From the original Frugal Zeitgeist archive. This first-person post was originally published in April 2010 and has been lightly edited for clarity.
It was a friend’s birthday and we had two small gifts to wrap. Wrapping paper is one of those things we have made normal even though it is usually used once and thrown away—a waste of both money and resources.
Using materials you already have is an easy way to create cheap wrapping paper. I have previously used newspaper, inexpensive recycled brown packing paper, and wrapping paper saved from earlier gifts.
This time we used sheets from the discarded-paper pile beside our printer. The paper included printer-alignment tests and a few misprinted pages from an essay. I thought the finished parcel turned out rather well, and it is an idea I will use again.
The ribbon was saved from a box of Valentine’s chocolates, so the entire wrapping job reused materials that would otherwise have been discarded.
How to try it
- Collect clean, one-sided printer paper that does not contain private information.
- Arrange the sheets with the blank or more attractive side facing outward.
- Overlap sheets for a larger gift and secure them neatly with tape.
- Finish with saved ribbon, string, twine, or a strip cut from reusable fabric.
Other low-cost wrapping ideas
- Newspaper or the comics section
- Brown paper grocery bags opened flat
- Gift bags and tissue paper saved from earlier occasions
- Children’s drawings on reused paper for a personal touch
- A scarf, tea towel, or other reusable fabric wrap
Before reusing printed paper, check it carefully for names, addresses, account details, or anything else that should remain private. Once that is done, the imperfections can become part of the design.
Reusing comes before recycling: it avoids buying something new and gives an existing material another useful life.
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