If you fold and then carefully cut the brown paper bags from the supermarket, you can generally use them to wrap and ship two books per bag.  Sometimes, you have to tape the two halves of the bag together (after it has been cut) to ship a large hard back book.  But, you will not have any wrapping paper to buy for shipping books.  The brown paper that composes the bag is thick enough to adequately protect all books.

At my office, people are quick to get rid of file folders. Personally, I put a new label over the old file name, but I can only use so many folders. 

File folders that would otherwise go in the trash/recycling can, can also become packaging for lots of books. I just cut to the needed size.

I try to recycle any envelopes that come in my incoming mail to reuse to send out books. I keep them stored by size and so it is quick and easy to find the correct size that I need to mail out a book. I also ask regularly at a local gift store for  bubble wrap and plastic bags that their items are shipped in but they remove to display them.( They just toss them anyway.) Many times they have  plastic bags that are the perfect size for paperbacks and the hardbacks that I have posted. I put the books in these protective plastic bags and then in the mailing envelope. By using these bags and mailing envelopes, it  usually takes less tape also to prepare the packages for mailing.  I  also get a steady supply of small boxes from the same store to send out my Box of Books trades.

And if you print out your labels, you don't need to use a new piece of paper. Many times I print out something from my computer and then when I no longer need it, I print on the shipping label on the reverse side. You can't tell once the label is taped to the package that there is printing on the other side.

I use the outer wrapper of a ream of paper for book wrapping and the brand at the office has a water proof coating.  I'm always quick to help load up the paper when the printer/copy machine runs out so I can save the wrapper.  Also, many of the professional magazines we receive at the office come in a plastic wrapper and I always ask the recipients to save it for me.  Actually I've gotten them trained so that most of my colleagues automatically save them for me without me asking.  Many of the conference and seminar marketing material also come in heavy glossy paper and I use them for book wrapping also.  I've trained the IT guys to save me the air filled bags and foam peanuts from computer items.  Everyone in the office automatically saves me their small boxes for my BOB trading.

Every late summer, when school starts, some store runs a crazy sale on brown paper lunch bags.  Like 2 packages or 300 bags for $1.00.  That's 300 books!  Since I wrap most of my mmps in the 2 paper wrapper, the lunch bags seem to last almost a year for me.  Sure, I have to tape them together some times for the bigger books, but this system works real well for me.  I also try to hit Big Lots to get Saran Wrap or Cling wrap for $1.00 a box.  This time of year, you can even find the pretty colors leftover from Christmas.  Right after Easter is another great time to get the colored wrap.  Yes, I could recycle plastic, but what little that comes into the house is actually saved to use instead of packing peanuts.  So it's easier to just buy the wrap.

Kerry