Wrapping Paper Woes

I’m cursing my parents right now! Why did they convince me into thinking that wrapping gifts was a creative outlet for me?!!!

Every Christmas, once I was old enough to cut and tape, I was the go-to person for wrapping presents. I loved wrapping presents. My brothers jumped on the bandwagon and before I knew it, I was wrapping their gifts for others, too.

I would come up with extravagant ways to tie bows. Now, I leave the bows off. But, I can be distracted by beautiful expensive ribbon.

Currently, I do the green thing and wrap everything in post product or recycled brown paper. I’ll enhance the brown with a strip of wrapping paper. Not only am I conserving on wrapping paper, I’m also helping the earth. Yay!

My curses are because of the way my parents treated wrapping paper. I remember many birthdays and Christmases where we were not to crinkle the wrapping paper so it could be (gasp) reused. Yep, reused. Which makes it hard (My husband would say for me—impossible) now, to toss away any scrap of wrapping paper or ribbon.

But my “tossing away” phobia continues with shopping bags of many different sizes–paper and plastic. Not to be used for a gift but used, eventually, somehow, someday. It’s horrible; I can’t recycle them–they need to be reused. Just when will that day come?!!!

When my dad moved into assisted living, he took with him the family wrapping paper and bows box. That box (see photo above) could always be found in the cupboard in my room at Burton St. (Check out the tape holding it together.)

That box is long gone (recycled). But, the wrapping paper habit still lingers on. I need to shut my eyes and just recycle the scraps or come up with a new system to keeping scraps. Ta-da! I think I’ll wrap them on used paper towel and toilet paper rolls.

Hey! I’m feeling really green today! Woes be gone!!!