Every year it seems that families spend more and more at Christmas time. Many are looking for ways they can save money. One way to save money is to recycle your wrapping paper rather than merely throwing it away. You’ve already spent the money, oftentimes quite a bit; it almost seems wasteful to toss it out. Here are some ways, now and through-out the coming year, you can recycle your wrapping paper by using it for other things after it’s already wrapped gifts.

Use crumpled wrapping paper to keep fragile ornaments from being damaged. Sure, you can buy ornament keepers, but a sturdy box and some crumpled paper will do the same job. It will also save you money because ornament keepers can be expensive.

Push crumpled-up wrapping paper into formed hats or purses to help them stay the correct shape when they’re stored away for a period of time. This is especially helpful if you don’t have boxes to store them in.

Re-wrap presents next year. Of course, this will be difficult to do if the paper is too wrinkled or torn up. If you had wrapped a large present, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem. If the wrapping paper is wrinkled, you can turn the paper on the wrong side and iron it on low. You can also cut off parts of the wrapping paper that can be used again to wrap smaller presents in the future.

Did someone wrap a present in wrapping paper that’s not really limited to Christmas? Iron the back of the wrapping paper with an iron set on low. Find a corkboard that will fit into the paper and wrap it up. This is a great craft for children to try because they can tape the wrapping paper on the back and it doesn’t have to be perfect. Hang the corkboard up by a telephone as a message board.

Learn a new craft and recycle your wrapping paper at the same time. You can find books on origami at the library. If your library doesn’t have a book, look online. There are many websites that are dedicated to the art of folding paper. This could result in some original holiday decorations for next year.

Use the ironed paper as drawer or shelf liners. Measure the size of your drawers and shelves before placing the paper in them. This will allow the paper to fit as closely as possible. If you have enough wrapping paper to recycle this way, you may be able to place more than one layer in each drawer. Remove the top layer of paper when it is soiled and you’ll already have another to replace it.

Make a decision this year to try to save as much wrapping paper as possible so that it can be used again in the future. Recycle your wrapping paper. Reuse and re-purpose it to save yourself some money, create some unique decor, and relieve that feeling of it all going to waste.

Now go finish your wrapping!