Aluminum cans, paper, and plastic are synonymous with the word recycling, but did you know that you can also do something useful with the old magazines you’ve been collecting?
Repurpose
One of our favorite repurposing ideas is to make bows out of old magazines as shown here in Whole Living. According to the DIY publication, you’ll need one magazine page per bow (best if the page is mostly one color) and some double-sided tape. Click here for detailed step-by-step instructions.
Would you like to make a vase out of your old magazines? This step-by-step video walks you through the process and even explains the supplies and amount of magazines you’ll need depending on the size of vase you’d like to make. The finished project looks hard, but this video makes it seem surprisingly easy: How to Make a Vase out of Old Magazines
Reuse
Make your own custom magazine out of your favorite articles. Depending on how scrapbook savvy you are you can make your own colorful book out of old magazine favorites. The project can be as basic as collecting the best of your magazines in a large binder or file folder or scrapbooking them with notations and embellishments to be admired later. This project demands a gray afternoon and a cup of hot chocolate or tea. Spend hours cutting out articles, recipes and photos that you can’t bear to part with, then recycle the leftover pages.
Recycle
Donating your old magazines versus throwing them in a recycling bin is a better way to give your favorite periodicals a second life. Visit Home Storage Solutions for some excellent options for magazine donations. Our favorite suggestions include contacting your local library, taking a gift of magazines to a nearby nursing home or hosting a magazine swapping party and exchanging glossies with your favorite friends or new acquaintances. Remember to remove your address labels and any other identifying packaging before you give them away. If you’re stuck for donation ideas consider reaching out to civic groups that share your interests. Hobbyist magazines would be most appreciated by a similar group, while fashion magazines might be best at a women’s shelter or other female-centric outlet.
Do you want more ideas? We recommend visiting Pinterest for hundreds of more ways to give your magazines an extended purpose.