open/close tabs for cardboard boxes?

I’ve used tape or large rubber bands but I didn’t need to reopen the boxes very often so I don’t think these are the best options.  How about hook & loop (Velcro)?  You can buy it in strips of varying widths with sticky backs so you should be able to stick a small piece on one flap and a longer piece on the other that would reach across the gap to the first.

Mr. McGroovy’s box rivets might work. Tape them in place sow they don’t go astray when you open the box. 

Maybe bankers boxes, cardboard boxes with lids and hand holds?

Banana boxes:  stackable, have hand hold slots,  consistent size, reasonable volume for full loading, offer a good width to depth ratio. Make a floor for each box from other grocery store box.  A coat of latex paint can conceal their origins. An Ikea wooden shelf system allows dense racking.  I used them to move, and realized my stuff was never easier to access, so now they’re permanent.

Since you already have boxes, I recommend hook & loop fasteners (like velcro).

Attach a strip of hook on one flap, perpendicular to the opening edge of the flap and colinear with a second strip on the other flap: __ __, like Morse code for  ”M.” Cut a strip of loops a bit more then the length of the hook strips (the extra is to give yourself a tap to grasp when removing). Seal the box by patting your loose loop strip to the pair of hook strips. The longer the strips the better they grip.

The method described is somewhat wasteful, but very easy. Attaching the strip of loops directly to one flap can be complicated (see note on sewing below), but easier on the pocketbook. Add more sets of straps parallel to the first for extra hold. If your hook and loop is too weak, explore other varieties of hook & loop which is made by 3M and Paiho as well as Velcro.  

Many hook and loop fasteners come adhesive backed. If yours isn’t, make friends with hot glue. If the cardboard peels apart in use, don’t reglue, you’ll just peel off another layer. Instead, reconsolidate the area by stitching through both loop strip and cardboard. (Actually, if you glued before sewing, that wouldn’the hurt.) Use a heavy needle like a sailmaker’s needle and stout thread for this.

 

 

The time-honoured method is to use string, wrapped entirely around the box and tied with a bow knot. If that won’t do for whatever reason, then you could try the Velcro other people have mentioned. Or you could try the method used on some of what Office Depot calls ”wallets”: attach a button to each flap, and attach a string that you would wrap around the two buttons to keep it closed. Or be creative! You could hot-glue zippers to the flaps, for example. 

There’s this – http://www.allenfield.com/ – box flap closure. but I think this is a better option – http://salazarpackaging.com/globe-guard-reusable-box-sealer-brings-order-to-warehouse-chaos/

Good luck!

For larger boxes I stick about six inches of packing tape to the top of each flap so there is five inches on top and one inch wrapped under the meeting edges such that the two pieces are adjacent. I then put another piece of packing tape or duct tape over both to hold it closed. I make this top ’latching’ piece long enough to cover most of the original but I fold the last half inch or so over to make a pull handle. When it loses its’ tackiness (or looks too tacky) I replace the top piece. The packing tape below can be double wide to make it so you don’t have to be super accurate with the placement of the ’latching’ piece.

For small boxes I use this method with regular sticky tape for small boxes and to make resealable envelopes.

Not sure where to find them aside from a Filipino expat or via eBay, but Balikbayan box covers are an interesting option. A Balikbayan box cover is a zippered heavy-duty canvas bag with reinforced seams and side handles that’s designed specifically to fit a 20″ x 20″ x 20″ cardboard box. Some models even have low profile ball casters underneath.

http://www.2dolphins.com/2008/01/bag-box/