There are countless ways to save money and reuse items around your home. You can reuse everything from pickle brine to juice lids. One clever business owner found a way to create mailer envelopes from old paper bags.
The scoop
Distortables (@distortables) is a clothing and jewelry designer and a reseller on Depop. Having an online store comes with the need to mail items nationwide. In a viral Instagram video with nearly 150,000 likes, they showed viewers how to make a flat mailer from a paper shopping bag.
In the clip, Distortables explains that you start by taking the handles off the paper bag to have a nice flat surface. Next, you tape down all the seams on the bottom of the bag to make sure they don't come undone. After you secure the bottom, you can add in your items to ship, then fold down the top of the bag and tape it shut to secure. If your item is slim, you can also tape down the flap if you don't need extra space in your mailer.
How it's working
Tips like this help you save money while creating a little less waste. Reusing items you already have on hand will almost always be cheaper than buying new things. Plus, repurposing items can give them new life before you recycle them.
Using recycled mailers to send pre-loved clothing is a reuse double whammy. Selling your old clothes can give them a new life with someone else while making you money and decluttering your home.Â
If you send a lot of mail, this hack could save you plenty of money. Each mailer at USPS costs between $5 and $10 dollars.
What people are saying
Commenters were excited to learn this cheap way to mail items. One person said, "Yesss no more purchasing a $5 mailer every time something I thrift doesn't fit and I have to sell it on Depop."
Someone else wrote, "Why did I not know we were allowed to make our own mailers?"
Another business owner gave their own experience, "I do this for my small biz too I love sustainable packaging."
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