Browsing around the web I have come across several suggestions and articles on different ways to reuse newspaper around the house. This is an easy way to keep newspaper out of your local landfill; especially if your local municipality hasn’t started a recycling program yet. I came across a lot of different ways to reuse newspaper; I am limiting this to the 15 that I found the most practical. To do this I recruited my friends and family to try out a lot of them and figure out which ones we would most likely use on a daily basis. Some of the suggestions we found we all agreed we would never try; like wrapping a fish in wet newspaper and cooking it on the gril. Some of the gardening tips I could not get my mother-in-law (the local gardening expert) to try; like the oragami seeding pots. She refused because she has been using the same seeding pots since she came over from Italy. Here are the 15 that we found most useful:
- Crumpled newspaper works well for a streak free shine on glass and mirrors.
- You can also use crumpled newspaper to clean up messes around the house. Use it to absorb most of a spill and then use a damp sponge to clean up the afterward.
- Newspaper also absorbs odors. Pack some in your luggage or plastic storage containers to absorb any odors. You can even pack some in your cooler when you store it for winter so it won’t stink in the spring
- If you have a fireplace you can tightly roll up a few sheets of newspaper and use it as a fire starter.
- You can use old newspaper to protect your floor when painting.
- Unripened fruit will ripen faster if you pack it in newspaper.
- If you line your vegetable and fruit drawers in your fridge with newspaper it will absorb and odors and moisture from forgotten fruit that can cause other items to go bad.
- The Sunday cartoon section makes a cute and colorful alternative to wrapping paper for children’s gifts.
- If you garden; lay a 1/4 inch layer of newspaper down before covering with wood chips. This will help prevent weed growth; just make sure you wet the newspaper to keep it from blowing away while you lay at the wood chips.
- If you need to ship anything to family or friends you can use crumpled newspaper as packing material.
- If you have a cat; line the litter box with newspaper to absorb odors. This will also help make cleanup easier.
- On snowy or rainy days (depending on where you live); lay out some newspaper near the door to layout wet shoes and boots.
- If you compost your grass clippings; mix some shredded newspaper to the mix to absorb and odors from the grass clippings.
- If you do work on your own car; keep some newspaper in the garage. If you spill any gas or oil; use the newspaper to clean it up. It will absorb the spill and can prevent stains on your concrete.
- If you entertain company often you can layer some flat sheets of newspaper under your tablecloth. This will help absorb any spills that may happen and will act as a heat pad for any hot items you may be serving.
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