I have been a lifelong newspaper reader. Well, I started reading it daily around the fourth grade so I guess I should say an “almost” lifelong newspaper reader. Anyway, let’s not get hung up on small details.

Over the past 12 years or so, I have gone back-and-forth between reading the newspaper in a physical/traditional format vs. reading it digitally. At times I liked holding the paper, smelling the newsprint, and turning the pages. Other years I preferred the ease of reading it on my screen and avoiding ink-blotched fingertips.

For the past couple years, I have entertained a hybrid approach. My Spokesman-Review subscription plan delivered the physical newspaper and gave me full digital access. I found myself reading the hard copy on some days and the digital file on others.

However, over the past year, I have found that 75% of the time I read it digitally. This is because I have found that riding the bus to/from Cheney gives me the perfect opportunity to peacefully and thoroughly read the newspaper. Not wanting to manage the physical paper from my lap on a bumpy ride, I always read it on my phone.

So, late last week, I changed my subscription to digital-only. Not only will this prevent our recycling container from filling up so fast but hopefully it will also cut down on paper consumption.

With that said, there were a few things I enjoyed about receiving a physical newspaper that had absolutely nothing to do with reading it. They were…

– Saving the rubber bands from each paper. You never know how needed rubber bands become when you don’t have any. I have stockpiled an impressive display in one of our junk drawers.

I have collected a lot of Spokesman-Review rubber bands over the past year or so.

– Using the comic section as wrapping paper. This was a trick my mom used for pretty much every birthday party present we wrapped growing up and it has lived on with me.

– Re-purposing the orange bag. Each morning, my newspaper was delivered in a long, narrow orange bag. If we had exhausted our brown lunch sacks, the newspaper bag could also hold items.

– Covering surfaces with the paper. Whenever we carved pumpkins, did a craft, or tried something messy, we would use the newspaper from my subscription to cover the kitchen table.

Using the newspaper has always come in handy to serve as protection for our kitchen table during messy activities. 

So are all these conveniences not worth the $7 per month I will now be saving by ceasing physical delivery? I don’t know about that but I also don’t think that is the point. By going strictly digital I think I can accept that I am making a better decision for the environment and also catering to my own reading habits. Don’t Blink.