I cut the envelope open with a letter opener (unless the flap can easily be opened without cutting). Uses: store coupons, to do lists, store receipts.
If it has see through window on back, with plastic then when I am done with the envelope, I cut that out with border to use for crafts. Put 2 back to back and put a fortune cookie paper inside. Glue 3 sides then fill with confetti or glitter. Seal 4th side = gift tag.
Use the inside and outside to write lists, etc. If it has flap reuse for mailing or see above. The insides: find and cut out my address-use as return label on mailings with glue stick. There is normally an extra envelope or 2 use them! Colorful paper gets saved for crafts; confetti, paper punches and shredded for packaging gifts.
If there is plain paper with a blank side it gets saved for lists or writing on. Any images that can be saved for collage get saved, too. If you have to store anything fragile save the unusable paper and scrunch for protection. Anything else unusable gets recycled!
By cara from Kent, OH
This page contains the following solutions.
I take all the junk mail and newspapers that come to our home and shred it and use it for mulch in my garden. It is very colorful and works great.
I've mentioned this before but methinks my tip is too cheap and easy for most people to accept.
I save envelopes junk mail comes in and use it to stash my coupons and shopping list when heading to the grocery store.
If you are like 98% of all Americans, you get mail you would rather not receive (and I'm not talking about bills - who wants those). Here are a couple suggestions of things to use that unwanted mail for.
I always date mark my cans when I bring them home so I know to use them on time. More and more, labels are too slippery to write on and I hate the smell of markers
I use the unprinted side of paper from ads, bills, and other letters received to copy and print grocery and drug store coupons. Paper that hasn't been printed on either side is saved for important correspondence.
The first thing I do upon receiving my AARP magazine is tear out those pesky mail-in reply cards that make the magazine difficult to handle, but before pitching them, I check for blanks. Since I do not regularly stock postcards, these are a handy substitute for business-related needs.
Before I throw out the junk mail that comes through the post (in the recycling bin of course) I cut out the address.
Many of our ads and coupons come in envelopes. Many of the slips of paper inside are printed on only one side! They are all cut the same size, so I pull them out, staple them in the corner and viola a nice tablet!
If it is blank on the other side I use it as scrap paper to write on. If not blank, I put it my recycle bin.
We receive a lot of junk mail. Instead of putting it in the trash, I go through it and tear off anything that would identify us and save the blank parts for scratch paper. The remainder goes in the paper recycling container.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I want to use junk mail as printer paper. I was wondering if anyone has an idea of a way to fade the writing on junk mail so that I can print something else on it and be able to read it. I would prefer not to use chemicals.
By Comral
I don't think you will be able to remove the ink without chemicals; and even if you were willing to use chemicals, it seems the cost and trouble would erase any savings in using your junk mail this way. I don't know about your junk mail; but I know most of mine is printed with colored ink on coated paper; and I don't think you'd be able to re-use that for the printer, at all. You can easily re-use flat paper that only has print on one side, just put that in your printer, so that it will feed with the blank side for printing.
You can recycle junk mail in making homemade paper; but it is not generally suitable for printers, though it is a lot of fun to make and use.
To save money and resources when printing: set your printer to default to "draft" mode, you will save a lot of ink; and also set the default to black and white. (You can choose color or high quality for those occasions when you need it.) Purchase the least expensive printer paper you can, and be sure to print both sides. If your printer cannot do this automatically, only feed one sheet at a time, so you can reverse it and run it through the next page.
Lastly, and maybe most importantly, think twice before printing. Can you save the page to your hard drive instead? Can you copy the information (by hand) onto scrap paper? Do a "print preview" before printing from the internet. Very often, you only want one or two pages, but with all the ads and comments, you get six or eight! If all you want is 2 pages, or specific pages, only print those!
Ideas for using junk mail in a productive way. Post your ideas!
I put a stack in my camper along with dryer lint I save in an empty coffee can. It's great for starting campfires when we are camping.
We all have so much paper that gets recycled every week, why not use some of the sturdier advertising mailings and political flyers to make your own reusable craft templates. They may not last as long as plastic ones, but you can always make more. This is a page about making recycled paper craft templates.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Ideas for using junk mail in a productive way. Post your ideas!
