Things I save to use in the winter months:
Egg shells - dried & crushed finely (blender or food processor , I add them to the planting holes of my tomatoes and peppers for extra calcium. Also, sprinkle around young plants if slugs are a problem - they will get cut it they crawl over them.
Newspapers - Black & white pages - shredded, I add them to my compost piles for a ‘brown’ addition. I make paper seed-starting pots from them and I twist them into fire starters for bonfires. I also put a handful of ‘shreds’ in my under-the-sink compost bucket. Really keeps the odor down!
‘Clam shell’ clear containers with covers - the kind that lettuce mixes and other veggies sometimes come in. When used with Jiffy Pellets, (water-expanding ‘plugs’ of soil and peat) it makes a nice little ‘greenhouse’ for starting seedlings.
Egg Cartons (paper) - can be used for starting seedlings - I like to start Nasturtium and Peas of Sweet peas in them. You can plant the entire little ‘cup’ as it will degrade. Good for plants that don’t like their roots disturbed. I cut up the top covers and add them to the compost pile.
Plastic/Vinyl Window Blind Slats - cut up, these make great outdoor plant markers. Use a waterproof Sharpie pen, and they usually last the entire season and can be re-used indefinitely. I have some for a decade, now. I’m going to have to find another blind to replace, soon! ;)