Waste Not, Want Not: craft your own Technology box

This crafty little hack is less about artistic skill – at least not with cardboard. Rather, this is a great way to tap into the art of conversation, especially around the dinner table.

The rules are simple!

1. Cut a letterbox shaped hole on the top of your cardboard box.
2. Decorate your masterpiece as you see fit.
3. Using a small rectangle of cardboard with a few tacks or pins (the ones that open up when pushed through something are ideal!), close the open top flaps.
4. Place box at the entrance to the dinner table, and surrender your device before you sit down!
5. Enjoy the smiling faces of those around you as you savour the present and immediate nature of life.

We all know how wonderful our shiny pocket computers are, and equally we all know how hard it is to pull ourselves away from them. Putting the little blighters in a temporary money bank style prison is just thing to save you from the temptation of falling headfirst into a spiral of glowing screen distractions.

Just like a money bank, we think you might even be pleasantly surprised both at the great conversation you can enjoy during the dinner, and the savings (battery wise) you will have accrued while you gave the phone a rest.

So give it a try! Take a break from the phone and see whether you feel a little more relaxed for it.

Last week, we received a joyous submission from HelloFresher Chiya who’s found their old HelloFresh boxes make a perfect rabbit run for their special furry guy: “Here’s a picture of my bunny “Master Roshi” playing in his growing mansion of Hello Fresh Boxes! They’re great because he can chew them to death and it won’t harm him!”

Make sure you share your hare-brained (no pun intended) schemes to upcycle your boxes with us on Facebook, Instagram of Twitter. We’d love to see them!