Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

My annual "Keep the boxes from your Christmas sweaters!" thread

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • My annual "Keep the boxes from your Christmas sweaters!" thread

    Like the title says, keep those white card-stock boxes you got shirts, ties, pants and sweaters in. Keep the biggest of them and leave it alone. Take all the other ones and cut the large flat part out of the top and bottom. You've now got several flat pieces of stiff cardstock stored in a big box. It's perfect for making templates and patterns. It cuts easily with a scissors, lines don't bleed with markers or pens, it folds easily and holds a shape. Much better than corrugated cardboard boxes, or paper.

    I suppose cereal boxes would do the same thing too, but I always think about it when I'm stuffing garbage bags into the can around Christmas.

    -Brad

  • #2
    Re: My annual "Keep the boxes from your Christmas sweaters!" thread

    I save the cardboard dividers from the 30 packs of Miller High Life - cut them to size as needed for spray painting or trim painting windows, trim, along the edge of the deck of the house. I got lots of them too.
    Phil / Omaha

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: My annual "Keep the boxes from your Christmas sweaters!" thread

      I only get black pocket T shirts and they dont come in
      them boxes, but I do use the card board seperater
      that comes in gasket sets If I need more ill go over
      and raid moms christmas box collection.
      COBEY..... franklin, kansas

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: My annual "Keep the boxes from your Christmas sweaters!" thread

        Not wanting to run to the auto part store, I made an intake/carb gasket out of a beer box once, it worked.
        Originally posted by TC
        also boost will make the cam act smaller

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: My annual "Keep the boxes from your Christmas sweaters!" thread

          Brad, your'e right that stuff is usefull.
          But please forgive me if consider taking the opposite tack.
          I'm trying to train myself to throw things away without remorse.
          It's hard. I have been saving so much junk for so many years:

          I don't remember what I have;
          I don't remember where it is;
          I don't remember why I saved it in the first place;
          I don't have room for the good stuff.

          Now I need to save sweater boxes.
          Oh well, maybe if I look in the trunk of that old Malibu behind the barn I could find a spot for them..... ;D

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: My annual "Keep the boxes from your Christmas sweaters!" thread

            Originally posted by A/Fuel
            Not wanting to run to the auto part store, I made an intake/carb gasket out of a beer box once, it worked.
            Made a head gasket for a model airplane .040 glow plug engine out a piece of a Coors Light carton. Perfect - not-too-thick cardboard and a sort of tin-foil coating on one side - perfect. It held up, too. Was a real bitch doing that kind of precision cutting on the cardboard with an Xacto knife, though. Lucky I didn't take stitches. Wouldn't try it again for safety reasons alone.

            And yeah, I just didn't want to go to the (hobby) store at the time, which was cities away.
            Charter member of the Turd Nuggets

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: My annual "Keep the boxes from your Christmas sweaters!" thread

              I don't need to save up on the boxes though, I pretty much get them all the time. I wonder if it's reasons like that Brad54 can't fit his car in his 32x40 garage, lol.....
              Originally posted by TC
              also boost will make the cam act smaller

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: My annual "Keep the boxes from your Christmas sweaters!" thread

                There's a lot to be said for keeping lots of stuff for sentimental reasons if the real, deep reason is really there.

                Sue Unit was looking for a place to stage Christmas decorations in the house, before she really put them up a few weeks ago. She was moving them from the garage into the house to have them at arm's length where she could get at them easy.

                She opened up a closet in the house, and my hat collection poured out. Ya know, bill caps, baseball-style caps with company or sports logos on them? Somebody would give me one and I'd keep it because it was a gift.

                I hadn't seen or looked at them, let alone worn them in 30 years, and who can wear 35 caps anyhow? It was easy for me - these things are going to the garbage. I had the whole armload going outside with them and Unit was chasing behind saying, "Wait! Let's at least give them to Goodwill!"

                I stopped in my tracks. Okay. We stuffed them all into a kitchen garbage bag and she took them to Goodwill the next day. Maybe somebody can use them. I can deal with that.

                So now there's some indigent person strutting around on the street wearing a mashed-up moldy "Darrell Waltrip Drives for Budweiser" hat, thinking he's really got something.

                Charter member of the Turd Nuggets

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: My annual "Keep the boxes from your Christmas sweaters!" thread

                  PeeWee, yer a stitch! Nothin' like a moldy NASCAR hat if you're an indigent redneck.

                  I do not save old sweater boxes - no place in this house as there is no basement. However, I learned that you can go to the crafts store (Michael's or AC Moore here in town) and buy vast sheets of this stuff. That way you don't have to store it when you don't need it and your patterns don't have folds in them. It works especially well when making patterns for BIG stuff. The boxes and no-longer-needed patterns go in the recycle when done. Just a thought.

                  Dan

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: My annual "Keep the boxes from your Christmas sweaters!" thread

                    Originally posted by A/Fuel
                    I don't need to save up on the boxes though, I pretty much get them all the time. I wonder if it's reasons like that Brad54 can't fit his car in his 32x40 garage, lol.....
                    The problem is that I did EXACTLY what I told myself I wouldn't do... I built the shop, and then was going to finish it myself. Before I got the wires run, the insulation up and the walls sheeted, I started working on cars in it.

                    There is a 10x32 work area along one wall, but it isn't wired or insulated. Instead, it's storage for big, heavy things. Along the opposite wall, all the wiring is in, the wall is sheeted, and my work bench, shelves, tool box, parts washer, hydraulic press, grinder and Coke machine are lined up against it. Leaving exactly 18 inches of walking room between the gasser and the tools... not good working conditions. Oh, and there are only 2 bare bulbs on the ceiling for lights.
                    '56 Chevy, '57 Chevy completely apart and the inevitable spare parts that go with 'em. '54 Buick on jack stands with 3 engines, two complete transmission assemblies, and some other spares. Fenders, inner fenders, doors and 60/40 split bench and rear bench for '62 Suburban.

                    Oh, and the Duster that just came apart for a frame-off.

                    I hear if you actually start bolting pieces back on a vehicle, you eventually find shop space too.

                    Haven't tried it yet, but I'll let you know how it turns out if I ever get around to it.

                    -Brad

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: My annual "Keep the boxes from your Christmas sweaters!" thread

                      Originally posted by DanStokes
                      PeeWee, yer a stitch! Nothin' like a moldy NASCAR hat if you're an indigent redneck.

                      I do not save old sweater boxes - no place in this house as there is no basement. However, I learned that you can go to the crafts store (Michael's or AC Moore here in town) and buy vast sheets of this stuff. That way you don't have to store it when you don't need it and your patterns don't have folds in them. It works especially well when making patterns for BIG stuff. The boxes and no-longer-needed patterns go in the recycle when done. Just a thought.

                      Dan

                      Right, you stand the risk of losing your man card for two reasons 1) that you went into a craft store and admitted it; and/or 2) that you even know what's in a craft store ;D ;D ;D
                      Doing it all wrong since 1966

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: My annual "Keep the boxes from your Christmas sweaters!" thread

                        Brad - I feel your pain - I sort of did the same thing. I still have areas that are un insulated and as Gene can attest - I've had roll up doors behind the shop for years waiting for the right opportunity to put them up and rid myself of the hassle of the impossible to seal slider doors.

                        One thing at a time.... it's hard to do sometimes!

                        Back on target - I'm guilty of saving too many boxes already - they come in so damned handy when you need them!
                        There's always something new to learn.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: My annual "Keep the boxes from your Christmas sweaters!" thread

                          Originally posted by milner351

                          Back on target - I'm guilty of saving too many boxes already - they come in so damned handy when you need them!
                          That's the beauty of cutting the flat top and bottom out of the box halves--you're only keeping and storing a bunch of flat sheets, and one single box to store them in. Heck, if you've got a big tool box, you can put the storage box in it. I keep it under my work bench.

                          I've got a whole shop full of "Too good to throw away, but not good enough to keep," so I'm trying to add only things that will see real use, and don't take up a whole lot of space. Well, and any tool I come across. And rare parts, even if I don't have a project they'll fit on. And screaming deals that are too good to pass up. And spare parts for vehicles I have because you never know when you'll have an accident and need a replacement fender or tail light lens.

                          -Brad

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: My annual "Keep the boxes from your Christmas sweaters!" thread

                            Brad - we are cut from the same cloth.... one of the goals I've started working on is giving things away or selling things whenever the opportunity presents itself, and bartering / trading whenever possible as well....
                            There's always something new to learn.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: My annual "Keep the boxes from your Christmas sweaters!" thread

                              I'm not worried about my man card. ME's happy and that's all that counts.

                              As far as the craft store thing - she frequents them often - I frequent them rarely. They have some good stuff for car guys, like the afore-mentioned cardboard and foam core, which is useful for all sorts of mock-ups (that's how I figured out my spoiler). Also one of the few places to have China markers these days - great for marking metal for layout, laying out stripes, and all sorts of other stuff. The office supply stores around here only have black which is pretty much worthless on steel.

                              So I'm a real he-man - and I've been known to go in a craft store for car stuff.

                              Dan

                              Originally posted by Buickguy


                              Right, you stand the risk of losing your man card for two reasons 1) that you went into a craft store and admitted it; and/or 2) that you even know what's in a craft store ;D ;D ;D

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X