In recent years there has been a buzz about feed sack material for

clothes, but another clever re-use of packing material has been

overlooked. Before things started coming in cardboard boxes, they

would come in wooden boxes or packing crates. Even oranges came
in crates. This good wood was not just thrown away as the cardboard
version often is today, it would be re-used somehow. Environmentalists
didn't invent recycling.

Many times the crates were simply used as shelves. Other times they
would be enclosed to form cupboards. An often used pattern from the
1950s was to use two orange crates and a piece of plywood cut like a
capital B to make a draped dressing table. I used the one from my mother's
childhood room as a lemonade stand when I was little. We’ve also located
a large cabinet out of a pump organ packing case, a vanity chair with storage
out of a small wooden box, and a chair made out of a barrel. We’re especially
looking for directions for an orange crate draped dressing table or vanity
 and photos and references to other furniture made from packing crates.

Please contact us if you have any information.

Trundlebed Tales

P.O. Box 111

Solon, IA  52333

Last Updated: April 20, 2007

By Sarah S. Uthoff info@trundlebedtales.com