diff --git a/config/config.go b/config/config.go
index 8461a89d2..a02f7fef5 100644
--- a/config/config.go
+++ b/config/config.go
@@ -14,8 +14,6 @@ import (
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
-
-	ustrings "github.com/coreos/etcd/pkg/strings"
 )
 
 // The default location for the etcd configuration file.
@@ -158,7 +156,7 @@ func (c *Config) loadEnv(target interface{}) error {
 		case reflect.String:
 			value.Field(i).SetString(v)
 		case reflect.Slice:
-			value.Field(i).Set(reflect.ValueOf(ustrings.TrimSplit(v, ",")))
+			value.Field(i).Set(reflect.ValueOf(trimSplit(v, ",")))
 		case reflect.Float64:
 			newValue, err := strconv.ParseFloat(v, 64)
 			if err != nil {
@@ -239,10 +237,10 @@ func (c *Config) LoadFlags(arguments []string) error {
 
 	// Convert some parameters to lists.
 	if peers != "" {
-		c.Peers = ustrings.TrimSplit(peers, ",")
+		c.Peers = trimSplit(peers, ",")
 	}
 	if cors != "" {
-		c.CorsOrigins = ustrings.TrimSplit(cors, ",")
+		c.CorsOrigins = trimSplit(cors, ",")
 	}
 
 	return nil
@@ -258,7 +256,7 @@ func (c *Config) LoadPeersFile() error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("Peers file error: %s", err)
 	}
-	c.Peers = ustrings.TrimSplit(string(b), ",")
+	c.Peers = trimSplit(string(b), ",")
 
 	return nil
 }
@@ -415,3 +413,14 @@ func sanitizeBindAddr(bindAddr string, aurl *url.URL) (string, error) {
 
 	return net.JoinHostPort(bindAddr, aport), nil
 }
+
+// trimSplit slices s into all substrings separated by sep and returns a
+// slice of the substrings between the separator with all leading and trailing
+// white space removed, as defined by Unicode.
+func trimSplit(s, sep string) []string {
+	trimmed := strings.Split(s, sep)
+	for i := range trimmed {
+		trimmed[i] = strings.TrimSpace(trimmed[i])
+	}
+	return trimmed
+}
diff --git a/pkg/strings/string.go b/pkg/strings/string.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 688b69d31..000000000
--- a/pkg/strings/string.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-package string
-
-import (
-	"strings"
-)
-
-// TrimSplit slices s into all substrings separated by sep and returns a
-// slice of the substrings between the separator with all leading and trailing
-// white space removed, as defined by Unicode.
-func TrimSplit(s, sep string) []string {
-	trimmed := strings.Split(s, sep)
-	for i := range trimmed {
-		trimmed[i] = strings.TrimSpace(trimmed[i])
-	}
-	return trimmed
-}
-
-// Clone returns a copy of the string, so that we can safely point to the
-// copy without worrying about changes via pointers.
-func Clone(s string) string {
-	stringCopy := s
-	return stringCopy
-}
diff --git a/store/node.go b/store/node.go
index 8ea253019..3e67fe858 100644
--- a/store/node.go
+++ b/store/node.go
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	etcdErr "github.com/coreos/etcd/error"
-	ustrings "github.com/coreos/etcd/pkg/strings"
 )
 
 // explanations of Compare function result
@@ -294,7 +293,7 @@ func (n *node) Repr(recurisive, sorted bool) *NodeExtern {
 	}
 
 	// since n.Value could be changed later, so we need to copy the value out
-	value := ustrings.Clone(n.Value)
+	value := n.Value
 	node := &NodeExtern{
 		Key:           n.Path,
 		Value:         &value,
diff --git a/store/store.go b/store/store.go
index c8a604748..b40dd4fac 100644
--- a/store/store.go
+++ b/store/store.go
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	etcdErr "github.com/coreos/etcd/error"
-	ustrings "github.com/coreos/etcd/pkg/strings"
 )
 
 // The default version to set when the store is first initialized.
@@ -236,7 +235,7 @@ func (s *store) CompareAndSwap(nodePath string, prevValue string, prevIndex uint
 	n.UpdateTTL(expireTime)
 
 	// copy the value for safety
-	valueCopy := ustrings.Clone(value)
+	valueCopy := value
 	eNode.Value = &valueCopy
 	eNode.Expiration, eNode.TTL = n.ExpirationAndTTL()
 
@@ -432,7 +431,7 @@ func (s *store) Update(nodePath string, newValue string, expireTime time.Time) (
 		eNode.Dir = true
 	} else {
 		// copy the value for safety
-		newValueCopy := ustrings.Clone(newValue)
+		newValueCopy := newValue
 		eNode.Value = &newValueCopy
 	}
 
@@ -504,7 +503,7 @@ func (s *store) internalCreate(nodePath string, dir bool, value string, unique,
 
 	if !dir { // create file
 		// copy the value for safety
-		valueCopy := ustrings.Clone(value)
+		valueCopy := value
 		eNode.Value = &valueCopy
 
 		n = newKV(s, nodePath, value, nextIndex, d, "", expireTime)