What you can do with newspaper around the house

Once you have finished reading the daily newspaper, it doesn't have to end up in the recycling bin right away. We have put together a few tips on where the good old newspaper can still be used:

Tips for how to use a newspaper in the household

Newspaper in the household

• After grilling, wrap the dirty grill grate in damp newspaper overnight. The next morning, the grate will be much easier to clean.
• Wrap hard avocados or pale tomatoes in newspaper – this helps them ripen faster.
• When peeling potatoes or other vegetables, place the scraps on a piece of newspaper – it can be easily disposed of, doesn't smell as bad in the organic waste bin, and it also absorbs moisture.
• With an induction stove, you can spread a layer of newspaper on the cooktop before frying. The grease splatters land on the newspaper, saving you from having to clean the stove – ATTENTION: this ONLY works with induction. With a normal stove, you can spread the newspaper next to the cooktop or on the floor in front of it, which also saves a bit of cleaning.
• If your shoes have become wet, simply stuff crumpled newspaper into them. It absorbs the moisture – do not place the shoes near a heater, as this damages the leather!
• If your shoes have become very dirty, place them on newspaper so that the floor or doormat doesn't get completely soiled.
• Place newspaper under the doormat to catch dirt effectively.
• Roll up carpets with newspaper – moths do not like the smell of printer's ink.
• Moths in the closet? Then line the closet with newspaper; it repels the moths.
• Strips of newspaper can serve as bookmarks in a cookbook – simply cut off a few strips and mark your favorite recipes.
• Forgot your cooler bag while shopping? Simply wrap the frozen product in a newspaper – it will stay cool longer.
• Use crumpled newspaper as filler material for packages so that gifts remain well-packed during shipping.
• Fill tall boots with rolled-up newspapers. This prevents unsightly creases and saves you from having to buy shoe trees.
• Place newspapers UNDER the floor mats in your car – this draws out moisture and prevents the windows from fogging up.
• Wrap briquettes tightly with newspaper and place them in the already properly warm oven. Close the oven vent afterwards. This keeps the embers and heat going for hours.

Newspaper for plants

• If a potted plant has been watered too much, wrap the root ball in newspaper. It absorbs the excess moisture and prevents the sensitive roots from rotting.
• Lay out newspaper when repotting; this way, the clumps of soil fall onto the paper, making them easy to dispose of and saving you from having to clean the floor afterwards.
• Place crumpled newspaper between fresh grass clippings in the compost – this way, the grass and newspaper rot together, and the green waste does not rot.

Newspaper for cleaning

• Polish freshly cleaned windows and mirrors with newspaper afterwards – this makes them streak-free. By the way, this also works for car windows!
• Dirty glass vases become clean again if you put a few strips of newspaper inside with some water. Let it sit for a while, then pour it out, rinse with lukewarm water, and everything is clean.
• Sooty fireplace or oven glass can be cleaned with wet newspaper. Crumple the newspaper, moisten it with water, and dip it into some leftover ash. Use this to wipe away the soot deposits. Clean up afterwards with a dry newspaper.
• Lay newspaper on top of freshly cleaned kitchen cabinets; they absorb the grease from the air, saving you from having to scrub them again.
• Place a thick layer of newspaper at the bottom of your organic and residual waste bins; this absorbs moisture and keeps the bin reasonably clean.

Newspaper for DIY projects

• Lay out newspaper on the floors when renovating so that they stay clean and major cleaning is avoided.
• Insert small balls of newspaper into dowel or drill holes, cover with interior filler – done!
• When painting window frames, you can use damp newspaper for 'masking' if you run out of tape or don't want to buy any.

Newspaper for crafting

• You can make fun party hats for birthdays or New Year's Eve with newspaper.
• Cut or torn into small pieces, newspaper becomes confetti for Carnival.
• Particularly beautiful pages can be used as wrapping paper. Add a matching ribbon and it's beautifully wrapped.
• Use newspaper as a base when painting or crafting.
• Make papier-mâché figures out of newspapers and wallpaper paste.

Newspaper for pets

• Line the birdcage with newspaper; if you like, you can sprinkle bird sand or wood chips on top. When cleaning, simply dispose of the newspaper, saving you from long cleaning sessions.
• The litter box stays fresh longer if you line it with newspaper under the cat litter.
• Other cages for hamsters, rabbits, or other small rodents can also be lined with newspaper before adding litter or similar materials.

Do you have any other tips for used newspaper? Then I would be very happy to receive a comment or an email!

Read also: Clean vases quickly and easily

Photo by Janine, meinhaushalt.at