It is too easy to go to the store for your usual Hallmark cards. True, they are becoming ever more clever these days, adding audio to the cards. Other greeting cards use smell, texture, and various paper types that make them attractive. Cards also use different materials, such as wood chips or aluminum, to add to the effect. But these usually all end up in the garbage. There are few ways around it, unless you follow the below steps that will almost guarantee a zero percent throw-in-trash rate.

First of all, make your own cards. Get together the following materials: good quality paper, good quality photos, a printer/scanner and some food for thought. Your greeting cards should be special and few things are more special than something made by your personally.

Choose paper that is high quality. This is not the most crucial part of the card, but it will determine whether the card will be taped to the fridge along with children's drawings or placed on a grandiose bookshelf. The quality of the paper will ultimately determine how the greeting card is displayed by the person you are sending to.

Think of something clever to say in your greeting cards. Most messages are very repetitive and people don't even open up greeting cards because they know what to expect before even opening up the card. They should not know what to expect when they open up yours. It should be a delightful surprise to open yours up and find a personalized message.

Add images of yourself or the person you are sending to - depending on what the message of your greeting card is. As it goes with most photos, people will not throw away a greeting card with a photo of someone they care about - or who cares about them. The photo is the key in greeting cards to make sure that you it does not get thrown away. You may need to use a scanner to digitize your photos if you do not have a digital copy on hand.

Print out the cards on your good paper with your personalized message and photo. Deliver it in an appropriate envelope and enjoy the reaction you receive from the person you just sent it to. You'll probably be seeing your card sitting on a mantle next time you go over.