What can I do with 300 card-sized white envelopes?
December 21, 2016 2:12 PM Subscribe
Because wedding planning is the worst, I now have 300 blank white envelopes. Is there some way to use them?
We purchased our save-the-date cards from an online vendor. In an effort to make the tedious part of wedding planning less horrible, we paid extra to have our envelopes addressed. They sent our cards out without proofing and messed up our cards. They also sent the in-error cards with 150 plain white envelopes (without the addressed envelopes). After several hours on the phone last week (and some truly appalling customer service), they did finally agree to reprint our entire order.
Our reprint arrived yesterday, and the cards are fine, and our addressed envelopes are fine... but they came with another 150 blank white envelopes! Now, I have 300 white 5x7 envelopes which I have ostensibly no use for. We plan to use another vendor for our invitations - we would like to have our addressing done by the vendor and so would be unable to use these envelopes for that purpose (and may well have different size requirements anyway). I thought about thank-you notes, but it seems like those would be smaller than these envelopes and would likely also come with their own envelopes. I write letters but these won't fit any of the paper that I use.
It just seems incredibly wasteful to throw away 300 perfectly good envelopes. I feel like when I die, I'm going to leave 300 blank white envelopes to someone because I can't just throw that much unused paper away. Is there some useful purpose that I'm missing? Is there some charity that might benefit from having them?
We purchased our save-the-date cards from an online vendor. In an effort to make the tedious part of wedding planning less horrible, we paid extra to have our envelopes addressed. They sent our cards out without proofing and messed up our cards. They also sent the in-error cards with 150 plain white envelopes (without the addressed envelopes). After several hours on the phone last week (and some truly appalling customer service), they did finally agree to reprint our entire order.
Our reprint arrived yesterday, and the cards are fine, and our addressed envelopes are fine... but they came with another 150 blank white envelopes! Now, I have 300 white 5x7 envelopes which I have ostensibly no use for. We plan to use another vendor for our invitations - we would like to have our addressing done by the vendor and so would be unable to use these envelopes for that purpose (and may well have different size requirements anyway). I thought about thank-you notes, but it seems like those would be smaller than these envelopes and would likely also come with their own envelopes. I write letters but these won't fit any of the paper that I use.
It just seems incredibly wasteful to throw away 300 perfectly good envelopes. I feel like when I die, I'm going to leave 300 blank white envelopes to someone because I can't just throw that much unused paper away. Is there some useful purpose that I'm missing? Is there some charity that might benefit from having them?
You might be able to donate them to an organization that does something like letter-writing parties for inmates who are incarcerated, like this one:
blackandpink.org
(So sorry, I cannot figure out linking right now and am doing some other stuff!)
I write to someone in prison and it's really important and meaningful!
posted by fairlynearlyready at 2:24 PM on December 21, 2016 [5 favorites]
blackandpink.org
(So sorry, I cannot figure out linking right now and am doing some other stuff!)
I write to someone in prison and it's really important and meaningful!
posted by fairlynearlyready at 2:24 PM on December 21, 2016 [5 favorites]
Do you know any teachers or friends with young kids in school? These could go a long way for various craft and card projects.
posted by annaramma at 2:25 PM on December 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by annaramma at 2:25 PM on December 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
Order yourself some nice notecards that are sized correctly for the envelopes. You'll then have a nice stash of notecards for dashing off thank yous and other social correspondence that will last for years. Choose a design you find attractive or even a monogram.
If that's too much bother, they might be of use to a nonprofit, or even a school.
posted by gateau at 2:26 PM on December 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
If that's too much bother, they might be of use to a nonprofit, or even a school.
posted by gateau at 2:26 PM on December 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
Don't order thank you cards that come with envelopes. Order them custom from a local printer and you can get them in the perfect size to fit the envelopes. Even your future Christmas cards can be that size year after year until you finally run out.
posted by soelo at 2:32 PM on December 21, 2016 [14 favorites]
posted by soelo at 2:32 PM on December 21, 2016 [14 favorites]
A quick print service like Vista Print can do 5x7 postcards for your thank you notes, or for something in the future like Christmas cards?
It's also pretty easy to cut down decent-quality paper to that size and then you have blank cards for any purpose (a corner-rounder is very nice for this). Sets of these could even make a nice gifts.
posted by vunder at 2:35 PM on December 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
It's also pretty easy to cut down decent-quality paper to that size and then you have blank cards for any purpose (a corner-rounder is very nice for this). Sets of these could even make a nice gifts.
posted by vunder at 2:35 PM on December 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
Store one ounce of Red Leicester cheese in each envelope?
...I kid. For our thank-you notes, we chose a wedding photo we liked and had it printed as a postcard on matte cardstock at our desired size. Then we wrote on the back and mailed then in envelopes. We used overnightprints.com. It came out nice and was pretty cheap to do.
Or maybe your city has an artists' materials center, like New York's Materials for the Arts.
Personally, I like to keep a stash of nice stationery supplies, because you never know when you're going to need that stuff.
posted by the_blizz at 2:46 PM on December 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
...I kid. For our thank-you notes, we chose a wedding photo we liked and had it printed as a postcard on matte cardstock at our desired size. Then we wrote on the back and mailed then in envelopes. We used overnightprints.com. It came out nice and was pretty cheap to do.
Or maybe your city has an artists' materials center, like New York's Materials for the Arts.
Personally, I like to keep a stash of nice stationery supplies, because you never know when you're going to need that stuff.
posted by the_blizz at 2:46 PM on December 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
FYI, the card size that fits in there should be a A7 - PaperSource has packs of 25 on sale.
You could do something fun with a rubber stamp, including carving your own, and a corner rounder or lace punch.
posted by vunder at 2:47 PM on December 21, 2016
You could do something fun with a rubber stamp, including carving your own, and a corner rounder or lace punch.
posted by vunder at 2:47 PM on December 21, 2016
You could get a postage paid Donald Trump campaign donation return envelope. Scan that envelope and then print the scan onto your blank envelopes. Place all of the postage paid return envelopes into the mail, and have the campaign pay the postage on their end.
But only if you are a naughty person.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 3:26 PM on December 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
But only if you are a naughty person.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 3:26 PM on December 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
Give them away on your local Freecycle or sell them for next to nothing on Ebay or Etsy or Craigslist or post them media rate to me and I will use them!!
posted by DarlingBri at 3:31 PM on December 21, 2016
posted by DarlingBri at 3:31 PM on December 21, 2016
you could get a bunch of colored 5x7 cards, some stickers, and some gel ink pens in gold and silver and bronze and white, and have people coming into your reception write their best wishes/advice on them for you both. have an instax camera and film at the same table. then have them seal them with a picture of them in the envelope (has the added bonus of having people meet each other while they help take each others pictures). open them in a year on your first anniversary.
posted by koroshiya at 4:18 PM on December 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by koroshiya at 4:18 PM on December 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
Is there someone close in your life who's going through a prolonged rough time or illness? Or is there a child dear to you who would delight in getting mail?
When my mother was seriously ill and going through a six month bout of intense treatment, I preaddessed and stamped an envelope for every day of the six months. Then every day I dashed off a small note to put in there and drop in the mailbox at work - the note was never anything fancy - scribbled on a post it or a receipt or whatever. About a joke I heard or a random thought or memory of her during my childhood. A doodle or quick sketch. A literal "I was just thinking of you."
It's been a few years now and she's all better, but turns out my anti-packrat mom kept every single scrap and every single envelope from that time.
You could make someone's year!
posted by sestaaak at 4:23 PM on December 21, 2016 [5 favorites]
When my mother was seriously ill and going through a six month bout of intense treatment, I preaddessed and stamped an envelope for every day of the six months. Then every day I dashed off a small note to put in there and drop in the mailbox at work - the note was never anything fancy - scribbled on a post it or a receipt or whatever. About a joke I heard or a random thought or memory of her during my childhood. A doodle or quick sketch. A literal "I was just thinking of you."
It's been a few years now and she's all better, but turns out my anti-packrat mom kept every single scrap and every single envelope from that time.
You could make someone's year!
posted by sestaaak at 4:23 PM on December 21, 2016 [5 favorites]
Write your grocery list on the front of the envelope, and store any coupons you want to use inside the envelope.
posted by Liesl at 4:30 PM on December 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Liesl at 4:30 PM on December 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
I bought a box of 500 square envelopes in 2002. I used 100ish for our wedding, and the rest we've used over the years. I finally used the last one about 6 months ago...14 years of marriage! And I was a little sad. I mostly used them to remit all the various forms and monies for the kids' school.
So, all the other answers of how to use are lovely, but sometimes just having an envelope around d is great too!!!
posted by Ftsqg at 5:50 PM on December 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
So, all the other answers of how to use are lovely, but sometimes just having an envelope around d is great too!!!
posted by Ftsqg at 5:50 PM on December 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
Make a point of taking photos of and with your friends. Every few months, go through and get the good ones printed. Mail copies to the folks in the photos using your envelopes. I have a friend who does this, at first I thought it was weirdly archaic but now I have a dozen or so and they make me happy to look at and I would never otherwise see them.
posted by Mizu at 6:28 PM on December 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Mizu at 6:28 PM on December 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
Thank you notes for wedding gifts is the obvious answer. Get cards or stationery that size and you're set.
Another is to design your own holiday cards, to fit the envelopes. Depending on your holiday card list, you have enough to last a few years.
posted by Cranialtorque at 6:25 AM on December 22, 2016
Another is to design your own holiday cards, to fit the envelopes. Depending on your holiday card list, you have enough to last a few years.
posted by Cranialtorque at 6:25 AM on December 22, 2016
You can use them in a pinch to make tiny gift bags, for candy or gift cards, etc. Video here showing how.
posted by Aunt Slappy at 8:02 AM on December 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Aunt Slappy at 8:02 AM on December 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure where you're located, but when I lived in the Bay Area my go-to spot for things like this was the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse. Perhaps there's something similar in your area?
posted by rainbowbrite at 10:35 AM on December 22, 2016
posted by rainbowbrite at 10:35 AM on December 22, 2016
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posted by showbiz_liz at 2:23 PM on December 21, 2016