101 uses for a newspaper

by Oyebola Opaneye on January 4, 2011

One of my hobbies is creative writing, and I have bought several writing books so I can improve my writing skills. One of the books is The Five Minute Writer by Margret Geraghty. It has almost 60 writing exercises, and each one can be done in only 5 minutes.

Blog Editor: Wait a minute! I thought you were writing about procrastination today.

Moja: Yeah…  I’ll do it tomorrow.

These exercises are supposed to make us think “outside the box”, and I really enjoyed doing the first 3 exercises. However, I’m stuck on exercise 4 – “101 uses for…”.

We were given the following list of items and told to think of 101 uses for each one:

  • A newspaper
  • A cork
  • A wastepaper basket
  • A drinking glass
  • A button
  • An old ironing board

Blog Editor: Are you sure you’re meant to do this exercise in only 5 minutes?

Moja: I think this one was meant to be done in 5 weeks!

So yeah, I’m stuck on the first item in the list! Terrible, I know. Below is the list of uses that I have thought of. The ones in purple were suggested to me by my friends.

  1. A hat
  2. A fan
  3. A table mat
  4. A draft excluder
  5. A baseball bat
  6. A floor mat for wiping your feet
  7. As curtains
  8. To wrap objects
  9. To keep a fire going
  10. A poster
  11. A garden path
  12. A door stopper
  13. Wallpaper
  14. A pillow
  15. A musical instrument
  16. Toilet paper
  17. sculpture (paper mache)
  18. A dinner plate
  19. A paper aeroplane
  20. To collect hair when having a haircut
  21. To protect your head from the rain
  22. To hide your face when you’re spying on someone
  23. Cut into long strips to decorate a Christmas tree
  24. Insulation for a tramp
  25. Doing crosswords
  26. Reading a news article
  27. To train a dog how to behave – “fetch!”
  28. As a telescope
  29. To read and place adverts
  30. To swat insects
  31. To line the inside of a wastepaper basket
  32. To find a job
  33. A picnic mat

Can you think of anything else that can be added to the list?

Blog editor: I call this cheating.

Moja: I call it ‘thinking outside the box‘. Thanks a lot for your help in advance!

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Tagged as: creativewriting, Hobbies, Margret Geraghty, PostADay2011, procrastination, The Five-Minute Writer, Writers Resources, Writing, Writing Exercises

  • melodydemone

    Hey thanks for the link. I've linked this blog to my site. http://www.how2writenow.com cos it's a great exercise. Anyway here's my thoughts for the newspaper.

    1.cleaning windows
    2. mop
    3.picking up dog poop
    4.to stuff holes or cracks
    5.pick your nose
    6.to line your draws
    7.make a pattern (sewing)
    8.bandage
    9.bookmark
    10.stuff in shoes (when too big)
    11.beat your children ( I don’t advocate this)
    12.use to take stuff out of oven
    13.additional padding, for gloves
    14.write notes on
    15.tablecloth
    16.a scarf
    17.a headwrap
    18.sandals
    19.toy
    20.envelope
    21.protection for packages
    22.to make you look smart
    23.to identify others are smart
    24.relieve boredom
    25.avoid conversation

  • melodydemone

    And more…
    26.furniture protector
    27.a ‘tennis’ ball
    28.to find a partner
    29.wallet buffer (put in your wallet to make it appear bulky)
    30.rolling cigarettes
    31.a book cover
    32.a lamp shade
    33.jewellery (prob a ring, but no limits here)
    34.a bra
    35.bra padding (who needs gel fillers)
    36.sanitary towel
    37.writing/art tool (when wet)
    38 to suffocate someone
    39 to eat (for anorexics, they normally use toilet paper)
    40 hair dye (when wet)
    41 gloves
    42 bean bag
    42 exercise ball
    43 toe seperater
    43 murder weapon (strangle someone)
    44 to make rope
    45 put it inside an object to keep it’s shape
    46 towel
    47 napkin
    48 sink plug
    49 fire hazard
    50 weight (put inside something when wet to increase weight)

  • http://how2writenow.com/2011/01/05/how-2-write-now-a-little-cheating-goes-a-long-way-tip-4/ How 2 write now | A Little Cheating Goes A Long Way – Tip 4 | Where Beginners Learn To Write Great Content

    [...] Here’s the link [...]

  • http://www.mojatimes.com New Moja

    Wow! Thanks a lot! You thought of all these in a few minutes? I'm impressed. :)

    I think your blog is very useful for writers, so I'm going to add it to my list of Websites For Writers.

  • http://www.pissedoffbitch.com melodydemone

    hey didn't you get the rest!! I had more and thanks for the link :-)

    26.furniture protector
    27.a ‘tennis’ ball
    28.to find a partner
    29.wallet buffer (put in your wallet to make it appear bulky)
    30.rolling cigarettes
    31.a book cover
    32.a lamp shade
    33.jewellery (prob a ring, but no limits here)
    34.a bra
    35.bra padding (who needs gel fillers)
    36.sanitary towel
    37.writing/art tool (when wet)
    38 to suffocate someone
    39 to eat (for anorexics, they normally use toilet paper)
    40 hair dye (when wet)
    41 gloves
    42 bean bag
    42 exercise ball
    43 toe seperater
    43 murder weapon (strangle someone)
    44 to make rope
    45 put it inside an object to keep it’s shape
    46 towel
    47 napkin
    48 sink plug
    49 fire hazard
    50 weight (put inside something when wet to increase weight)

  • connieemeraldeyes

    I used to use newspaper to put in the bottom of my bird cages. You can also wrap Christmas presents with them. Wrap up coffee grounds. I think you can use them to make compost. You can fold one to make a fan. That is all I have.

  • http://www.mojatimes.com New Moja

    Thanks a lot connieemeraldeyes. I hadn't thought of those. I will add them to the list. :)

  • http://reinventionave.wordpress.com Angie

    I think I would have been more stuck than you are. All I can think of is to use it as a surfae protector during a dirty project or to use it as a fish carrier! When my dad used to fish, he would roll his catch up in newspaper when he brought it in the house. I can’t wait to see the finished list!

  • http://www.mojatimes.com/2011/01/11/what-books-are-you-reading-in-january/ The Moja Times » What books are you reading in January?

    [...] most of them can be done in 5 minutes. Some of the exercises are very challenging (for example, name 101 uses for a newspaper), but they are still very [...]

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