Old Magazines: 10 Ways to Reuse Them

If you have old magazines sitting around your house that you no longer use, instead of getting rid of them you should recycle them. You can use them to create original decorative and functional elements to have in your home.
Old Magazines: 10 Ways to Reuse Them

Last update: 27 October, 2018

We’ll give you 10 ways to reuse your old magazines in this article.

It’s so easy for old magazines to start to collect dust in the forgotten corners of our home. Technological has definitely begun to replace magazines, although they haven’t been completely erased just yet.

Create pictures with old pages

An interesting and very original way to use old magazines is to create fun pictures with old pages. Cut several sheets of whatever magazine you’ve chosen and roll up each sheet. Then, stick each roll in a holder.

You can create a funny figure or simply cover the entire surface of the holder diagonally or vertically. You’ll have a completely new colorful, textured, and original picture.

Renew picture frames

In the same way, you can renew your picture frames. If you’re tired of looking at the same picture frames and you want to give your home a new aesthetic feel, use old magazines instead of buying totally new frames. In order to do this, all you need to do is form small rolls with different magazine sheets. Glue one roll next to another on the frame’s surface. You’ll have a frame that looks completely different and is covered in magazine paper!

Create a picture

Another original option to create a picture with your old magazines is to cut wide strips of the same size. Interlace them in a vertical and horizontal direction. In this way, you’ll be creating a kind of fabric with strips of paper. After you interlace the strips, stick the lattice on a hanging bracket. Let it dry and hang your new painting! 

Create hanging origami with old magazines

Another way to recycle old magazines and incorporate them into your home is by creating origami. You can find a lot of origami tutorials online. There are so many different models to choose from, such as butterflies, flowers, airplanes, or whatever you like. First, use the tutorial to create the origami. Then, take a thread and tie it to the origami so you can hang it. Admire it as it spins from your ceiling. A collage of origami figures would look wonderful in a child’s room or a play room.

origami with old magazines

If you’re thinking about doing this for a child’s room, consider creating a mobile to hang above their crib for them to look when they are laying down. Using colored magazine paper will be very cheerful and enjoyable to look at.

Wallpaper your walls in an original way

Do you want to update some of the walls in your room, the playroom, or your children’s bedroom? An alternative that we’d like to show you is very practical, economical, and fun. 

Instead of repainting your walls or investing in expensive wallpaper, choose magazines that you love and use them as wallpaper. Imagine the walls in your room being covered in some of your favorite images or comics.

Create wrapping paper, bows, and ribbons

If it’s the festive season or you have a birthday coming up, think about using old magazines as wrapping paper, bows, or ribbons. You won’t have to spend money buying materials to wrap your gifts and instead can use things that are sitting around your house. Create ribbons and bows out of strips of magazines. Use full pages to wrap things.

Line bottles and decorate them

If you have several old magazines as well as a few plastic or glass bottles, you can cover them with magazine pages. Choose images that you like, cut them out, put glue on the back of them, fix them to the bottles, and then let the bottles dry. You can place these bottles on shelves in your room or in whatever space you like.

Create collages

A very fun and creative alternative is to make collages and new photo collections with sheets from old magazines. Cut out old letters, build your own phrases, select images and colorful backgrounds that you like and get to work! You can easily do this activity with your children or friends.

Build a small stool

If you have a large amount of old magazines that are in good condition, you can use them to create an original stool. Place a good number of magazines of the same size together. If you’d like, paste each of the magazines together with glue. This will make your stool a more rigid and stable functional object.

magazine stool

Source: pinterest.com

Once you’re done with that part of the process, let it dry. Then, place a small cushion the size of the magazines on the top of the pile. Use two backpack or leather belts and place them vertically. They need to cover the entire pile of magazines plus the cushion. This will keep everything from slipping, making your stool as strong as possible.

As you can see, there are a lot of ways that you can recycle old magazines and reuse them in your home. Remember that recycling helps the environment. It’s also fun to make new items with objects that you already have sitting around your home! Go ahead and create different original elements with your old magazines.