For people who regularly receive magazines, these can stack up quickly. For people wanting to declutter their homes, it can be challenging to know what the best thing to do with old magazines is. So, what should be done with old magazines?
The best thing to do with old magazines is to recycle them. Magazines can easily be recycled at any local recycling plant that accepts paper products. Recycling these allows for less waste to be put into the landfills while allowing one’s home to be decluttered of unwanted magazines.
There are many different things that can be done with old magazines. It can be difficult to know all the different ways that these magazines can be recycled. After doing research, helpful tips and suggestions have been compiled below.
How to Recycle Old Magazines
Recycling old magazines can be done rather quickly even if you’re local garbage does not collect recycling. Most towns or cities have recycling plants which is the easiest place to drop off unwanted magazines to be recycled. If the magazine comes in a plastic sleeve, simply remove the plastic sleeve before recycling. Many might think that only portions of old magazines can be recycled, however, this is not the case. (Source)
Aside from the plastic sleeve that many magazines come in, the magazine in its entirety can be recycled.
Many local recycling plants have bins to place paper products in. Despite the magazine having stables, the entire magazine can be placed in the paper product bin. If you are recycling from your home, the magazine can be placed with the rest of your recyclables and will eventually be sorted for you after being picked up.
Why Old Magazines Should be Recycled
Many people might wonder if recycling old magazines is worth it. There are a few reasons why recycling these magazines should be chosen over just tossing them into the garbage.
Recycling old magazines can limit the number of paper products needing to be produced, which can then reduce the number of trees that need to be cut down to create these paper products. When old magazines are recycled they can then be reused as other paper products.
Choosing to recycle old magazines means that there is less garbage being placed into the landfills. This can decrease the speed at which landfills are being filled.
Recycled magazines can be used to make other paper products rather than just being tossed out when they are thrown away. Some things that magazines are used to make include stationery, copy paper, and printer paper. (Source)
Practical Uses for Old Magazines
There are some uses for old magazines in the household that might be considered rather than recycling or just tossing them out. The pages of a magazine work well for packing away old knickknacks or other breakable items. Whether the boxes are being packed for a move or being packed simply for storage, wrapping your breakables with the pages of a magazine can protect them from breaking.
Another option for using old magazine pages at home is to use them as wrapping paper.
There are times when a gift needs to be wrapped, but there is no wrapping paper to be found within the house. Instead of going out to quickly purchase some, using colorful magazine pages instead can elevate the need for a quick trip to the store. (Source)
When painting, it can be easy to accidentally get paint on the table. Laying magazine pages out allows there to be little worry about damaging the table while painting.
A final suggestion for practical use of old magazines is using them as a fire starter. Paper makes an excellent fire starter, so this is an easy way to use up some of the old magazines that are lying around the house.
Upcycling Old Magazines
Old magazines can be used for various crafts. A very popular craft using old magazine papers is making collages. Selecting different images that one likes can allow for each individual’s collages to be personalized and unique. (Source)
These crafts can be enjoyed by both adults and children.
Similar to collages, many people use old magazines to create a vision board. These vision or mood boards depict their goals or focus for the year. Individuals place these boards in a place where they can look at them throughout the day and reflect on how focused their life is. To make a mood or vision board, simply cut out sayings and images that fit the focus you want to have throughout the year.
Another use for these pages is to be used for creating origami. Using colorful pages for origami can allow the final product to be unique when compared to all the other origami creations that have been made. There are many different options for what can be created when folding pages while doing origami. There are different animals, flowers, and shapes that can be made from magazine pages when folding them following the steps to create a specific origami creation. (Source)
Donating Old Magazines
There are many places where old magazines can be donated. Local homeless shelters or soup kitchens are a place that often accepts old magazine. They allow the people visiting these places to read through these magazines as a form of entertainment.
Most pre-schools or daycares are always willing to accept old magazines. These magazines provide these children with a lot of options for crafts and creations.
Another place to donate old magazines is nursing homes. Many of these places will accept old magazines to allow their patients to look through the various options that have been donated. (Source)
Magazines are often seen at almost every doctor’s office. Donating your old magazines to these offices helps keep the reading materials in these offices more up-to-date and allows for more reading materials to be available to patients.
A final option for donating old magazines is to the troops. Many people who are serving our country in different places like to have up-to-date reading material. Donating your magazines after reading them can allow the military members who are serving the country to stay on top of current events while also helping you declutter your home. (Source)
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