If I get one more piece of junk mail I'll...
I hate junk mail. It seems like an invasion of my mailbox, and for reasons other than some sense of eco-morality, every time I open my mailbox to an onslaught of paper fliers and advertisements to credit card companies, I see red. There are a number of legitimate ways to stop junk mail, but while you’re calling the 1-800 numbers and filling out forms, you can try these 10 creative – sometimes slightly revengeful – uses for unwanted junk mail.
1. Learn to make nifty beads which can be strung together for colorful jewelry. Sell it at flea markets and use the money to buy a composter.
2. Save the junk mail in a craft box for your kids. My son loves to color on the wasteful ads that have print only on one side. And kids always manage to find creative uses for otherwise unwanted items. They’re brilliant that way.
3. Weave a basket.
4. Line your birdcage. (My birds love pooping on credit card applications.)
5. Throw it in a blender, add water, and make your own decorative stationery. Okay, there may be more to it than that, but darn it’s creative. Check out this how to make paper link.
6. Wrap small presents in the more colorful sheets. Yes, it’s cheap, but your friends will thank you for it. Or not.
7. Mark it return to sender and mail it back. It’ll help keep our U.S. postal workers employed. (This doesn’t work with bulk mail, however.)
8. Learn origami.
9. Teach the kids papier mache, make collages, shred it and use it in your chicken coop, sort and recycle it, wallpaper with it, make paper airplanes.
10. Getting an A+ for creativity is this idea I stole from a coworker. Collect all the Postage Paid envelopes you receive from credit card companies. Stuff them with a wide variety of advertisements and other junk mail, seal the envelopes and mail them. Is it legal? I have no idea. But just the thought of sending junk mail to the credit card companies makes me smile just a little inside.
