If you are couponing (and there are many reasons you should be!), you probably have some newspaper around. Check out this list for some interesting uses for newspaper.
- Papier-mâché crafts
- Other crafts such as paper dolls, hats, and boats.
- Crumple it up or shred it to use as packing material
- Donate to a local animal shelter.
- Make a fire-starting kit for camping, fireplaces, or fire pits.
- Prep your garden bed.
- Use the comic section to wrap gifts (or the sports section for the sports fanatic).
- Spread it on the floor or table for craft time.
- Patch a hole. For small holes in dry wall, use it as a backer for joint compound.
- Animal bedding
- Use it to get your stuck car out of the mud, snow, etc. Stick a big section under the wheel, and you should be out in no time.
- Wad it up in smelly shoes to absorb odors. (This also works for containers, trunks, drawers, and suitcases.)
- Use it to germinate seeds. Stick seeds between two sections of damp newspaper in a warm place.
- Composting
- Soften a tomato by wrapping it in newspaper
- Make shift funnel for beads, nails, and other small objects.
- Crumple it up and clean your windows.
- Line your vegetable drawer to keep it dry and free of smells
- Make paper from newspaper. Simply tear it up, soak it in warm water until it becomes pulp, then spread on an old window screen covered with a piece of fabric. When it dries, voila! card stock.
- Use it to stuff shoes and purses to help them retain shape.
- Reading. Duh! Newspapers are a great source for reading. They have current events, gardening tips, puzzles, editorials, etc. They can be a great tool for teaching children about different forms of writing as well.
- Use it as a prompt for a story, poem, or song. You could also use it as a game to pick the first line of an article and tell a story using it.
- Cut out photos to make a picture book for a kid. (My grandfather cuts out the pictures of animals and puts them into a photo album.)
- Emergency dust pan.
- Use it to remove spider and cob webs by rolling it up and swishing it around to collect the web.
- Make it into clothing.
- If all else fails, please recycle!
