5 Ways to Recycle Old Magazines

Do you have several magazine subscriptions and don't know what to do with all the excess magazines? Do you get a magazine and once you're done reading it toss it out? If these describe you and you want to stop doing these things, then this article is for you!

Throwing out your old magazines isn't great for the earth and is ultimately bad for us human beings. These old magazines, when not recycled, simply go out with the other trash to the landfills which continuously gets bigger and bigger. This is bad not only for the earth, but for us as well!

Taking steps to eliminate your trash and waste is one of the best ways to make the world a better place. Before you throw out your next magazine, consider ways that you can actually save that magazine and reuse it to still provide some use to you.

• Decoupage: Decoupage is a form of art that often relies on using old materials. Decoupage is were you take pieces of paper (from magazines, napkins, etc.) and use them to decorate just about anything. You can also elaborate on this by adding paint, ribbons, buttons, and other craft items to really make your product pop.
• Donate: If you own kid friendly magazines, many schools will accept your old magazines for their students. For your more adult magazines, ask your local library or hospital if they accept old magazines. Many of these places will accept them so long as they're not too old or messed up. There are also some literacy programs that will accept them, you simply have to call around and find out if they will. This idea is best for the magazines that are more plain and not as useful for crafting.
• Recipe Book: Are you subscribed to cooking magazines or magazines that feature many recipes that you would love to try out? Consider cutting these recipes out of your magazines, along with the pictures if the magazines have pictures of the food, and making your own recipe book out of them. This makes your recipe book more visually appealing with typed out words and attractive pictures to go along with your food.
• Gift Wrapping Tissue: This is by far one of the easiest things to do with your old magazines. Simply crumple a few select pages up like you would tissue paper and stuff them in your presents that you plan on giving to someone. Be selective on what pages you use, as not all look nice or are appropriate for the gift you are giving.
• Exchange: Do some of your friends and family share similar interest in magazines with you? Start a magazine exchange program amongst them in which you all trade off on your recent magazines that you have finished reading. This is a great way to stay up to date on various things and it also provides a way for your family, friends, and yourself to all connect.