How To Reuse Wrapping Paper
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If you’re trying to live a more frugal or more sustainable lifestyle, then you may be looking to eliminate items that are only used once, in favour of those that can be used again and again.
Wrapping paper is one of those items, so I’m going to take a look at some of the ways it could be reused.
How To Reuse Wrapping Paper
It was my birthday last week and one of my friends gave me some gifts wrapped in beautiful bee themed wrapping paper. It was so pretty I really want to try and reuse it for something.
Luckily, it’s my daughter’s fourth birthday this weekend and I used the paper to wrap a few of her gifts.
However, it did get me thinking about how much wrapping paper only gets used once and how much of it isn’t actually recyclable.
Why Can’t I Recycle Wrapping Paper?
Some types of wrapping paper can be recycled, as in, put in the recycling that is collected from your home each week.
However, there are lots of types of wrapping paper that cannot be recycled. This includes foil wrapping paper (which is what my lovely bee wrapping was) and wrapping paper that contains glitter in any form.
Glitter is made from plastic and typically can’t be recycled. It can actually end up contaminating your other recycling, meaning that can’t be recycled either.
In fact, some supermarkets and other outlets have actually banned wrapping paper and greetings cards that contain glitter.
One of the small positives about foil wrapping paper though is that it holds its shape really well, meaning that as long as gifts are opened carefully, it can be used again at least once, if not three or four times.
In contrast, while most paper wrapping paper can be recycled, it’s often only used one as it rips and tears easily as gifts are opened.
5 Reasons To Reuse Wrapping Paper
- It’s better for the environment
- Reusing wrapping paper can save you money
- Can create budget activities for kids – eg, making paper chains
- You’re helping to save trees
- Reusing is better than recycling
So, what is the solution here? How can we reuse wrapping paper, both paper and foil?
While it can be harder with kids, opening gifts carefully means you should be able to reuse the wrapping paper at least once, for wrapping more gifts.
If that’s not possible it could be cut into smaller pieces and used for children’s crafts or for decoupaging.
Paper wrapping paper that is crumpled can be carefully flattened out using an Iron on low heat.
Other options include using the wrapping paper to make paper chains – this is perfect if you hate throwing away lots of wrapping paper at Christmas!
Leftover wrapping paper could also be made into paper envelopes or sturdier foil wrapping paper made into bows or ribbons.
Should I Cut Out Wrapping Paper Altogether?
I don’t think there is any need to cut out wrapping paper altogether, but a little bit of forward planning does mean that you can take a more environmentally friendly (and cheaper!) approach to gift wrapping.
The most recyclable option when it comes to gift wrap is brown paper. It’s cheaper to buy and easy to personalise with stamp sets or paints.
Simple paper wrapping is another great choice as it can be recycled – avoid anything with glitter or foil.
Ideas for wrapping that can be used over and over include silks scarves, tea towels, old duvets and other materials you can get your hands on. I’ve even seen people use old T-shirts!
Another option is just not to wrap at all. Many people use gift bags instead of wrapping paper as they do a good job of concealing the gifts within. These can be reused time and time again and are much sturdier than wrapping paper.
You could either choose to leave the tag blank or when reusing one yourself, create a new tag (old Christmas and birthday cards are perfect for this!)
If you plan to reuse any type of wrapping paper, make sure you store it somewhere others won’t think it’s rubbish and bin it anyway. Like most people, I have a box full of birthday cards, wrapping paper and ribbon so I always pop mine in there so I know where to find it next there is a birthday in our household.
