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From the kitchen:

  • Coffee grounds and filters
  • Tea bags
  • Used paper napkins
  • Pizza boxes, ripped into smaller pieces
  • Paper bags, either ripped or balled up
  • The crumbs you sweep off of the counters and floors
  • Plain cooked pasta
  • Plain cooked rice
  • Stale bread
  • Paper towel rolls
  • Stale saltine crackers
  • Stale cereal
  • Used paper plates (as long as they don't have a waxy coating)
  • Cellophane bags (be sure it's really Cellophane and not just clear plastic—there's a difference.)
  • Nut shells (except for walnut shells, which can be toxic to plants)
  • Old herbs and spices
  • Stale pretzels
  • Pizza crusts
  • Cereal boxes (tear them into smaller pieces first)
  • Wine corks
  • Moldy cheese
  • Melted ice cream
  • Old jelly, jam, or preserves
  • Stale beer and wine
  • Paper egg cartons
  • Toothpicks
  • Bamboo skewers
  • Paper cupcake or muffin cups

From the bathroom:

  • Used facial tissues
  • Hair from your hairbrush
  • Toilet paper rolls
  • Old loofahs
  • Nail clippings
  • Urine
  • 100% Cotton cotton balls
  • Cotton swabs made from 100% cotton and cardboard (not plastic) sticks

Personal items:

  • Cardboard tampon applicators
  • Latex condoms

From the laundry room:

  • Dryer lint
  • Old/stained cotton clothing—rip or cut it into smaller pieces
  • Old wool clothing—rip or cut it into smaller pieces

From the office:

  • Bills and other documents you've shredded
  • Envelopes (minus the plastic window)
  • Pencil shavings
  • Sticky notes
  • Business cards (as long as they're not glossy)
  • Receipts

Around the house:

  • Contents of your vacuum cleaner bag or canister
  • Newspapers (shredded or torn into smaller pieces)
  • Subscription cards from magazines
  • Leaves trimmed from houseplants
  • Dead houseplants and their soil
  • Flowers from floral arrangements
  • Natural potpourri
  • Used matches
  • Ashes from the fireplace, barbecue grill, or outdoor fire pit

Party and holiday supplies:

  • Wrapping paper rolls
  • Paper table cloths
  • Crepe paper streamers
  • Latex balloons
  • Raffia
  • Excelsior
  • Jack o' Lanterns
  • Those hay bales you used as part of your outdoor fall decor
  • Natural holiday wreaths
  • Your Christmas tree. Chop it up with some pruners first (or use a wood chipper, if you have one...)
  • Evergreen garlands

Pet-related:

  • Fur from the dog or cat brush
  • Droppings and bedding from your rabbit/gerbil/hamsters, etc.
  • Newspaper/droppings from the bottom of the bird cage
  • Feathers
  • Alfalfa hay or pellets (usually fed to rabbits)
  • Rawhide dog chews
  • Fish food
  • Dry dog or cat food
jul 31 2009 ∞
feb 25 2021 +