Free Fuel for Your Fire - Making and using paper briquettes for fuel

Check out this video to see how we are using all of our paper scraps and cardboard to fuel our small barrel stove. I was looking for ways to use all of the paper products that we send off to recycling last year when I stumbled upon the idea of making burnable briquettes. I looked around online and saw quite a few people having good luck with these and jumped on Amazon to purchase one. I have been using this little briquette maker for a few months now and have been pretty happy with the results. We made quite a few of these briquettes this summer and tested burning them in camp fires and the pool heater with good success. It is now time to see how this process carries over to the winter. Will we be able to keep producing these briquettes year round?
I have setup a small briquette making station in the garage which is constructed out of a paper shredder and the bottom half of a 55 gallon drum. This has been proving to work out very well. I am able to take out and shred paper products once a week, stir it up, and let it soak for a few days before making briquettes. This turns into a pretty good cycle and I will be able to produce about 10-15 of these briquettes per week.
I do understand that this is not feasible to fuel tour entire home full time for a winter, however, it is a great way to use what you are already throwing away or sending off to the recycling center as an extra supplement to your wood supply. I am not convinced that recycling paper is all that great of an idea anyway so for me, this tackles two issues. Get rid of the paper we produce as a family, and save me from buying wood (and saving trees, yes that too). I hope the following video demonstrates the process and inspires you to look into how you are able to reuse some of the things you throw away!

You can purchase the briquette maker here- http://tinyurl.com/o9rfjxs

A few comparable shredders -

Best Buy
http://tinyurl.com/m78ph3k

Amazon
http://amzn.to/1IUTOzH

For more information check out www.simplesuburbanliving.com

Music - "Evolution" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/Evolution