In Defense of Trees

 I sat carefully licking the folds I had creased into some yellow scrap paper. Last week, the legal pad sheets had addresses I needed. This week, the reverse sides of the paper were to become my daily chore lists.

Once the folds had been sufficiently creased and licked, I tore off straight strips of paper without the use of scissors.

I set the smaller strips of paper aside and wondered what use I might find for them as I took one of the index card sized sheets and wrote out my list of daily chores, one per line, till the page was filled. The left side contained each chore and after it, abbreviations for next week's days of the week so I can circle them when each chore gets done.

I thought about being part of the "Save the Trees" generation and how thoroughly the mindset had imbedded itself into my daily habits.

I cannot bear to throw away a piece of paper until it has completely been used! Some tree gave its life so I could use that paper and I will not let it be in vain!

I have turned Christmas greeting cards into postcards and re-sent them or else cut them up and used them as gift tags. I have used envelope backs, fronts and insides for notes and lists. I have, in my working days, run my calculator paper through twice so I could print on both sides. I have turned worn out file folders into dividers, index cards, games for kids and bookmarks. Stray pieces of paper get cut up and used in my card file box to hold such noble information as family records, historical anecdotes, recipe ideas and my "Books I want to read" lists. Some paper scraps are re-made into notepads. I have been known to even bring home the paper sleeves that restaurant silverware comes in and re-use them for grocery lists. 

All this might seem excessive, but if you are a notetaker or like to write, it all probably seems perfectly reasonable. 

Have I taken the "Save the Trees" campaign to the extreme? Maybe. But my conscience is clear.