At my last paying job (before I retired) our office moved in 2008 to a new location. While cleaning out and tossing old stuff, I found 15-20 reams of pre-printed letterhead. That’s a lot of paper. The logo and business name were at the top and the address was printed at the bottom. But the back was pristine. Obviously, we weren’t going to be able to use it with the old address printed on it. I asked my boss what I should do about all that paper. She said she didn’t want to move it and to see if anyone wanted it. I think a few people in the office each took a ream but we were left with lots of letft over.

Not being one to waste anything (thanks Mom) and with permission, I brought the rest home with me. We used it in our home printer for things we wanted to print but not important enough to use the “good” paper. I used the paper to print off maps and directions, templates, knitting patterns, sewing patterns, and much more. I cut off the tops and bottoms and used the middle sections for notes and stationery.

When grandkids entered the picture, I gave a ream to my son’s children and a ream or two to my daughter. They loved endless amounts of paper to draw or write on. My daughter used the last of that paper in 2020 when the schools were closed and she needed to print off worksheets for her children.

Our supply ran out yesterday.

But fear not as I have more backup scrap/printer paper! My mother gave me a box of assorted colors of printer paper many years ago. Paper dries out and gets crumbly with age so we might as well use it or lose it.