Simply "Cycle" Saturday

I know that today is Sunday and I am just now posting "Super Cycle Saturday". See the post My Baby's First Birthday Party for the reason I am behind on posting, its a good one!

Last week I talked about how to get the best use out of Old Phone Books. This week I would like to touch on left over newspapers.

Many of us receive or purchase the Sunday paper every week for the coupons. What do you do with the rest of the paper? Some of you may have a recycle program where you live. Why not put the papers to better use. Here are some things that I have come up with to use the papers for.

1. Puppy Potty Training: If you have a new puppy who is not yet potty trained, use it as potty paper. You could go out and buy those expensive potty training pads, or you could use old newspaper. Just put a few layers of it down on the floor or kennel where your puppy stays (be sure to use the black and white pages over the colored because they soak liquid better). It is easy to clean up and soaks up liquid very easily. Most veterinary clinics use it as flooring in their kennels.
2. If you have cats, line the litter box with old newspaper. This will absorb extra liquid and soak up some of the smell. What I do is line the litter box with old newspaper, sprinkle some baking soda and then the litter. This prolongs the life of the litter and cuts down the odor.
3. If you are looking for a retro decoration for a room in your house, cover an old shoebox with it. Get some Modge Podge paste from Walmart and take your old newspaper and adhere it to the shoe box. You can do this with any old item that needs a little sprucing up. A friend of mine refinished an old table top of hers like this and it looked great!
4. Wrap gifts with it. Wrapping paper tends to be very expensive. What a better way to show that you recycle than to use your old newspaper as wrapping paper. You can personalize it by wrapping your gifts and writing on it with a Sharpie. If it is for a birthday party, use the brightest sharpies you have and draw balloons on the paper and write Happy Birthday in bubble letters. It is original and lots of fun to design.
5. Here is a website that you can check out other great ideas. There are 80 uses for old newspaper listed on this site. The ideas are endless!

How have you used old newspaper creatively? Post it here and share with everyone!