Well, we certainly live in a world of “reuse, recycle, repurpose”…so I am constantly trying to find ways to do so. Then the first of the month comes and I print a ton of new coupons, cut them all out – only to have a HUGE pile of scrap paper left over. The bigger pieces obviously can be used for my daughter’s artwork or “notes to self”. But do you also have a pile of scraps similar to the one pictured here? What do you do with them? I am totally guilty of just throwing them in the trash once in awhile, and sometimes that’s what you need to do to maintain a clutter-free home. But, I also like to think of ways to repurpose them as well. Here are a few things we’ve implemented ourselves, plus some other ideas I had:
- Make a paper chain
You remember doing this in school, right? Sometimes Kambell colors the strips first, then glues them. Or, we’ll write a word on each strip (like something she needs to memorize such as a bible text or a days of the week. Then hang them across the mantle as a reminder. - Make picture frames
This is the other idea my daughter had for these. She glues or tapes the strips to make a frame for one of her masterpieces. (you think I come up with this stuff?…no, it takes a 4 year old mind, people!) - Paper Mache!
- Use them for the “draw from a hat” game
This can be used for games such as “name that animal” (our favorite!) or it can even be used for “today’s chore” – let your child pull out the chore they are responsible for that day. - Use them for animal bedding
We don’t have a pet that needs this type of bedding, but some of our family members do…wonder if they would get some use out of these? You could also donate them to your local animal shelter. - Add them to the compost pile
- Use them for padding if you are moving or packing something fragile to ship
If you don’t have your own “little one”, consider donating them to your nearest Kindergarten class. The kids are sure to get lots of use out them.
If you too have a monthly pile of scraps…I’d love to hear your ideas on how you reuse them!
We are having an Autism walk for the school I work at and we a are selling paper (mache) bowls….shredded paper, glue/water mixture, plastic wrap over a bowl voila!! They are SO cute and the kids love getting their hands gooey.
I usually shred mine for my sister in law, they use it along with baking soda for cat liter. It is free and although it is a little bit more work to use (due to more cleaning) it keeps the smell at a minimum level and the cat doesn’t drag around the little granules all over their house when he’s done.
When I have scraps from cutting around all the printable coupons, I cut them carefully in to 2-3 different sizes and place them in a container near my laptop so that I can use them for quick notes 🙂
OMG Paper mache!! I never thought of that!! My oldest loves to do paper mache. We constructed a really cool floor vase to hold these giant gerber daisies we got on clearance at Joanns. Used a chipped plate and part of a cardboard box for the base and built up with newspaper from there. We had leftover white trim paint and some acrylic paints from previous crafty projects. It cost less than $3 and was really cute (so maybe I went a little nuts on making sure it was smooth). It lasted for almost 3 years!
Also on #2, (me again) if your handy with some tools you can make a box screen and put the soggy paper into that and keep pressing the water out and then peel the paper out and let it dry.
My husband use to work at a place that made fabric for the paper mills…which made paper. Once at there company fair they showed how paper was made out of pulp, you can do this also with torn paper and also you can add color paper to give it a unique look. You have a lot of little torn paper and blend it in a blender with water. Then lay it out on a towel and place another towel on top and press out the excess water. Then peel it off the towel and then let it dry. Now you can make special cards, envelopes…etc.
I ALWAYS THROUGH THEM IN MY PAPER RECYCLING BIN. I ALWAYS WONDER IF SMALL PIECES GET RECYCLED AT THE PLANT. I GUESS ITS OK TO THROW THEM AWAY BECAUSE EVENTUALLY THEY WILL BE COMPOST AT THE DUMP