Any uses for shredded paper?

ChocClare

Sorry - just noticed I'm being asked questions!

We had a family log-making day the other day as my husband shredded a year's worth of accounts from 1995!

Log-maker works fine, and you can make them dense or not which affects how long they burn for and how fast.

However I discovered something quite useful which is this:

If you lay a piece of newspaper on the floor and put some scrunched shredded paper on it and then roll the large piece of newspaper up tightly (as if you were rolling a giant roll-up cigarette), just twisting the ends to hold everything in... it works almost as well as the log-maker! So you could save yourself the outlay and still have a pretty good result. You get to be quite good at working out how much shredded paper and how tight you need it to be. Have a go with this method first if you don't want to spend the money!

shetitasatic

When we moved house recently we first shredded all our confidential papers that were out of date, then used the shredding to pack all our china and valuables/breakables. This was much quicker than wrapping things in newspaper, and much cleaner as the print doesn't come off all over everything - especially your hands when you pack and unpack.

larmy16

If you do use shredded paper for packaging on ebay, it works nicely to put it in a plastic bag first and tie at top. You can mould it round akward things, and line the sides and bottom etc. Much less messy and the person the other end does not end up with a floor covered in shredded paper. Sorry if this has already been mentioned but could not find it.

I recycle mine in with all the other paper.

halloweenqueen_2

It seems strange that some places wil let you put it in the recycling bins and others won't. Thats a good tip for the packing larmy, thanks!

Kadeeae

What do all of you do with the paper that comes out of your shredder? We've kept a bunch for packing, and have no room for any more. Do you just bin it, or are there uses I'm not thinking of?

lynzpower

You can compost some of it, and its quite good to dry out wormeries.

We have recycling bin bags so we tip the contents of the shredder in it.

Would be interested in any other uses OSers come up with!

hex2

Another vote for composting here.

Also pet bedding

valk_scot

You can compost shredded paper as long as it's not glossy coloured paper. (Toxins.) Layer it 50:50 with grass clippings or other soft sappy waste.

Pet bedding.

Packaging,

Kindling for bonfires etc.

Papier mache for crafts.

Ask if your local nursery would like it.

Agapanthus

Have you got any neighbours who keep chickens? Our neighbour uses it as bedding for them. Some used egg boxes and shredded paper = half a dozen eggs every now and then.

Mrs_Thrify

Hiya, I have used it in a playpen with 1-2 year old children, it can be fun to play with.