When the holidays were over and I was cleaning the house and putting away all the Christmas gifts and decorations, I gathered all the greeting cards into a pile. I stared at them, hating to throw them away, but it was not like I was going to pull them out in a month or even next year to read them again. Throwing them out seemed like the best option, but was it? I found there are other options and we can recycle old greeting cards. Here are a couple of ideas for how to use them.
First, gather up any old greeting cards you have gotten from Christmas, birthdays and other holidays or occasions and store them in a shoe box. It keeps the cards together in one spot that can easily be tucked away and doesn't take up much space.
1. Recycle old holiday cards into present tags! Use the whole front of the card or cut out a section/picture you like. Punch a hole in the top and attach a string or ribbon to attach to gifts.
2. Use parts of the cards to decorate other art projects. Most greeting cards have lots of color, glitter, gems, fun pictures, and pretty words. When the kids have a project for school or maybe they are feeling creative at home, take the box out and let them cut out pictures and words to use.
3. Reuse the cards.
A. Depending on the card and occasion, you could possibly reuse it. Cards aren't cheap so if they can be used again, not only are you recycling, but you are also saving yourself a little money. For instance, some cards have the words printed on an inner sheet of paper that is barely attached. Carefully pull that paper out and you have a fresh, new card that you can write your own message in!
B. You can can also take the inside of a card and, if there is minimal writing, just cut out a piece construction paper to the right size and glue over what is inside. Another fresh start.
A. Depending on the card and occasion, you could possibly reuse it. Cards aren't cheap so if they can be used again, not only are you recycling, but you are also saving yourself a little money. For instance, some cards have the words printed on an inner sheet of paper that is barely attached. Carefully pull that paper out and you have a fresh, new card that you can write your own message in!
B. You can can also take the inside of a card and, if there is minimal writing, just cut out a piece construction paper to the right size and glue over what is inside. Another fresh start.
Don't throw those beautiful old cards out! Save them and recycle. You will feel better about reusing them, at least I do!
Happy Recycling!
