Shredding your documents is important for security reasons whether you're a business owner or the average consumer who has paperwork containing personal information you need to safely discard. But that shredded paper can build up rather quickly and end up in a landfill, and it can also take up a lot of room in your home or office. Instead of chucking your next full bin of shredded paper into the trash can, consider these creative ways to reuse and repurpose it to give it a new life.

Packing Material

While your shredded papers won't take the place of good old-fashioned bubble wrap, it's still an excellent filler for boxes to help protect fragile items from breaking while in transit. If you want to use the paper for shipping but don't want it to be a mess for the receiver, put it in a resealable plastic bag first. This will add an extra air pillow of protection to keep things safe when mailed and prevent the shreds from getting all over the inside of the box. Shredded paper is also a great way to protect your breakable, fragile items when moving. 

Paper For Pets

Shredded paper can be useful for pets in a number of ways, including acting as pet bedding. If you don't have a pet or you have an excess amount of paper, contact your local animal shelter to see if they'd be interested in taking some as a donation. It's also a great bedding material for small animals like gerbils and hamsters and it is usable for cats and dogs as well. For cats, place a layer of the shredded paper on the bottom of your litter box before adding the kitty litter over it. The paper will help absorb odors, protect the bottom of the box, and help you use less litter per refill.

Arts And Crafts

Your old shredded documents make a wonderful base for paper mache. If you have a young child who attends school, ask their teacher if they'd like to make use of the paper for arts and crafts classes. It can also be reused and pressed to make homemade paper that's colorful and a lot of fun to create. The paper makes an excellent Easter basket and gift bag filler instead of traditional plastic strips. The possibilities are really endless when it comes to using shredded paper for creative projects, so see how many different ideas you can come up with.

Visit a paper shredding company for additional information.