I’ve been bugged by Jenn and others to write posts on the blog for a long time, but I didn’t want to have to figure out what to write about while staying somewhat on topic. So the obvious solution was to write about random things in the warehouse. Warehouse roulette! To make it fun and very random, I put all of the warehouse locations in a box, mixed it up and drew a location.
I know I said it before, but I really should start playing the lottery (even if it is a tax on those that can’t do math, or statistics). A couple of weeks ago I pushed through a blog post after having the flaming-stick-from-hell stuck up my nose to confirm I had Influenza A. For some people, having the flu can also lead to pneumonia and of course, I ended up with pneumonia after I thought I was finally getting over the flu. After a week of antibiotics and finally feeling like I was actually not sick, I caught something else. This week I’ve been fighting off whatever cold virus is going around that feels like, looks like and sucks like strep, but isn’t strep. After the flu test, the strep test was cake, but it was negative. That’s one of those good bad things. It’s good because strep can be tough to get rid of, but it’s bad because I can’t just take more antibiotics and kill it off. So, here I write another blog post on the upswing after being sick earlier in the week. It was 85 degrees here in St. Louis today, so I hope we’re finally over all of the sickies. Somehow our kids managed to avoid it all (knock on wood), how have you fared? A lot of families/places were just decimated with illness this last couple of weeks. One last hurrah before spring and…. allergies! Yay!
So what did I draw this week? Boxes. Yup, boxes. Bundles of small boxes on the shelf. To make it a little more exciting, there were even a couple rolls of liquid warning labels and a roll of priority mail tape. Yippee!
Boxes are one of those things that make the world go ‘round. Everyone has seen one, used one, has one, dreamed of one, smashed one, lit one on fire or drawn smiley faces on one to use as target practice. If you have little kids and don’t know what to get them for Christmas or their birthday or just want to make their day, get them a big empty box. The bigger the box, the more exciting and thrilling it is (you can watch the full Spongebob “Idiot Box” episode by clicking here, it’s actually really funny). Kids love empty boxes. Back when Cotton Babies was run out of our master bedroom, I would save the big boxes the diaper pails came in and turn it into a house for Andrew (he was almost two). It wasn’t just a box turned on it’s side. No, me being me, I had to cut out four-pane windows that would swing open on a hinge, and a front door he could open and close. It was tons of fun and Andrew had a blast playing in it too. Even smaller boxes are fun. Andrew (who is nine now) was pushing Elsie (very three) around the kitchen in a box like it was a race car a few weeks ago. Weee! Weee! Weee!
The boxes in this location aren’t that big tho. These are small boxes and free priority mail boxes. The free priority mail boxes are a heck of a deal. All of the free packaging from the Postal Service is a great deal. Where else can you get all the boxes you need for free and shipped free? They even have free priority mail tape and stickers, so if you still have to use a plain ol’ box and ship something priority, you can use free tape and stickers to identify it as priority mail. Back in the day, we would have one set of tape guns with regular tape and another set with priority tape and tape all of the free priority boxes with free tape. It was amazing how much we could get into one of those boxes and not have it burst open.
There were even some companies that would turn the free boxes and Tyvek envelopes inside out and ship them UPS of FedEx. We never did that since it was more than a little dishonest. It’s actually a big no-no (federal crime) and you could get in big trouble with the Postal Police if you get caught doing it (and keep doing it). It must have turned into a big enough problem tho, because now the boxes are printed on both sides and you can’t turn them inside out to reuse them.
Boxes bOxes boXes. Oh, have you ever moved? One of the biggest bummers with physical book stores going out of business is the loss of the best boxes for moving. Book boxes are the perfect size and they are all the same size. They aren’t so big you’ll over load them, but they aren’t so small they are difficult to use. Since they’re all the same size, they pack like bricks in the moving truck and are free if you pull them out of the dumpster (or just ask the manager to save them for you). We’ve used them for a couple of moves. So if you happen to have book store still open near you and need boxes for moving, go talk to the manager. They work great!
— Jimmy
“Keep smiling, it makes everyone wonder what you’re up to.”
copyright 2012 Cotton Babies, Inc – Bundles of Joy
Comments
2 Comments
I get why they don’t want you to use priority boxes again (it would be confusing).. but once you turn them inside out, who would know? Also.. if they’re FREE from the post office, why not encourage recycling? Probably 1/4 of what I’ve gotten in ‘bags’ has been reused by a company. I had no idea that you weren’t supposed to turn them inside out. We’ve never run across an issue re-using anything. Weird.
While moving tips are being discussed, Egg Boxes are also awesome. If you go to your local grocer you can usually get a bunch for free as well. Although sometimes they make you break them down yourself. Either way, same benefits, not too big so you don’t over pack, and FREE! Egg boxes even have a nice divider in the center in some of them. Score!