I Have a Paper Problem

The real problem is that I'm good at shopping. I buy ahead and I look for bargains. And the post-Christmas sales are hard to pass by. So far I've picked up ornaments, wrapping paper, gift bags and other Christmas related doo-dads for at a minimum of 40% off regular price.

Yesterday, I suddenly remembered that I had not yet stopped by the Office Max on 5th and Lamar for a post-Christmas look-see. It's not the handiest of the Office Max stores, but for some reason they have really good clearance sales. And they always have some leftover Christmas printer paper, so I make a point to stop there after the season.

I confess that I am a paper junkie. It started innocently enough when I started helping a friend get out a monthly calendar to his family. Plain white paper was boring after a few months, so I started picking up colored papers. And then theme paper. His calendar had hearts in February, shamrocks in March, Easter eggs in April, flowers in May, etc.

Then I started the family newsletter to share my genealogy finds. Another good excuse for obtaining different paper to dress up my dry research articles. The boxes of paper on the shelves in my office began to grow. I got tired of trying to find the paper I wanted for whatever project I was working on, so the paper moved from cardboard envelope boxes to clear shoeboxes from The Container Store.

Whatever the occasion, I can provide a theme paper. Birthday, Halloween, summer, spring, fall, winter, happy hour, seashore vacation...you name it, I got it. Paper with curved edges, paper with imbedded sparkles, paper containing banana (no kidding), parchment in several colors. I have a regular smorgasbord of paper at my fingertips.

Anyway, I stopped by Office Max at 5th and Lamar yesterday on my way home and hit the jackpot. All their 100 sheet pack Christmas paper was marked down from $6.95 a package to $1.50. I picked up 6 packages in different designs. Not bad, I thought. I decided to go check out their other clearance area in the back of the store. Halloween, Thanksgiving and autumn papers were waiting there. Another 300 sheets of paper, plus matching envelopes. (Have I mentioned the envelopes? They have their own box.) That's 900 sheets of paper I toted in this morning. The bad news is that I've run out of space in my storage boxes and will have to buy at least one, possibly two to hold this newly acquired treasure.

I feel a little like that poor guy in the commercial. To paraphrase, "I'm in paper up to my eyeballs. Somebody help me!". On second thought, touch my paper and there will be trouble. It's mine. All mine. You can't have any....

LSW