When you have to ship some packages, you'll want to invest in a large package of packing peanuts. These versatile items are key for ensuring that your item gets from your home to the destination safely, and are ideal because you can fit them snugly into shipping boxes to ensure that there's no chance of your items jostling around during transit. When you're done packing your boxes, you might have some packing peanuts left over. While you can certainly save them for the next package you send, there are a number of other ways you can use them if you don't have the space to store them. Here are some ideas.

In Garden Planters

If you've ever tried to move a garden planter, you'll know how heavy doing so can be because of the weight of the earth. A simple solution is to fill the lower half of your planters with foam packing peanuts, and then dump earth directly on top of the peanuts. Doing so will dramatically lighten the overall weight of the planters, making them easy to move whether you're changing the layout of your garden or you typically carry your planters to the garden hose to water them. The peanuts will form enough of a barrier to support the earth but are porous enough to allow the water flow through to avoid flooding your plants after watering.

Three-Dimensional Art

If you have young children who are into arts and crafts, a handful of packing peanuts can provide a significant amount of entertainment. You can use the peanuts for several different forms of 3D art, but one idea is to have the kids glue several peanuts onto a colorful piece of construction paper, and then paint each peanut a different color. Because the peanuts are so light, they won't put pressure on the paper and pull away when the art is hung on the fridge.

Top Up Saggy Sewn Items

Packing peanuts are ideal for topping up items that are sewn shut and have become saggy over the years. For example, if your child has a stuffed animal that has become squished through constant use, carefully slice open the seam that holds the animal together, place some packing peanuts inside (you might wish to break the peanuts into small chunks for smaller stuffed animals) and then sew the seam back up. You can take the same approach for rec room furniture items such as bean bag chairs and even some pillows. Contact a business, such as Associated Paper & Supply, for more information.