15 Ways to Use Old Newspapers in the Home and Garden
The secret to saving money isn’t just
hunting down sales and being frugal. One of the best ways to cut down on
your spending is putting everything to good use and repurpose as many
items as you can multiple times. Take the newspaper, for example. After
reading your favorite periodical, what do you do with it? Toss it
straight into the recycling bin?
We say save up a stack or two of the day’s
edition, as there are countless ways you can reuse newspapers in your
home and garden. Since you can basically replace paper towels with
newspapers, the possibilities are pretty much endless, but here are 15
clever ideas to get you started.
1. Get rid of odors
Paper has absorbent properties which all of
us could put to good use while cleaning. Here is one such case. When a
jar, plastic container, or kitchen cabinet retains the smell of things
you used to store in them, you can banish the lingering odor with a few
sheets of newsprint. Simply ball up a few sheets of newspaper, cover the
container with a lid or seal the area that doesn’t smell right, and
leave it for a couple of days.
The smell will be gone because both paper and ink have absorbent
qualities. The same trick works well with smelly shoes, garbage cans,
old thermoses, and even cabinets that smell stale or moldy.
2. Clean windows and mirrors
Don’t have any microfiber towels or cleaning cloths on hand? Instead of
using paper towels to clean glass, metal, and mirror surfaces, grab a
few sheets of newspaper. Unlike paper towels, the sports section will
not leave any lint on the surface and works like magic at erasing all
streaks too. Don’t worry, the ink will not transfer.
The trick is to only use one crumpled-up sheet of paper at a time and
replace it with a new one the moment it gets damp. Simply spray the
surface with the cleaner of your choice, then polish it clean and shiny
with a dry piece of newspaper, and you’re done!
3. Make seedling pots 
You can never buy enough seedling trays or single-use pots when you’re
propagating plants from seeds or multiplying them through cuttings.
Luckily, you can easily make your own newspaper pots by simply wrapping
the paper around a jar or any other container of your choice, and
shaping the paper into a cup. Newspapers make an excellent temporary
container for tiny plants until they’re ready to into their permanent
spot in your indoor or outdoor garden.
4. Pick up broken glass
Broken glass is notoriously difficult to clean up. The little shards of
glass can be virtually undetectable and impossible to pick up with the
broom or vacuum. But if you have some newsprint on hand, you can easily
pick up even these little shards and be able to walk barefoot in your
home again.
To do so, fold a sheet of newspaper into a square several times; it
should be several layers thick. Then, dampen the paper a bit, and blot
the area with the broken glass shards, and they'll lift instantly. Once
all the stubborn tiny pieces of glass are gone, carefully toss the paper
in the trash.
5. Make an insect trap
Certain garden pests, such as earwigs, pillbugs, and slugs love to
shelter under a wet newspaper overnight. We’re not sure ourselves if
it’s the breaking news of the day or the damp environment that attracts
these nocturnal pests, but you can use your favorite periodical to
dispose of these annoying pests for good. Simply dampen a roll of
newspaper and leave it on the floor near the bug-infested area at night.
In the morning, you’ll notice bugs congregating in the newspaper roll.
Carefully discard the paper, preferably into the outdoor trash can.
6. Protect shelves with newspaper liners
No need to buy special shelf liners for your pantry, garage shelves, and
kitchen cabinets. You can protect the shelves from stains and grime
with yesterday’s news. Of course, you can use more aesthetically
appealing liners under kitchenware, but your cleaning supplies, spice
collection, and the bins where you keep potatoes or other vegetables
that are prone to rot will do just fine with newspapers underneath. Best
of all, you don’t have to worry about washing these “liners” - simply
discard and replace them with new ones whenever you want. After all,
it’s free!
7. Wrap up fragile items 
Are you packing up holiday decorations? Or maybe, you want to make sure
that your fancy glassware is safe in storage? Whether you need to pack
up anything fragile, use newspaper as cushioning. Craft paper or any
other old paper you have will do the trick too. You can also try
shredding or cutting the paper into strips and use it as a substitute
for packing peanuts or bubble wrap. Simply crumpling up some newspaper
and filling any loose gaps in a box with it works as well.
8. Keep the cat’s litterbox clean
If you share your lovely home with a feline (although we all know it’s
actually the other way around), cleaning the litter box is part of your
daily routine. Just a few sheets of yesterday’s news can make this
arduous task much easier. Lay down a couple of sheets under the kitty
litter, and the actual litterbox will stay cleaner for longer. You also
make use of newspaper instead of a plastic bag for dirty kitty litter in
a pinch - it’s more eco-friendly too!
9. Add newspaper to your compost bin
We’re about to prove to you that composting is real science. If you
notice that your compost smells strongly of ammonia, dropping a few
periodicals into the mix can help neutralize the unpleasant smell. The
ammonia smell occurs due to an excess of nitrogen that comes from
kitchen and garden scraps. Newspaper (or any kind of paper, really) is
rich in carbon, and it will offset the nitrogen-rich mix, thereby
getting rid of the odor. Just make sure to mix and layer everything
well.
10. An easy barbecue cleaner
Cleaning the grill after a barbecue is a separate kind of “fun.” If you
prefer to enjoy your afternoon or evening instead of scrubbing the grill
for hours, try this trick. First and foremost, let the barbecue cool
down a little. Then soak a few periodicals in water and spray the sheets
over a slightly warm grill. Then close the lid of the grill and let it
soak up the grime for an hour. As the last step, discard all the paper
and wipe down the grill - easy peasy!
11. Keep a stack of papers in your car for wheel traction
The cold months come with a lot of surprises, and we’re not talking
about Christmas presents. If you’re not careful, your car can easily get
stuck in the mud, slush, or ice patch. For cases like these, we
recommend keeping a stack of newspaper in the trunk, and placing a few
papers under each rear wheel when your can needs a little extra wheel
traction. This way, you don’t have to worry about getting the car back
on the road.
12. Wrap plant bulbs in newspapers during the winter
If you want to save flower bulbs over winter, you don’t have to buy peat
moss or straw for storage. Your dahlias or any other bulbous plants
will survive the frots just fine wrapped generously in some newspaper.
The best time to dig up bulbs is when the foliage of the plant has died
back considerably. Usually, this is about 6 weeks after they stop
flowering.
13. Make fruit and vegetables ripe faster 
Waiting for an avocado or banana to ripen can take an annoyingly long
time, even you’re blessed with the patience of a Buddhist monk. This
gets especially problematic in the fall and winter when the indoor
temperature is considerably lower.
If that’s ever an issue for you, wrap up that avocado or tomato in the
sweet embrace of the news digest and store it in a dry dark place. The
paper will trap the natural gases produced in the ripening process, and
exposing the fruit to more of them will speed up the ripening.
14. Speed up the drying process of waterlogged shoes
It doesn’t matter if you got caught in the rain and got your favorite
tennis shoes wet, or you were just a bit too thorough in cleaning your
shoes, newspaper is your best friend when it comes to soaking up water
from shoes. Ball up a few sheets of newspaper, pull out the insoles of
the shoes, if possible, and fill your shoes with the paper.
Make sure to fill the heels completely, as those are usually the hardest
to dry. Let the shoes in a dry and well-ventilated area, replacing any
wet balls of newspaper with a freshly crumpled-up dry sheet. This way,
your shoes will dry out much faster and have a lower chance of warping
as a result of water damage.
15. Help shoes and bags keep their shape
When it’s time to retire your shoes and purses for the season, it’s
crucial to make sure that no mold will get to it while it’s in storage.
Some handbags and shoes can also warp or become misshapen in storage. To
remedy both of these concerns, fill up the empty bags and shoes with
loosely crumpled newspaper and put them in their respective boxes. This
will help your favorite accessories and shoes maintain their shape, and
it will remove any excess moisture and unpleasant odors too!
Share this information with those who will find it useful!