Monthly Archives: April 2020

Using the right knife on Cardboard

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A little known fact is that cardboard boxes are very dense. This may sound a little funny but in a way its very obvious.  We use cardboard boxes all the time and in many cases every day.  Look in your pantry and you will see them every where and they are used many times in heavy applications.  This is simply because of the density of cardboard and if you work in a factory or in packaging you may find yourself cutting lots of boxes every single day.  This becomes a problem if you are using cheap knives.  The problem is obvious if you are in the industry, and its because your knife is always dull. So how do you choose the proper knife to work in a factory?

The answer is complicated and yet simple.  Stop buying the most inexpensive knife you see that looks cool.  Yes, it may have a great looking design on the handle or blade, but most likely it is made from the lowest bidder and out of the least expensive materials.  Instead look for a brand name that is known in the knife industry.  Yes the knife industry, not the sporting goods industry.  So this means you actually need to do a little research.  Brands are not country of origan specific either.  Some of the best knife brands come from China, because they use quality materials and craftsmanship.  Look for brands like, Benchamde, Spyderco, We Knives.  These are the most known brands in the knife industry and starting with a high quality brand means most likely you will be getting a better knife.  Now the actual steel on the knife is important. It actually will be what determines how often you need to sharpen your knife if you do the same task each day.

Ask yourself an important question. Do I work in wet conditions. If the answer is yes, then you will most likely want a stainless steel.  Now remember, all steel rusts. Stainless, means it stains less quickly or rusts less quickly than a normal carbon steel.  There are more types of steel than I can count, but here are a few good ones to look for.  If you need a good stainless steel, look for knives that are made in cpm s35vn,  cpm154, or vg10. 

These knives will cost more than your truck stop knives, but will be 10 to 20 times the quality.  Which means they will be tougher and last longer at your normal cutting tasks.  For Carbon steel look for, cpm 3v, m4, or m390.  These steels are amazing for edge retention but will rust faster than your normal kitchen knife.  So keep them dry and enjoy your knew experience of cutting boxes without sharpening your knife every other day.

Perfect Box For You

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As a professional confectioner you know the quality of your goods is the most important thing. It takes time to create the perfect recipes. It takes hours of trial and error to find what tastes the best. Then you have to decide the icing and the decorations that will fit perfectly on top of the candy or pastry. There are a lot of choices that go into the product as a whole.

Another component that is included in the presentation of the product is the packaging. It does not depend on what type of business you are running, you have to have some sort of packaging. In this case, confectioners need candy boxes for their product. It doesn’t matter if the product is just sold locally out of a display case or sent halfway across the country. The presentation and the type of packaging used is important. You can choose candy boxes that go with your theme and your style.

There are over eight different colors of boxes to choose from. You could choose to have every batch as the same color, or you can determine which different products get which different color box. You could also have color choices available for the consumer. Maybe for Valentine’s Day they choose a dark red color. Then for their wedding they can choose gold or another color to match their wedding theme and colors. Having these colors available for your customers is just an added bonus of personalization.

Another customization feature is selecting how many chocolates go into each box. Maybe some consumers don’t want to buy twelve chocolates and only buy four. Then again, some people may want to buy twenty-four chocolates! So having different options for packaging allows people with different price points and budgets to purchase your products.

Finally, you want to tie it all up with a bow. There are a few different ways to really set you packaging apart from other businesses. One way is to tie bows around each box. You can buy pre-made bows or learn how to make them yourselves. You can also just use regular ribbon to tie around the box. For people taking the boxes directly from your storefront, you can put the boxes in little gift bags with color tissue paper. Gift wrapping the box will make it more special for the person receiving the chocolates as a gift. Just have fun with the appearance of the box. Make it your own!

Wardrobe Boxes

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Spring is always the busy season for buying and selling a home. People have been inside all winter and they are just too excited to get out. They plan on planting a garden, hosting barbeques, and just enjoying a new yard. They want to buy in early spring so they have time to work on their new yard before summer. There is also the benefit of buying in the spring to be able to do any repairs or renovations on the outside of the home. Not to mention the move will be in much nicer weather. No one wants to move and haul all of their belongings with snow on the ground. That’s why it is best to haul your cardboard boxes for moving in the spring.

You have to pick the right type of cardboard boxes, though. No one wants to be moving a box of heavy things and then the box bust on them. It is best to go with sturdy, durable boxes when it comes to moving heavy things. Packing your things into boxes you know won’t break is the responsible thing to do. It is also great to use the appropriate boxes for what you are packing in them. Yes, there are multitude of different boxes to choose from when it comes to moving.

The greatest box for moving that I didn’t even know existed is a wardrobe box. For so many times that I have moved I have had to just throw all of my clothes into a box. Even when I would try and fold them as neatly as I could, the clothes would still be wrinkled by the time I got to the new place and started to unpack everything (because let’s be honest, the clothes will sit in the boxes for a few days). This specific type of box is taller than regular boxes. It also has a bar across the top that your hanger goes right on! That way, your clothes are hanging up on your own hangers the entirety of the move. So even when I get a little lazy and wait a week to finally unpack my clothes, they will still be sitting nice and next to the closet just waiting for me.

Moving can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be terrible. Make sure you are set to move during a nice day. Also make sure you are using the best boxes you can to make the move as smooth as possible.

Organization

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As I start my third week staying at home I have resorted to all of the responsibilities I was trying to avoid the first two weeks. I did a little cleaning here and there, but I mostly left the hard chores until now. I could continue to put them off, but I really don’t think I should rewatch the same Netflix series for the third time in a row. I decided the bathroom would be my next adventure. There are so many cabinets and drawers filled with clutter and junk and things I even forgot I had.

My main goal is get everything off the sink countertop. I do not like the look of a messy countertop and it is so hard to keep everything clean when I have to move fifteen little bottles of products off the counter just to wipe it down with a damp rag. I much prefer to have things stored in the drawers below the sink for easy access and so the top of the sink stays nice and fresh. Maybe I could even put one little fake plant there to really make it fresh. Of course I would keep my soap dispenser, but I really think everything else is going to have to find another home.

One thing I have considered building is a little shelf area next to the sink. This would allow cute little mason jars to hold everyday items like toothbrushes and cotton balls. While I am thinking about hanging things on the wall I realize I have no decor in my bathroom at all. It really could afford to atleast have a few pictures or something here. Just recently I switched to a light blue and cream shower curtain. I could stay with this theme and add some blues and creams into the mix.

One thing I really need to organize is all of my jewelry just sitting in clumps and tangling. The way I have my jewelry makes it almost impossible to just easily pick something out and put it on. First I have to dig through all the intertwined chains to pick something, then I have to sit there and try to untangle it loose. Most of the time I end up just giving up and finding something else. My temporary solution for this is candy boxes. I do have to spend time taking all of the jewelry apart. But when it is taken apart all I have to do is sort them individually into candy boxes. The candy trays keep them seperate and safe from entanglement! I have even found some beautiful boxes so I think this could become my permanent solution.