The Value of a Sheet of Paper (And a Stationery Haul)

I am an avid collector and user of fine stationery. I love agendas, journals, notebooks, notepads, sticky notes, deco paper, letter paper, pens and writing accessories, greeting cards, gift wrapping stationery, all things paper. I have an impressive collection of all kinds of fine stationery in my home office, and I love it so much that I tend to purchase more than I have time to use.

In these times of acute environment issues that we as the human race are facing, I learned to respect and love paper as it had a soul of its own, and not just as a random commodity. To me, paper isn't simply a random commodity, but a valuable asset. To me, respecting paper is respecting the tree that it came from, and furthermore the environment that we live in. Remember, we only have one planet. If she's gone, we all are gone -- gotta be conscious about that, right?

As such, I have learned over time to appreciate paper to its fullest value, and I use it to its full potential without wasting any of it. To me, paper is a valuable asset not be wasted, as I always remember the tree. Each sheet of paper, each greeting card and each notebook are meant to deliver a message of love, and I will never discard it before it does its job and delivers the message.

Just think what a piece of paper can do.

• Writing handwritten letters to your penpals; 
• Writing holiday cards to friends and family; 
• Wrapping gifts for your loved ones; 
• Jotting down your thoughts in a journal; 
• Keeping your memories alive. 

And I love to do all these things with fine stationery. Among my favorite places to buy fine stationery in the City of Toronto are Indigo, Winners, Marshalls, HomeSense, Dollarama, Dollar Tree. When I go to any of these stores, I like to immerse myself in their stationery aisle, and if I could, I would never leave! And when I do leave, my shopping bag will be full of stationery!

But I also love to thrift for stationery. I love the stationery and office aisle in a thrift store just as much as I love the stationery aisle from Indigo. Remember the tree? Thrifting for stationery is a great way to save a tree, not to mention the treasure hunt which is so thrilling. Why let all that precious paper go to waste, when it can get a second life on someone else's desk. To me a thrifted notebook, if it's still in good condition, is just as good as a notebook that comes from Indigo or Marshalls.

I also love using online stationery, and PaperlessPost.com is a great resource for those who prefer all things digital. I discovered PaperlessPost.com two years ago, and I came to appreciate this online stationery website for its variety and endless choices. Sometimes it's just easier to say it online, isn't it? The online stationery and greeting cards from PaperlessPost.com are great for that.

And here's my newest stationery haul, all things paper that I love so much. Some of these notebooks and journals have already been written, some of them have been given as gifts to friends, some of them are still awaiting in my home office to be filled with precious memories. Some of them came new, some of them are thrifted.

Photo credit: Victoria West