. 

Food packaging is another one that some people use.   Biodegradable moisture barriers, and various ways to keep the packaging fresh and withstanding extreme temperatures are used.   There are plenty of variables, and different limitations to packaging, but it’s important that it fits the functionality that it’s designed to make. 

Moving from plastic to glass is another. While it might not seem circular, it is, because you can reuse glass. 

Why Use circular Packaging 

Circular packaging has a lot of benefits to it. The first is that it reduces the waste that we have. With our oceans filling up fast, it’s important to also look at the different ways we can be sustainable in this world. It makes a huge difference, and also reduces the use for resources. 

It conserves resources too. This keeps costs down for a lot of companies. for instance, instead of throwing a bunch of packing peanuts made from plastic, reducing the vid fill as needed and choosing cornstarch types of products are a good way to mitigate this.

The second reason is your brand and reputation. Companies love it when you’re able to use better, more eco friendly types of packaging. It enhances the overall brand reputation, and the sustainability of the items. Through this, you’ll be able to bolster your own wellness and happiness. 

There are tons of companies jumping on this, and with emergent technology such as freshness sensors and QR codes instead of inserts, many companies are working towards this. 

We are also seeing more packaging made from recycled materials, such as boxes and paper.   Paper is the current best friend of a lot of people, and for most companies, turning towards paper products plays a huge part.

With more and more brands becoming aware of the circular economy, there are new changes to make it easier to access and educate customers, and also helps them get involved in now just the tossing, but the optimization of your materials too.

How to Run an Ecommerce Business Smart, not Hard

If you’re always dragging when trying to run a business, you’re not alone. This is something most people struggle with, because they get into the hot seat, and then, they’re trying to do everything themselves. But there are ways to make it easier, especially if the ecommerce brand and business is a big one. Here are ways to run your business smarter, not harder, and work better as a brand.

Delegate stuff You Don’t Want to Do 

Do you hate answering emails? Or maybe the idea of writing up new content absolutely stinks? Maybe it’s time for you to delegate it to someone else. There are plenty of people who can do this for you, whether in your business itself, or outsourced from another location. This is great because it helps you get the most things done, and so many people don’t realize just how much time and effort this ends up saving, so it can be wonderful for your business too! 

Use CRM 

CRM or customer relationship management software is a way for you to look at the way your customers act, their various behaviors, and what services you can offer.  There are different ways to organize all of this into various groups, which fit with the different needs, projects, and the types of people you’re dealing with. You can always use the CRM to create different tasks and reminders that are triggered the moment certain types of conditions happen. For instance, when customers get added to the lists, or if someone hasn’t logged in for a certain period of time, you can send them texts and emails whenever this happens. 

The Tools of the Trade 

If you haven’t already put these in place, use the tools that are there. There are different reminder triggers you can put in, and they’ll help you with getting properly organized so that things get done. Organization tools are about to be your best friends, as they let you maintain the system, and stay ahead of the game. Remember, if people are managing everything, you could’ve assigned it to someone else. 

That way though, if you have a system in place, you can also have it set up so a person handles one aspect of this, before it’s sent to another person. Asana, Notion, and the like are different management types of apps that will allow you to create new projects for people to use and assess different tasks as well.

Be Aware when You Need Breaks 

Finally, if you start to notice this, you should start taking a break. Remember, if you’re already running on empty, if you’re constantly trying to push past this hurdle, you’re never going to be happy. Taking breaks actually are amazing for production, and there is no shame in taking a little bit of time in order to get a break in.

Even if you take a break for 30 or so minutes, this reduces the anxiety and stress that you get, boosts the performance, and it can make you feel good. Sometimes, a break is needed, and it’ll actually boost the different performances that you have during work, so don’t be afraid to start taking breaks whenever you need to.

Some of the top people in the field tend to get this way by working smarter, not harder, and if you’re someone who feels incredibly overwhelmed, or who needs a break, and feels like they’re about to scream, then it’s time for you to start looking at different ways you can work smarter, and ways to stop overworking.