Recycle or Reuse? What to do with all of these newspapers!!
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Oh my gosh.. what do we do with all of these newspapers that keep accumulating?!
If you have been couponing for any period of time, there comes a point that you MUST deal with the newspaper issue. I went a LONG time getting ten full newspapers per week before I finally came to my senses and started ordering my inserts from an insert service (this is who I use). However, I still buy a couple of papers each week to get the sales ads and to browse thru with my Sunday morning coffee so I still have to deal with newspapers regularly. Of course our first thought is to recycle the papers, but after researching a little bit, I found that there are several other ways to use the newspaper in your home once it’s been looked at that might be useful to you!
1. Ripen those tomatoes! Did you know that if your tomatoes were picked too soon, newspaper will help them ripen up so they will be ready for eating? Simply wrap each tomato individually and leave them sitting out at room temperature! Interesting!
2. Prevent a messy table at dinner. If you are having a meal that is known to be a little messy (think seafood you have to take out of the shell or a little one eating spaghetti), old newspaper makes the perfect guard for the table. Once everyone is done, just fold it up, toss it in the trash, and cleaning is done! When my son was a baby, I would put newspapers around his high chair and cleanup would be a snap!
3. Add protection for special breakable items. This is a given of course if you are packing to move, but you can also use newspapers to wrap keepsake items that your children make or ornaments during the holidays. When my son was little, I had his “special box” that I put the very most important and special items from his childhood. I packed special photos, his jacket from his speed skating team, his hockey jersey and some special items that he bought me for Christmas or my birthday that meant so much to him to buy and me to receive. Just wrap each fragile item with newspaper before packing them in a box. Stuff crumbled paper between each piece to further protect your valuables.
4. Speed up the drying of wet shoes. I never new about this until I saw my husband doing this with his work boots one day! Stuffing the shoes with crumpled newspaper will soak up the moisture so they will be ready for wear by morning. Really!
5. Clean your windows and mirrors. This WORKS! Newspaper allows for a streak-free shine. Instead of wasting paper towels, simply use your regular window cleaner, substituting the paper for any cloth you normally use. The newspaper will also prevent lint and dust from being left behind.
6. Remove any odors from food boxes. Plastic containers and lunch boxes can start to smell after a while. A ball of newspaper left in the sealed container overnight will absorb the stench and have them smell much better. How cool is that?!
7. Keep that fire burning. Roll the newspapers into the shape of a log – this can be done by yourself or you can purchase a log roller to help. These burn just as well as regular wood logs, which could save you money if you typically purchase your firewood. I haven’t tried this yet, but what a great idea for my outdoor fire pit on my front porch!!
8. Wrap your gifts. Newspaper is a classic alternative to gift wrap. I mean really, you have to admit that a gift wrapped in black and white newspaper with a big red bow is the perfect wrapping for a gift from a couponer!! Think about it, why would we want to save all that money on so many other things and then go spend a few bucks on wrapping paper? Use your newspapers, everyone will appreciate it! The comics are the perfect wrapping paper for kids too!
9. Create a place for dirty shoes. The mudroom floor can get dirty quickly if muddy or snowy boots are constantly being taken off and left there. A stack of newspaper make a great place to store shoes and solve the need to mop every day.
10. Start your garden off right. When it comes to gardening, newspapers can offer many solutions. They can help you find the perfect mixture between carbon and nitrogen when making compost for your soil, I never knew that!! Also, if you plan to germinate seeds, collect newspaper to keep them until they are ready for use. Dampen the paper and lay the seeds between pages.
11. If you live in an area that gets super cold, eliminate the need for the ice scraper! This is so cool, I never knew about this: In the winter, layer newspaper on your windshield at night to keep it from icing over, what?!
12. Make paper boats with the kids. There are online tutorials that teach you how to make a paper boat using newspaper. Get creative and add sails and other decorations. This could be a perfect rainy day activity! Here is a pretty cool “How To” tutorial here: http://www.ehow.com/how_6239133_make-paper-boat-out-newspaper.html
Do you have any cool uses for newspapers? Please share with everyone! I would love to hear about it!
Please let me know what you think of this new addition to the blog! I am going to be adding a few elements each week based on the requests that I see frequently on our chat page! Speaking of which, make sure you check in on our facebook fan page or our facebook chat page to say hi and hang out with all of your coupon freak friends! We are having a blast over there!
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