Don't throw those old books or magazines away - donate old magazines and books to your local nursing home or doctors office for others to enjoy while they wait or while they have nothing better to do. You'd be surprised at how many people will pick up a book or magazine to read while they have nothing else to do.
By gem from VA
This page contains the following solutions.
Make the extra couple or so inches you need to be able to reach the tops of your cabinets from folded rolled magazines, catalogs or newspapers!
I recycle my magazines by donating them to local gyms, offices, and salons. I just remove my name and personal information and drop them off. This way I'm not only preserving trees, but I'm also sharing with others information that I have received.
When gluing paper crafts, I find it is easy to get glue all the way to the edges of the paper. Simply get an old, worn-out magazine to absorb the glue that goes past the edge.
I drop off magazines and paperback books I have read at an elder care home near my home. I drive past it every day anyway, and it just takes a minute to do this kind gesture.
Give your old magazines to hospitals, nursing homes, senior centers, schools or clinics. Schools need magazines for research and for children to cut pictures out of.
Here's an idea for packing material. Tear out magazine ads and stuff in boxes. My mom and I share magazines and then I leave them in public places for others to enjoy.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
What can you do with magazines besides crafts? I don't do arts and crafts. Can they be donated to any organizations? Shame to throw them away. Some I don't even get a chance to read.
I volunteer at a charity resale shop once a week. We sale recent and timeless ones (ex. cooking and home repair mags) that are donated to us. Usually the rest get tossed though.
My local library accepts donated magazines. If they are less than 3 months old, they'll put on the rack to be checked out. If they are older than that, they'll sell them at a reduced price. I just make sure I cut out or otherwise remove my name and address label first.
You can donate them to hospitals,dr's & dental surgeries, nursing homes,pre-schools & kindagardens for there craft days,libraries,some cafes and your local op shops like Red Cross & anywhere people have to wait for their appointments. Make sure all personal details are removed. I hope this helps you.
schools use them for crafts. ask a teacher if they are wanted.
medical clinics
hospitals
nursing homes
beauty shops
make sure you take your name and address off first
This is what I do. I keep 2 Brown Paper Bags in my Garage. One is for Magazines that will be Recycled. The other Paper Bag is for a Nursing Home that is nearby. Every month, I go through my old magazines that I will give to the Nursing Home & 1) Cut out my Name & Address and 2) Mark on each one the Month and Year that I received them.
freecycle.org
you sign up by where you live.
People post things they want to give away
The whole idea is that someone can use things that are still good and shouldn't fill landfills
Take them to a nursing home, a hospital waiting room, doc or dentist office,a library bookstore or call your local alementary school and see if any teacher want them for crafts, collages, etc.
I often take my older magazies to the library...or to a nursing home or assisted living home...I also call some teacher friends and ask if they can use any for class projects...hope this helps, deb
i would check with your local elementary schools and communtiy centers.
first see if the library might want them. if not how about an elementary school or even a welfare office, doctors's office. etc.
One other place that could use reading material is the shelter for abused women. They appreciate anything to get their minds off their ordeals. Often they will have children with them ranging in age from infants to teens.
Possibly sell them on ebay. Check closed auctions on ebay. Some older magazines will sell.
You can check with the jail in your town. They may take them for the inmates to read. They will not however take any hardback books.
You might donate them to a senior citizen clubhouse, or drop some off at a dentist/doctor's office. Might donate them to a church for their rummage sale or to an organization like The Elks Lodge for an upcoming yard sale to make money for gift baskets for the needy.
When I was a teen, for something "to do", I cut out pictures from magazines and decopaged a metal trash can using the magazine photos. I used it for many years. Just a thought.
Look for your local FREECycle organization. In my area it is done by zip code. You can find Free cycle in the groups area of yahoo.com. OR simply type freecycle.org. It is a GREAT concept. You are trying to rid of stuff and someone else might like it for free - they come and get it. Saves the landfills.
I usually leave them at a laundramat. The people there are sometimes bored while waiting on their laundry to finish washing and drying, and they can take them home with them. They are always gone in no time.
I cut out pictures of flowers, trees, snow, for seasons of the year. I place them taped down in my mail basket, and it looks nice on the porch.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
A good way to recycle magazines and newspapers is to put them in a paper shredder and use the shreds for packing parcels!
