Day 38 of our Green Year: Going Green With Newspapers

I am a big fan of reading the newspaper. I love to learn the news of the day, find out about upcoming events and more. Not a week goes by that I don't pick the paper up a few times. Now, each time I do this I am creating paper waste, because I use the paper for only a few minutes to an hour, it seems like a big waste.
Naturally, you can take your paper to be recycled, which is a great thing, but why not reuse the paper to reduce your purchase and use of other items. There is no better way to be green than by taking items you already have and using them to prevent you from buying more items.

So, Layla and I have decided that not only will we recycle our papers, but we will also use them in other ways to go green.

1. We have already talked about how you can use newspaper in compost, as long as it is not color pages. However, why not use the newspapers as a great way to block weeds? There have been several people who have laid down newspaper in their backyard, after digging out a bit of space, then putting dirt and compost over top of the papers. This helped prevent weeds from growing, and allowed beautiful flowers that were planted on top of the newspapers to bloom nicely.
2. If you have kids, nothing works better for them to scribble on than paper.
3. You can line cabinet bottoms with newspaper instead of buying cabinet paper.
4. We have already shown how you can clean windows with newspaper, but did you know that using newspaper to clean windows prevents streaks on the window?
5. You can also use newspaper in a seed starter pot? It is truly amazing how this can be put together and it eliminates the need for you to buy pots for the seeds. Here is a great tutorial: http://www.geocities.com/newspaperpots/
6. It can be used as wrapping paper, instead of wrapping paper from the stores.

The great thing is that after you use it for scribbling, cleaning or whatever, you can still go and recycle it, so you have reused it for something else, and then recycled it. Win-Win!
Do you have any ideas for what you could use newspaper for? Let us know!

Remember, if you have pictures of yourself or your family doing green things we have mentioned in our blog, be sure to let us know by sending us a picture. We will put it up in the blog to show the world the steps you are taking in your own green year. E-mail pictures to crwbaird@gmail.com