Woman shares brilliant way to repurpose leftover gift box lids: 'Definitely trying this'

A TikToker shared a genius hack to extend the life of old gift boxes in an unexpected and creative way. 

The scoop

TikToker Mari (@ny71222) shared a gift-wrapping hack to help you save money on boxes by turning each half of a gift box into its own smaller box. 

@ny71222 say goodbye to leftover gift box lids! I use this hack every year. #hacks #wrappinghacks #christmashacks #giftwrappinghacks #wrappinggifts ♬ Run, Rudolph Run - Chuck Berry

In the video, she takes half a box and folds it over twice, stopping the fold just before the inner edge of the side of the box before cutting notches out of the center of the edge to give it space to fold properly. 

This creates an entirely new box out of the half box you were using, essentially doubling the number of smaller gift boxes you have and allowing you to repurpose old boxes to have new life. 

How it's helping

While cardboard has a lower environmental impact than other packaging materials, most notably plastic, that doesn't mean its impact is nonexistent. Manufacturing about 1.1 tons of cardboard generates 1,186 pounds of carbon dioxide, and in the United States alone, around 90% of products are shipped in cardboard, per GreenMatch. 

It is an easily recycled material in most cases, but by reusing it, you're helping to extend its lifespan and also reducing the amount of energy required to recycle it. 

Using this hack is also a great way to save money and spare you the endless hassle of trying to find gift boxes when you need them. Now, by saving your old ones, you have built-in boxes ready to go whenever you need them. As long as the boxes are still in good shape, they can continue to be reused indefinitely, keeping them out of landfills for as long as possible. 

What everyone's saying

Commenters absolutely loved this idea. 

"I [am] definitely trying this," one said. 

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"Well this videos [sic] about to come in handy," said another. 

"Thank you!!" another said. "Your [sic] right I didn't know." 

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