Saving another phone book from the city's land fill...one phone book at a time.

Do you have an extra phone book taking up space?  Many of us use the internet to find local phone numbers these days. Even if we use our phone books, these information gems become extinct the moment the new and updated  book arrives.  So, where does a phone book go when it is no longer needed?  If you recycle and your program accepts phone books, you're one of the lucky ones!  Many programs do not take these weighty tomes.

Idea #1:  If you are someone who enjoys pressing the occasional flower for a craft project, phone books are ideal for this.  The paper in the book helps absorb the moisture in the plant and if you have several books...the extras can be placed on TOP of the book you're using for pressing.  The extra weight helps expedite the process.

I pressed some hydrangea leaves taken from the yard of a gardening friend in Alabama (thank you, Chuck) with the idea of using them like paper.  This idea never really came to fruition but it worked as I imagined it would and I was even able to use my punches on the leaves, just as I use them with paper:

Idea #2:  Keep an old phone book handy and use the individual pages, crumpled, for packing material.  The holidays are coming up and if you are someone who sends gifts from your home, these thin, light-weight pages make good packing material and will help keep your gifts safe during their journey over land and sea. If possible, refrain from buying  plastic bubble wrap if your gift can be wrapped in paper instead.

Idea #3:  For the gardener, here is a better solution for reusing your old phone books.  Tear off chunks of pages up to 1/4" thick and lay down on top of areas where you would like to suppress weeds.  Cover paper with several inches of mulched leaves, pine straw or other mulching materials.  Whenever you find weeds growing up in between your paper and through the mulch (and you will, as the weeds struggle to reach the light), lay old newspaper on top of these new weeds and cover with additional mulch.  This works like a charm and easier than pulling the weeds.  The paper and leaves will break down over time, conditioning the soil and adding carbon-rich materials as well.   It's a lot easier than pulling weeds!  I'll  leave that chore to Sisyphus.

Now you see it...

...now you don't!