In our world, you can send messages and communication instantly, and with more and more people shipping packages, especially with the advent of online shopping, a big part of this is protection of the packaging. People don’t think about this, but the USPS and other delivery services are not the best with protecting packages, and sometimes, people get their items ruined. But, with the right inside options, you’ll be able to protect the items that you’re shipping to others without it breaking the bank either.
Packaging Peanuts
This is something that’s pretty typical to use for filler, and children love these because of the static nature of them, and how they’re able to move onto their clothes, and also tossing them around. They are light, but the one downside to this is that they don’t break down and help the environment.
However, they’re good for protecting everything, and if you get non-Styrofoam options, they’re not going to just end up taking a bunch of space in a landfill for a millennium. If you do get these, the best way to utilize packaging peanuts is to just put them in another package to ship these out. You’ll want to go for cornstarch too, since these are considered biodegradable packaging peanuts and work well in protecting the package that’s being shipped out. However, they do usually take a bit more space and are a little bit heavier.
Newspaper
This is a great filler item because it can be broken down, and it’s versatile too, since you can crinkle, shred it, or wrap an item in it. You do want to be mindful of the ink though on this, since it can ruin a gift since it can get onto there, and then you’ve got ink all over the item.
Bubble Wrapping
This is basically a sheet of plastic put together with another sheet, with bubbles of air trapped between each side of this, and it’s something that can pop too. This is used to absorb the impact, or if the object hits something, the bubbles of air provide a cushion towards the object too. Usually, it also takes a bit of energy to hit this, but the bubbles protect the item from impact instead of having the item directly touching it. This is efficient to protect, but the one downside is that it also is not environmentally friendly. You should try to reuse or recycle this as much as you can, or also look to see if there are any ways to recycle them if you get the chance.
Tips for Packing Items
For a lot of packaging that is general, you want to make sure you use cardboard boxes that are corrugated to ship, and also provide enough materials to cushion this. You should also make sure that you use sealers such as adhesives or tape to help keep everything sealed. Do make sure everything labeled properly too.
If you’re going to ship something that’s higher in costs, do consider buying insurance for this, and if it’s over $500, definitely use this. It doesn’t cost a ton, but it’s usually up to a few dollars, but that can save you.
You should also make sure that the shipping medium is rigid, touch, has flaps, and also make sure that the items you throw in there are wrapped separately. Consider using bubble wrap to also protect this.
Strapping tape is also good to fully close the boxes and is better than scotch or masking tape.
Make sure that the labels are clear and capitalized too.
