At the beginning of June, I went down to the Cape to have a yard sale with my parents and sister.  We cleared a lot of our junk out.  I mean, our treasure.  The whole "one man's trash is another man's treasure" thing.  Perhaps the best repurposing we were privy to learn about had to do with an old volleyball net.  A man saw it haphazardly thrown in a box with a couple of dog runs and asked for the price.  When I declared $1, it was already in the man's arms while his hands reached for his wallet.  He had immediately thought outside of the box and recognized the old volleyball net as a trellis for his newly planted cucumbers.

                                               My sister "merchandising" the books for sale.

What if other people thought outside of the box a bit more?  My customers would be less likely to get an annoyed or disappointed look when I tell them we have no free bookmarks.  Kids would look less crestfallen when parents shake their heads no to the bookmarks picked out from our display.

Some people of course do think outside this bookmarked box.  The receipt is the easiest discovery.  Sometimes a napkin from the cafe or maybe even a sugar packet.  I'll often use a piece of newly received mail, though I prefer the personal kind to bills or junk mail.  In January and February, my bookmark is likely to be one of my siblings' christmas cards.  Nothing beats opening a book to my niece and nephew's faces or my sister's artwork.

                                  A postcard for a bookmark: from Shakespeare and Company.

                                    In case I ever get amnesia, this postcard should help me out.

                                                A sticker from a coworker fits the bill, too.

                            Sometimes I just need to find a bigger book to fit a hand-knit bookmark.

Though sometimes I do use actual bookmarks and sometimes they come to me from other parts of the world.  This is from Scotland, I believe.