Receipts for receipts and what do you do now?

It happens to each and everyone of us. Perhaps not everyday and maybe not as often for some, but it is inevitable. You buy something, use your purchasing power, you get a receipt as proof. Proof your purchase exists, proof you paid for it, and proof it left the store.

So what do you do with it?

If you are like most consumers, it reaches the trash before you even leave the building. Or maybe it makes it to the bottomless pit of your Botkier bag, or the floor of your Prius. Wherever it goes, it certainly does not see a long life span.

Well let’s change all that. Let’s make the most of this piece of paper called a receipt. I have two solutions presented here to expand the time that exists between register and rubbish.

1.) Reuse the receipt.

Most receipts have a gorgeously blank backside upon them to which you can jot down a number of things:

Your to-do list for the day.
Your grocery list.
Your goals for the week (cause we know writing them down makes us more likely to attain them).
Your next running playlist for your iPod.
A quote you passed at a cafe.
A note to mom your at Emma’s house till 10pm.

Whatever it is, a note has room to breathe on a receipt. It has a second life. A purpose.

2.) Recycle the receipt.

I know this is a more obvious route, but let’s do this. Let’s do both number’s one and two. Let’s use the receipt up AND recycle it!

If you don’t have access to recycling paper (and most of us do, even if it takes a little effort) then repeat step 1 over and over till you cannot read past last weeks goals you’ve achieved.

While you’re at it, why not make this your first goal of the week?