I repurpose a lot of small cardboard items by giving them to a friend who teaches lower primary, and is responsible for 'technology', which is mostly about making a design and then creating it out of found cardboard. I also handed a *lot* of single socks on to a pre-primary class a long time back for them to make hand puppets out of. Robust cereal boxes were cut up to make magazine boxes, although they weren't as good as the ones I later got given, so they have since been thrown out.

I use the containers that Chinese takeaway meals come in for many many things around the house, because they are all of a size, relatively small, see through, and stack well.

And we do a lot of things with clothing that is too damaged to mend. Youngest made a tote bag with the top of a pair of jeans, a friend has a peg bag for their washing line made out of the bottom of a leg of a pair of jeans, we make present wrapping bags out of pretty fabric, so that we don't have to use paper.