Creative Ways to Reuse those Huge Holiday Newspapers!

Newspapers this time of year are positively humongous with all the extra flyers and pamphlets. A friend reported to me last week that his newspaper actually weighed 4.5 pounds! The U.S. and Canada publish over 24 billion newspapers every year and only 15 percent of Canadian printing and writing papers are recovered for recycling. Instead of just throwing out my Saturday newspaper I wanted to explore and learn some practical ways to reuse and "upcycle" newspapers. I have included some of my favourites here.

First Find Ways to Reduce

Finding ways to reduce is always the best approach. You can avoid the cost and waste of newspapers altogether by subscribing to online versions of your favourite newspapers, many now available on your smart phone. A good tip to remember is when you are going out of town due to a vacation or the holidays, cancel/hold your newspaper subscription. You can also share your newspaper subscription with a neighbour or co-worker.

Some Newspaper Projects for the Holidays!

Try these unique ways to reuse your newspapers.

• Make a Newspaper Gift Bag - Make a gift bag that makes a eco-statement - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSfusvAP1vw. Don't want to make a bag? It’s fun to go through newspapers to find interesting and colorful pages to use as gift wrap.
• Create a Newspaper Bow - Create a bow for your newspaper gift bag http://www.allfreecrafts.com/recycling-crafts/paper-bows.shtml
• Make a Newspaper Christmas Tree - Really inventive idea to make a Christmas tree. This would be great for so many things including small spaces or creating Christmas trees with your kids for their rooms. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8_28PESSgM
• Make a Fun Newspaper Wreath - Pretty and unique wreath http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMY4s-BZbnA
• Make Handmade Paper. Grab your blender and turn old newspaper into special recycled paper. Handmade paper is great for making invitations and little cards. You can also mix some seeds into your paper pulp to turn newsprint into recycled seed paper that your recipients can plant! 

Newspaper Uses Around the Home

• Computer Friendly - Dampen a small piece of newspaper and use it to clean typewriter keys, TV screens, smart phone and computer monitors.
• Spill Cleaner - Use to soak up spills instead of paper towel.
• Wash Glass and Windows - With a crumpled sheet of newspaper, wash windows, glass table tops and mirrors. Just spray window cleaner or vinegar and water on the surface and wipe clean with a sheet of crumbled newspaper. I love this tip and it have saved me countless rolls of paper towel. In my opinion it works much better, just be sure to keep the paper away from the window frames.
• Messy Jobs - Layout paper on the floor or table before starting art projects or transplanting plants in pots. Use in dirty cleanup jobs like cleaning the oven, use sheets of crumpled newspaper to wipe up most of the gunk before wiping down with a soapy wet sponge. 
• Shine on. Give the shine back to your stainless steel sink by gently scrubbing it with wadded up, wet newspaper.
• Winter Time Uses - Keep the floors near your door clean by laying newspaper down near the entrance. The newspaper will soak up and hold moisture from rain or snow-covered boots and protect your floors. You can also use newspaper to help dry out wet boots and shoes by crumpling some of it up and stuffing it inside. Instead of a starter log in the fireplace or at a bonfire, use tightly rolled pieces of newsprint instead.
• Packing - Shred newspaper for package filler. 
• Ripening Fruit. If you’ve picked up some under-ripe peaches, tomatoes, avocados, or other fruit, wrap them in newspaper to ripen them more quickly. 
• Donate them. Your local animal shelter can use newspapers to line their cages. Some even shred them up to use as kitty litter, when the budget is tight. You can also donate them to thrift stores, where they’ll use them to pack up fragile items that sell.