Best Uses for That "Useless" Phone Book

Outsider Life Hacks

Written by Jimmy Mengel
Posted May 24, 2013

Outsider Tip of the Week

Best Uses for "Useless" Phone Books

I came home the other day to find yet another useless phone book sitting on my front porch. Instead of heaving it, sight unseen, into the recycling bin, I decided to put it to use...

Here are a couple of ways to save a few bucks with those archaic Yellow Pages.

1.) Your Fireplace – This is a no-brainer. If you have a fireplace or a wood stove, that cumbersome phone book will make for great kindling.

2.) Your Garden – Not only can you use the pages to mulch your garden beds; you can also use a phone book or two to kneel on while you plant, so your knees don't get roughed up and dirty.

3.) Your Garage – This use came in handy last week when I had a spill while changing the oil in my car... I didn't want to burn through a roll of paper towels, so I simply ripped some pages out of old Yellow Pages – and voilà!

4.) Your Children or Grandchildren – Is your child or grandchild about to make the leap to the “big-boy” table? Instead of blowing $50 on a booster seat, plop that little guy down on a phone book. If you need to secure it, simply toss it in an old pillow case, punch two holes in it and use shoelaces to secure it to the chair.

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