Paper Clips

Love them or lose them. I, in face love them and covet paper clips. If you would look inside of my writing bag, or on my desk, or in some of my drawers, you would find quite a few packs of them.

I hate the small ones. I hate the boring metal ones. I don’t like the metal ones because they get old and rusty if they are the cheap ones. I prefer the jumbo sized paper clips. I love the metallic neon colored ones – the delicate pink, lovely blue, funky purple and mellow green ones. They perk up my papers. They perk me up. Paper clips help to keep me organized and orderly, and my individual stories together, my blog pieces together, and my research information together.

When I start to run out of them, I sometimes have to check two or three stores to find the right ones that I prefer. I guess I am what you might call a paper clip geek. I admit to this vice. I just wish that I had been the one to have invented this little gem – the paper clip. Instead, give thanks to the Norwegian, Johan Vaaler who invented this simple but clever little gadget in 1899.

I guess I really got so hooked on paper clips was when I started to mail out my stories to publishers and editors. In order to keep the pages together, I used a paper clip. Most publishers and editors do not want a writer to send their stories in stapled together. They request the writer to use paper clips. Now it is acceptable to send out ones stories within the email or as an email
attachment. This keeps the cost of paper and mailings down for the author. And the editor doesn’t have to bother to return the author’s work.

Whatever, those metallic jumbo paper clips serves an important purpose. Besides that, I like them. If you are interested besides holding papers together there are many other uses for paper clips…

Use as a zipper pulley.
Hang ornaments on trees.
Hold together a bag or plastic bag shut.
Hook together and use to count the days for the end of school or to count down toward a holiday.
Poke someone.
Clean your nails.
Use as earrings.
Get into a lock to unlock a door.
Too many more to list.

These are just a few uses, but you can pretty much let your imagination run away with ideas as how to use those paper clips. I bet once you do, you’ll love them as much as I do.