What can I make from my old paper?

Do you know that you can get paid to recycle your old paper?

If you do a search for “recycle paper near me”, you should be able to find a company that will collect your paper.

At my bike shop, I recycle:

-cardboard boxes and paper.
-metal parts from bicycles.

On my request, the guy who collects my recyclables will give my staff some pocket money.

I also send packaging material taken off bicycles delivered, like bubble wraps and plastic sheets that are clean and still in good condition, to a courier service company, right next door. 

However, there many ways you can make use of them, if you do not want to recycle them or have to pay a fee for collection. If they are blank paper, you can make notebooks out of them. I shared how it can be done in a question I answered on Quora earlier at the following link. From there you can learn to bind the papers together into a notebook:

What is one specific physical feature you always look for when choosing a new notebook for your art ideas?

You can use the notebooks you make to start a journal because journaling is good for your emotional wellbeing. If you are feeling down and do not know how to start journaling, read this book by Lee Crutchley, "How to Be Happy (Or at Least Less Sad): A Creative Workbook". I found a review about it shared on VaneesBabySteps YouTube channel. At the end of the video, she flipped through the book which will give you an idea how you can go about journaling your thoughts so that you can be less sad.

If you are not someone who likes to write, you can also journal in bullet points. I saved some ideas on how you can do it on my Pinterest board, “Bujo (bullet point journal)”.

Following are other ways you can make use of your notebook. You can use it:

-to record recipes

-to draw or doodle in it.

-as a travel/souvenir collection book.

-as an accounting book.

-as a scrapbook to stick your photos or cut out of images that inspire you.

-to jot down ideas and develop your writing skill as an author.

Are you good at crafting? If there are prints on them, you can use them for paper-mâché projects to make practical items like bowls and planters to decorative objects, such as, sculptures, masks, and ornaments.. You can learn the process from the following question I answered earlier.

What are some free doll patterns?

If you can make use of your old paper, you are actually creating abundance out of the abandoned. You can use them to:

-create paper beads to make decorative items or jewellery.

-create decorative items with decoupage or collage.-pick up origami.

-pick up quilling (rolling strips).

-pick up papercutting.

-make greeting cards.

-make gift boxes or wrap gifts.

-make baskets or storage boxes.

-make paper flowers.

-make flatpack paper toy

If you like any of the above suggestions, you can check out the free tutorials I saved on my Pinterest board, "Playing with waste paper".