Tuesday Tip | Keep a scrap paper clip on your fridge
I know it's the digital age and all, but somehow, I do still seem to end up with an impressive amount of un-needed paper.
It could be printed recipes I don't want to keep, scraps from trimming around eBay printed postage labels, old school assignments, or junk mail letters with blank backs...anything that's not good for putting in the printer but that still has a usable side.
I'm still a physical-paper kind of person when it comes to lists, so I keep a chip clip on my fridge for scrap papers.
Then when I need to make a to-do list or a grocery list or anything else that doesn't need to be beautiful, I just grab a piece of the scrap paper.
Blank paper isn't crazy expensive, so this tip isn't going to fund your retirement or anything. But it is a nice way to get a little more use out of the paper before you compost or recycle it.
I've been doing this for years and find it better than using my notes app on my phone, for whatever reason. Guess I'm an old-school paper person too!
I like it better than the notes app, also. I use the notes app, too, but for that there are a few steps to open up the app on the phone whereas the paper is ready for veiwing. Plus, I like being able to check things off as I complete them.
The phone app does me no good whatsoever. Too cumbersome to open, too cumbersome to write in, I have to remember that I have lists on there. Scraps of paper work well for me, starting with the visual reminder that it exists. One of my friends likes using old envelopes for his lists.
I use old office paper and mailings for almost everything I print, using a ream of "clean" paper every 5 years or so. Even so, I don't pay for it - office supply stores occasionally run deals that include a free ream of paper (buy $X amount, trade in used copier cartridge, etc).
That is exactly why digital lists, calendars, and books don't work very well for me. I completely forget they're there. A physical item is a lot easier to remember!
I do this at school. I have a pile of scraps trimmed from my question of the day pictures - perfect for to-do lists. At home I use the back side of my kids' old page-a-day calendars for lists and notes. That way we enjoy the calendar pictures and comics twice. Once on the day and again when I pull it out to make a list!
I do the same! I like a physical list although sometimes I make one on my smart phone.
We do this too! And use scrap paper for everything! We actually have a clip where we put some semi-important papers so we don't lose them (Like the boy's Pizza Hut book-it coupons!)
Bethany | http://www.CuteCapsuleLife.com
I must make a comment on the Pizza Hut book-it coupons. We LOVED these coupons when my daughter was in grade school, as we could get an adult-version pizza (with a coupon, of course) at a take-and-bake and an individual cheese pan pizza from Pizza Hut (free with the book-it coupon). I learned to call ahead at both places and picked them up in one trip. We literally had Friday night dinner solved on a monthly basis for 2 school years. This was the best frugal combination ever and I was very sad that only my daughter's 1st and 2nd grade teachers distributed the coupons. Imagine my frugal shock when I mentioned the book-it coupons to a neighbor who had a similarly aged daughter and she replied, "Oh, I never remember to use those things!"
I don't have scrap paper on the fridge, but I do have scrap paper in a stackable tray (other trays have notebook paper, kids' writing paper, etc.). I am a big scrap paper list maker, too. Lately, though, I've also been a post-it-type note list maker because I cleaned out several piles and drawers of "stuff" and found a whole stack of note pads (many freebies from conferences and so on); my back pocket holds my current tiny notepad, and I carry it around with me to jot something down whenever/wherever I need to.
We use the backs of used envelopes for our fridge lists (menu planning and grocery list). Scratch paper gets used pretty quickly for math for dc1 and art for DC2. Sometimes I even have to bring some home from work!
I try not to print out anything when I can read it online.
When it comes to shopping list, we just write down stuff we need on the board and take a pic of it with our phone. I think it cuts down on our paper usage a great deal.
Great idea to snap a pic of your list!
I like that idea - and I've tried, but I get so frustrated at the store continuously unlocking my phone to bring the photo back up! 🙂
Me too! That's my same beef with using digital recipes. It's so annoying to have to keep un-sleeping whatever device I'm using, and to have to keep cleaning my hands to scroll.
I finally bought Paprika for my recipes on my phone (it syncs with my computer). I noticed that Paprika doesn't dim or turn off the display while it's in use.
On our Android tablet, I found a program called Caffeine that keeps the tablet awake when you turn on Caffeine. It looks like this is also available for Macs and iphones.
Ohhh! That must be how people do this without driving themselves nuts.
If you put your device in a snaplock bag it will still swipe so you don't have to keep washing your hands - although I'm a paper girl myself, I much prefer a written recipe especially as I add notes to them all the time.
I do the same thing with our kitchen call board. The benefit of a tangible list without the stress of losing it.
I'm not sure what a call board is... haha... that should read "chalk board"
Hahaha call board sounds very fancy!! I figured you were British and thatbwas the term for it lol
I use the back of used envelopes for my list making and scrap paper. I also use backs of paper through the printer.
Good idea!!
I almost always have some sort of little notepad clipped to the fridge for notes. The kids usually end up with any scrap paper for their art projects.
And even if it doesn’t save a ton, it’s more environmentally friendly than my cute notepads.
At my office I will reuse unclaimed printer paper, and paper that was printed by mistake, such as a stack printed by an unknown person who never confessed -- over 100 sheets with nothing but a line on them. I have permission to take the paper home. I cut the papers up small and put them in one of those old metal match holders for wooden matches, that hangs on the wall and has an opening to drop the box in -- this one came from my grandfather's farm kitchen. My husband hung the match holder on the wall by my phone, and I have room to drop a pencil and pen in with the paper slips. It's handy.
I also reuse junk mail envelopes, but honestly, I get so many unsolicited notepads from charities, I don't need to create my own. Most of them have magnetic backs, even, so I just hang them on the side of my refrigerator for shopping lists. I use both sides of the paper at least.
In my purse, I keep a small notebook, and I use it completely up before I allow myself another one. I kept one notebook for six years. My current one is 2 years old. Like Savannah said, I get frustrated at having to repeatedly unlock my phone at the store, and stopped using it for shopping lists.
I once worked for a woman who wouldn't let us tear off our calculator tapes; we had to keep the roll as all one piece. When we used the roll all the way up, we had to remove it from the spindle, turn it blank side out, rewind it and use it again. She was a hard-core paper saver.
I carry around little notebooks with me (think Field Notes style.) Instead of buying them I use old scrap paper and make my own.
I may be an IT guy but digital lists are just a foreign concept to me.
I work in an office and am given magnetic list pads frequently as small gifts for Christmas, administrative professionals day, etc. So I always have cute paper on my fridge. But if I didn't have a drawer full of cute notepads I would totally do this! When I finished college I had stacks of paper I had paid dearly for at 10 cents a page to print out at the college library. It took me years to use up the back-sides of those. My recipe binder is full of recipes on one-side, research on the other. 🙂
I bought some long Christmas cards one year in a pretty box. That box now holds my grocery list paper. Everytime I receive something in the mail, I trim the envelope around the edges to create the perfectly sized grocery lists! There's something very satisfying in re-purposing what would have otherwise ended up in the recycling bin!
I do this, too. My kids get so many papers sent home from school. I just tear them in half and clip them up for future use. I also keep leftover papers to staple into “art books” for the kids to draw, sticker, etc. It always feels good to get several uses out of something before recycling.
Yes! Good idea! Today I used some scrap paper to make paper money to play store with the kids. It was a craft and a game of pretend!
My husband always makes fun of me and my mom for using the back of old envelopes for lists and such. I think she inherited it from my grandma who grew up during the depression. She did not waste anything. She even used one side of the q-tip one day and saved the other side for the next day.
I shred all our paper, once it is used on both sides whenever possible, and use it as bedding for our hedgehog. After he is done with it, I compost the poopy remains. I feel like I get maximum use out of every piece of paper that crosses our threshold!
In addition to the many tips here (that I use) I reuse the envelopes not only to make shopping list but put my coupons (that corraspond with what I am buying) in the envelope. So I'm not looking all over for them when in the store.
Yes! I was just going to write that: Use old envelopes for coupons.
One publication we receive as a gift monthly always has a "subscribe more" return envelope in it, and it is just the right size for coupons inside, and my shopping list scribbled on the outside.
My parents were super paper savers. I have the ongoing list Mom wrote of when all the grandchildren were born, dates, weights, etc., on an old check deposit slip. She just added new names as they came along, and flipped the paper over when one side was full.
I don't know where all the scrap paper comes from at our place. I tend to throw it all into recycling and fish it out when I need some for a list or art or printing or wrapping paper or whatever my paper needs are.
My Android phone came with a list keeping app called "Keep". While I much prefer paper notes, I do use it for my Costco Shopping List. The number of things I buy at Costco is comparatively small. I list everything I ever buy there. Prior to shopping, I just type an X next to what we need. I don't delete it until it's time to shop again, so it provides a handy reference of what I bought last time. There are many things at Costco that buying twice in a row accidentally (ahem) is just way, way too much. This helps me save money, because I just treasure hunt for what's on my list without looking anywhere else.
So many great hints here! I do most of these already, but I hate the look of stuff all over my refrigerator. . I keep my papers in a drawer.
Yeah, me too - paper all the way, this is a great idea, i use envelopes and pages out of old exercise books too.
There is something so very satisfying about being able to cross off something on a list written on scrap paper. Or an old envelope.