Everyone is always talking about what you can do to save the environment, to reduce your carbon footprint so to speak.

From taking shorter showers, to reusing produce bags, to hoarding plastic grocery bags, there’s a never ending list of things we’re advised to follow to keep our planet healthy.

This user felt the environmentally conscious wrath of her father when she printed something of his on one-sided paper.

To get back at him, she decided to print everything he needed in the future double sided, even things like shipping labels!

Check it out!

At the double

My near Boomer-age dad came to stay for a couple of weeks.

In the first few days, he wanted some stuff printed off (local map, opening times of attractions, …). I printed his stuff.

I printed his stuff single-sided because with the aging and cantankerous printer, double-sided is an effort, and wastes almost as much paper as it saves.

Apparently her father’s new creed was “Reduce, reuse, recycle”, because he was furious at his single sided pages!

He never misses an opportunity to be bombastic and pompous.

I get a lengthy lecture on wasting the world’s resources; squandering my money; and being disrespectful to the family values of frugality.

And on top of all of that, completely disregarding a care for the environment that he had so lovingly imprinted on me during a long childhood.

In future, he told me, be sure to ALWAYS print double-sided.

So when her father needed some labels printed, it seemed the perfect opportunity to turn his own grandstanding against him!

He’d ordered some stuff online during his stay, and a couple of things need to be returned.

Would I print the return label and packing slips? Sure thing, anything for him. I printed them double-sided.

So one sheet of paper had the label that goes on the outside of the package AND the return authorization slip that goes on the inside.

And suddenly, her father was not the double-sided printing fanatic that he claimed to be!

“What am I supposed to do with this” he asked?

“Dunno,” I said, “maybe cherish it as an example of our family values in saving the world by ALWAYS printing double-sided?”

After sufficient time teasing him had passed, I showed him the printer has a copy function. But continued to lament the waste in using it to reprint one side.

Such a simple revenge in theory, but so unbelievably satisfying in practice!

Reddit loved the revenge, and many suggested she take it even farther and really shove her Dad’s own words in his face!

And this user pointed out that it was rich of her Dad to comment on her paper usage when he was the one who needed the paper in the first place.

Finally, this user said even professional printers won’t use double-sided paper!

Guess one-sided is the way to go!

I think most of us already knew that.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.