In the past when you thought of a pallet you thought of bulk shipping and warehouses that would be responsible for moving product from one location to another. Most people didn’t own their own pallets, and if they did it was because of the business that they owned. Today, pallets are much more commonplace and you may find that they are not just for shipping anymore.
Of course, if you look in any shipping truck or in the back of any retail store, you are likely to see pallets. They continue to be a great way to move product in bulk, because the forklifts can easily pick up a pallet of product and move it from one place to another, putting it on trucks and taking it off and dispersing it as needed. Pallets ensure that all of the product can be moved together with ease. This is why you will generally see pallets in trucks and in the backs of retail stores where they will be used later to move more product back and forth from one location to another.
Today pallets are used for a wide variety of things, and shipping is not something that most people will ever do with a pallet on their own. Many are using second hand pallets, those that have already been used for shipping purposes, to build different furnishings. In many cases, the pallets can be turned into outdoor furniture as the wood slats make a great foundation for a lot of different informal furniture.
Pallets are not just used to make outdoor furniture; some people are even making indoor furniture with it. Side tables, platform beds and even coffee tables are being made from pallets. When coupled with other pallets or modified just a bit and then stained or painted, pallets are no longer something simple and unattractive; instead they can be simple yet beautiful furniture for the indoors or outdoors.
Furniture is not where unconventional use for pallets stops. Many people are people using pallets for gardens. Instead of having to weed a garden and space all of the plants apart just so, the pallets are used as freestanding gardens. The idea is to fill the empty spaces with soil and then plant in those areas The slats keep the plants spaced just so, and it’s nice because there is not nearly as much weeding or overcrowding to worry about. And even better, when the harvest season is over, there is no need to tear up large portions of the garden and work really hard to do so, rather, one can just pick up the entire pallet and throw it away. Or, they can clean out just the bit of soil that is in the spaces and store the pallets for the next year.
As you can see, there are more to pallets than meets the eye. In the internet inspired and Pinterest driven world we live in today, there is no limit as to what you can do with pallets creatively. IF you do need pallets for shipping purposes, you’ll find that they are easier to get a hold of than ever before as you can buy brand new ones that are very well made for fairly cheap or you can even buy them used but still in great condition.
Photo by discothing1