Keep your home office as green as the rest of your house by following these simple eco-friendly office suggestions:
Go Paperless to Help Green Your Home Office
Okay, this is probably impossible for the time being, but you can use less paper. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average office worker uses about 10,000 sheets of paper in a year. Yikes. Try printing on both sides for a change. To avoid temptation and maximize the effectiveness of your online pages, use the scrapbook option in Firefox or download Desktop Notes. These simple programs will allow you to segregate pages or small snippets of info for later reference without ever printing them out.
Recycle Used Electronics for a Greener Office
Yes, you can have that big, flat panel monitor (If it's energy star rated, of course.), but find a home for your old monitor first. There are places where you can donate your old electronics or at least dispose of them responsibly. The folks over at usedcomputers.com have a page that will help you find the best way to manage the disposal or hand-off of your old electronic equipment wisely. Oh, and that goes for old batteries too.
Buy a Plant- Grow Green in Your Office
That spider plant or ivy vine your grandmother keeps in her sitting room may be doing more that cluttering up the windowsill. NASA sponsored a study in the 1980s to discover the effectiveness of using plants to clean indoor air. The results: houseplants absorb dangerous chemicals, like formaldehyde, released from carpet, pressed fiberboard and other common indoor materials. Put their natural air filtering power to work for you by keeping a couple of plants near your workspace.
Turn Off Your Computer at Night - An Eco-Friendly Energy Solution
In 2009, the Alliance to Save Energy reported that American companies spend $2.8 billion dollars every year on energy to power computers that are left on at night when no one's around. Be kind to the planet by wasting less energy on appliances you're not using.
While you're at it, put those other electronic vampires, like anything with an onboard clock that you're not using as a timer, on a power strip. Cut the power to these energy hogs when you don't actually need to use them. When you're ready to replace them, look for the energy star label for electronics that won't rob you while you're sleeping.
Invest in a Shredder
Shredders make good sense. They help protect you from identity thieves, and you can use shredded paper as mulch in the garden. Sure, you can put it out for the recycling truck, but isn't it great that you can take that confetti and make a thriving vegetable patch out of it too?
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