Going Green or Being Lazy

The time of year has come again for writing thank you notes and letters to family and I am beginning to wonder if it is acceptable to change some traditions.  Growing up I was always told that a hand written note was the most appropriate way to do such things, however if you could read my handwriting you might disagree.  Other things are changing now; e-mail is the most prevalent form of communication (business or personal), many businesses only accept electronic applications and the hand written letter is a thing of the past.

Without a doubt, this trend saves energy and resources, but can we really call ourselves green for sending e-mails instead of hand written thank you notes or just lazy?  I would say that depends on the amount of time and effort put into the letter.  A simple e-mail (even the most thoughtfully composed one) just doesn’t cut it, and I think that my grandmother would agree.  E-cards are another option that might do the trick, but if you really want to make sure that you don’t get on the naughty list next year, Photoshop your own thoughtful note, or use a service like paperless post, that allow the user to create envelopes and stationary that are just as satisfying as the real thing.  Maybe even the first time you use such alternative methods, pick a nice green theme and put in a few facts about how much energy and resources you are saving.  Here are a few to get you started.

Sending your 10-15 thank you letters each year costs $5-10 and is equivalent in carbon footprint to driving about one Hummer Bummer mile.  Considering the fact that every year about 200 billion pieces of mail are sent, that adds up to an awful big bummer.

So, I am hereby granting permission to all of you forced note writers to stick to what you know best, communicate electronically and do so while still saving face with grandma as long as you put the same (or maybe a little more) effort into sending your notes this year.