101 uses for an empty cereal box?

The other day it became more difficult to ignore the amount of waste generated from one delicious box of cereal. In my little mind I can keep eating cereal if I can somehow decrease the amount of waste. So I thought we could brainstorm up a list of ideas. Some of them will be dumb, I know, but some might be worth while. So please, add your ideas to my meager few. Maybe if there are some good ones we can spread the word. Or if some require help from the cereal companies we can champion that cause.

The materials we want to reuse are the cardboard box and that damn plastic bag inside the box. I suspect the plastic bag is going to be tough. Here goes nothing…

Box

1. Reuse to mail light packages. A piece of paper attached to one face should give plenty of space for mailing info.
2. Seedling trays? The ends cut off would make 8 inch long by 2 inch wide trays that you could grow seedlings in.
3. I once used a cereal box as a carburetor gasket in a 1982 Toyota pick-up. Not really frequent enough to count as a reuse idea though I guess.
4. Cheap sorting box. If you cut a box around the middle you get 2 cubby shaped boxes. If they’re all the same size you could put a dozen into a larger box then have a segmented container for legos or craft supplies or something like that.
5. Pet gerbil/mouse/whatever housing. You could cut the boxes up and make all manner of intriguing and disposable rodent housing.
6. Fill the box with your shredded papers and use them to insulate your garage.

Bag

1. If the cereal company would add a ziplock closure to the bag they could be reused in all the ways that we use ziplock bags. I know, more expense for the companies. I’m going to email Nature’s Path, the company that makes my cereal, and ask them.

Hell, 101 might have been an exaggeration. Please, add yours and I’ll update the list. Thanks!

- shawn