Is it just me or does the out-of-control over-packaging of produce drive anyone else insane? The other day I bought a few strawberries for my family and I’m pretty sure there was more wood than berries in the heavy-duty packaging.
I couldn’t bring myself to throw away the wooden trays so I put them on top of my fridge and thought that I’d find a use for them.
In the end I realised that they would make the perfect cupcake/muffin transporter. I’m constantly baking cupcakes and muffins to take to friends and I’m always stuck on how to package them nicely so that they don’t get squished or fly off a plate while in the car.
I simply glued some nice paper (I used origami paper we bought in Japan last year) on the sides of the wooden crate. That’s it. I love the fact that this is a fast, simple and inexpensive way to re-cycle some unnecessary grocery store packaging.
You could use these for so many things. Besides for muffins and cupcakes I’ll be using them this summer for when I give away fruits and vegetables from our garden (because I always end up planting enough to feed the entire neighbourhood).
Jillian In Italy 
I totally agree with you! I bought tangerines at Xmas and could not bare the thought of throwing away the wooden container they came in. I spray painted the boxes and now I store my cleaning supplies in the kitchen and in the bathroom in these pretty boxes.
Great idea to spray paint them!
Ohhh I also hate all the over-packaging. Today I bought some veggies and fruit on the market and they didn’t want to weigh the fruits without plastic bag. I re-use all of them, but then again… 😦 These up-cycled wooden trays are so cute!
I’ve started going to a local farm to buy all our veggies because they don’t use any packaging at all. And everything tastes so much better too!
Those look so pretty – and what a great idea for re-using. I hear what you’re saying about over-packaging – but it looks like the Italians are even more stylish than kiwis when packing fruit – because we get our strawberries in plastic containers!
There are also lots of plastic containers here as well! Horrible.