Encourage Creativity with a DIY Kid’s Craft Box from Recycled Materials

Encourage creativity, design, problem-solving, and engineering with an inexpensive kid’s craft box made from gathered, recycled materials, and inexpensive additions.

They say kids get more enjoyment out of the cardboard box than the gift, and while it’s meant to be a joke, I’ve found there’s a lot of truth to the saying.

My kids fight over cardboard boxes. Especially larger ones. Because you can do a LOT with a box. Or a container. Or a jar.

Boxes aren’t just fun; they are essential for learning.

Having access to what is known as ‘construction play’ is super important for developing our understanding of how the world works, our creativity, and our problem-solving skills. One of my favourite TED Talks is by a designer who talks about the importance of ‘thinking with your hands’, not just for kids, but for adults as well.

This is where a kid’s recycled craft box comes in. Gathering boxes, containers, and other bits and pieces and having them available for kids to create with, encourages that all-important construction play.

I started a recycled craft box when my son was a toddler. He is now in high school and my daughter is in primary school and these items are STILL useful to have on hand for school projects, Scout/Girl Guide activities, when we’re stuck at home (lockdown, illness, school closures due to weather), school holidays, and wet weekends.

Want some ideas of what to collect for your recycled craft box? Keep reading below.

You might also like: Essential Kid’s Art and Craft Supplies

Recycled Items to Put in Your Craft Box

What you add to your recycled craft box will depend on what you have on hand and how old your children are. Some ideas include:

• Cardboard boxes of various sizes
• Tin cans
• Egg cartons
• Plastic containers
• Jars
• Lids/Caps (milk, soft drink, yoghurt pouch lids etc.)
• Old wrapping paper and tissue paper
• Junk mail
• Scrap paper
• Foil chocolate/sweet wrappers
• Old magazines
• Toiletpaper rolls and paper towel rolls
• Bits of ribbon
• Scrap fabric (including rags from old clothes)
• Old buttons
• Old wire coat hangers
• Rubber bands
• Packaging foam
• Plastic utensils
• Corks
• Spools

Other Free Things That Make Great Craft Items

• Leaves
• Twigs
• Small rocks
• Seeds and seed pods
• Shells
• Dry pasta
• Dried lentils and beans

Inexpensive Craft Items to Round Out Your Recycled Craft Box

If you’re lucky, you might have a reverse garbage centre/resource recovery centre/salvage centre/recycled junk centre near you. These are an absolute TREASURE TROVE of random stuff for kids and adults alike.

Secondhand stores are another place to find inexpensive craft supplies. Things to look out for include:

• Donated art and craft supplies, pencils, crayons etc.
• Old bits of lace
• Fabric
• Stationery
• Beads
• Secondhand picture frames
• Photo albums
• Lever arch files or file boxes to store the art

In order to build and craft, you will need a few inexpensive but important supplies to round out your box. These include:

• Masking tape
• Scissors
• Glue
• Paint/markers/crayons
• Hole punch
• String/wool
• Sponges
• paper straws/bamboo skewers

Storing Your Recycled Items For Craft

To avoid junk taking over your house (our house sometimes looks like an episode of Hoarders, so I’m speaking from experience) you want to LIMIT and CONTAIN the number of recycled items you keep.

A few boxes, a couple of egg cartons, a couple of toilet rolls – the rest can go in the recycling bin. The good news is that limits actually increase creativity because you’re forced to problem solve with what you have on hand.

A natural limit is to keep all your recycled craft items in one box. An old greengrocer’s box is perfect (and free). That’s just enough junk to get creative without egg cartons taking over the whole house.

Here are some tips for recycled craft materials:

• Wash containers thoroughly and dry
• Avoid containers that had toxic substances in them like cleaning products.
• Check that tin cans don’t have sharp rims
• Avoid pressurised spray bottles
• Break down boxes so they store more easily. They can be reconstructed later.

Where to Find Recycled Craft Ideas

Ideally, you WON’T look for craft ideas.

Encouraging creativity means stepping back and letting the kids work things out. Kids tend to be more creative than us adults, anyway.

But if you would like some inspiration, Pinterest is a great place to look and there are a bazillion craft ideas on Google – just search recycled craft ideas for kids.

And here are some posts on Frugal and Thriving:

• Ideas for recycled jars
• Upcycled toilet roll ideas

Gift Idea: DIY Craft Kit for Kids

What to Do with all the Kid’s Craft Projects

I mentioned how junk can take over the home if you collect too much of it, well kid’s crafts can also take over. It’s great kids are creating, but what do you do with all their projects?

Here are some ideas that I’ve found useful over the years:

• Have a space to showcase their craft projects. This might be a wall where you can hang things, the fridge, or a shelf on a bookshelf to display projects.
• Keep a lever arch file or box where absolute favourite arts and crafts can be stored. When it gets full, let kids sort through it and whittle down their absolute favourites.
• After a set time of your choice, have a cleanout and let kids recycle old craft projects.
• Take photos of projects and have a special folder on your phone or computer just for craft photos. It’s easier for kids to let go if they know there is a photo for prosperity. Although I’ve found they rarely go back to look at the pictures, the fact you’re willing to take a photo shows you do care about their creations and you’re not just tossing their hard work out as garbage.
• If you’re inclined, you can create a digital scrapbook of their best artworks.