Cardboard Box Play - A Favourite Low-Waste Sustainable Children's Activity

I was chatting with a relatively new mum recently about toys. Not which ones were trending, which brand had the best reviews or what was on sale, but how to raise children without feeling like you need to constantly buy more stuff. It's a conversation I seem to have a lot these days, and I love where it always ends up.

We talked about toy libraries (one of my favourite community resources), the treasure hunts that are op shops, toys handed down from friends and cousins, the gems found on Facebook Marketplace, and the magic of imaginative play where a wooden spoon can become a microphone, a sword or a magic wand depending on the day. I shared some of the skills I've picked up over the past nine years too, from fixing broken toys instead of replacing them to giving tired treasures a second life with a bit of upcycling.

Then I mentioned the toy that has quietly outlasted almost everything else in our house. A regular 'ol cardboard box.

Her face lit up immediately. Before I could say another word, she was telling me about all the cardboard box adventures from her own childhood. It's funny how a simple box seems to unlock memories for almost everyone.

Our house has had so many cardboard box creations over the years that they've become part of the furniture. They're so normal that I sometimes forget how brilliant they are. We often collect cardboard boxes them from our local green grocer or will scout our local Facebook group for the extra big ones.

A cardboard box has been a:

• cubby house
• pirate ship,
• rocket
• race car
• dinosaur cave
• car mat
• car tracks/roads
• sleigh ride for teddy bears
• cars and trucks
• multilevel car park with working elevators (I was very proud of this one and sad I have no photo)
• a city which we can knock down with homemade rice bags (a fun idea from a party kit hire customer)

Some lasted an afternoon. Others survived for weeks, covered in paper tape, painted with enthusiasm and many scribbles. Eventually, when the adventure is over they headed into the recycling or compost/garden, ready for their next life.

To keep our creations easy to dismantle for compost or recycling or for more toy building I use paper fasteners/split pins, paper tape, homemade glue, string. We usually decorate with pencils or waxed crayons.

We did use up some very old acrylic paints that had been sitting around since my university days. Once those tubes were empty, I decided not to replace them, as acrylic paint is plastic-based and I wanted to avoid introducing more plastic into our craft supplies.

If your cardboard creations have been decorated with acrylic paint, they can still be recycled just avoid adding them to the compost. The same goes for any plastic decorations, stickers or embellishments. Where possible, remove these before recycling, as they don't belong in the garden or compost pile. It's a small reminder that even our craft choices can have an impact. Sometimes it's not about throwing everything out and starting again, but using what we already have and making more thoughtful choices next time.

I also love and prioritise cardboard boxes to store toys in rather than buy plastic tubs for organising. The ones my local green grocer gets their apples in are particular handy as they stack well and last a long time.

If you are needing inspiration to get started check your local library for books on cardboard play. There are no doubt boundless ideas on blogs and youtube, but I have found just letting our imaginations run wild to be the most fun.

Playing with cardboard is lovely reminder that children don't see waste, they often see possibility. Something I know many of us adults could learn from. After all, isn't this how we have ended up with so much waste because we don't see possibility?

What I have enjoyed the most is showing my kids how we can get joy from anything and not from a boxed item on a shelf, while also learning about the fun of upcycling. A piece of cardboard does not come with instructions or one very specific purpose. One day it's a bed for a teddy bear, the next it's a race car, and the day after decorated to be something different. I suspect every family has a cardboard box story.

For me, it's a nice reminder that creating less waste doesn't have to mean creating less fun or feel as if we are missing out. Sometimes the best things to play with are already in the house, quietly waiting to be imagined into something new. The humble cardboard box has certainly earned its place in ours! What about yours?