I rescued a big stack of bright yellow paper from being recycled at school. It had been crumpled to take up space in science kits, and when the department heads unpacked, they didn’t save it. I intervened, of course. Folks in my school building know that I’m the scavenger among us.

I share this encore presentation because it’s still true. Amigo still insists that I’m a”green freak” and I take my eco-sensibilities too far for his taste. The rest of the family tolerates me, so here’s the rest of the story.

Several years ago I vowed to stop buying wrapping paper. I didn’t say I’d never use it or reuse it, just that I wouldn’t buy any more.

• Very little wrapping paper is recyclable.
• Commercial gift wrap can’t burn in a fireplace, either; it releases too many chemicals.
• Most wrapping paper will wrap one gift and then end up in the garbage.
• Gift wrap costs add up. The shiny patterned paper is expensive.

Amigo doesn’t like the philosophy. In fact, he’ll only help me wrap if we’re using real gift wrap. I compromised by using gift wrap I’d rescued from the wastebasket when the school PTA cleaned their closet. We wrapped with rescued and reused papers, and the gifts look great.

He doesn’t object to my green version of gift tags. Every year we take stock of the previous year’s holiday cards, cut them apart creatively, and with the help of a little ribbon and a hole punch, turn those cards into unique and lovely gift tags that cost nothing but a little time. We’ve done this since before he was born; maybe that’s why it feels natural to him.

Thanks to my spreadsheet gift record and my online shopping prowess, the majority of the shopping is done. Maybe I can sneak some of my eco-friendly and frugal methods past my wrapping assistant that time. Or maybe not; after all, he reads my blog.