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Home Office – Making your Home Office Green 

By Suzanne Llanera

 

 Nowadays, having the opportunity to work from home is being pursued by many. It gives you the freedom to be a late-riser or a chance to be your own boss. If you work from home, I am sure you are aware that one of the greatest benefits is that you’re in charge!

 

And as in charge, you can choose to conserve resources and consequently reduce pollution, thus making a difference.

 

As the decision maker, you can make a difference by choosing to conserve resources and reduce waste and pollution. You'd be surprised at just how much one's work- environment can affect productivity and quality of work. Likewise important, is the savings you may enjoy when choosing options that are energy efficient.

 

Here are some simple ideas for maintaining an environmentally friendly greener home office:

 

Your Greener Office:

 

Use compact fluorescent.

 

Switch to choose compact fluorescent and refrain from using incandescent bulbs. They use 75% less energy and can even last for a decade. If possible, procure a good task light on your desk so you can limit the use of your overhead lights. Thus, saving more energy and money.

 

Buy recycled furniture.

 

Consider an alternative material that is manufactured from straw that is normally discarded when wheat is harvested.  This is called   Wheat board.  Wheat board is a sturdy fiberboard that is more economical than standard wood particleboard.

 

Refurbish old furniture.

 

Do not buy new furniture until you really need it. Consider the possibility of recovering or refinishing your current stock. Wood can be re-stained or repainted, and cushions can be recovered.

 

Donate old furniture.

 

When thinking of discarding furniture, try to contact community groups, churches, shelters, schools, and even senior centers before throwing away these used desks, filing cabinets, and other office furnishings and equipment. These organizations will surely need your junk.

 

Choosing your Home Office equipment:

 

Only use Energy-Efficient office equipment.

 

Make sure your equipment (computer, printer, copier, or other equipment for your home ) has an  ENERGY STAR® logo. Energy Star products are among the top energy performers on the market.  Energy Star products power down automatically when not in use—conserving up to 75% of electricity compared to standard models. They reduce pollution, lower energy bills, generate less heat and have a longer life.

 

Select printers that will accept re-manufactured toner cartridges.

 

Recycle used toner cartridges and recharge refillable toner cartridges to prevent waste.

 

Use a digital camera.

 

Shoot your photos with a digital camera and save these on a reusable disk to reduce waste or send these to friends and family via e-mail.

 

Set your equipment  to power-saving modes

 

Activate system standby or hibernate features and save over $ 70 per computer. Likewise, when not in use, close the power button of your monitor. This will save you $10-$40.

 

Proper Use of Paper:

 

Reduce your use of Paper:

 

Print only the emails and documents that you really need, and make double-sided printouts when possible. If you need to transmit a signed document, scan and email it instead of printing and faxing it. Likewise, subscribe to digital newsletters, opt out of paper billing, and register for online banking.

 

Reuse paper.

 

Keep a stock of one-sided printouts and re-use for notes and as scratch paper. For notes, go to your local binder and re-string them to make it like a notebook.

 

Donate your magazines or newsletters to your local library, dentist’s office or beauty salons when you are through with them.

 

Reuse envelopes and file folders. Re-label used folders by folding them in the reverse direction.

 

Recycle paper.

 

Allot a recycling box right and use recycled-content office products. Recycled paper, envelopes, and packaging material are competitively priced at office supply stores.

 

 

About the Author:

Suzanne has been writing articles online for a couple of years now. Not only does she specialize in writing on Everyday Practical Tips, you can also check out her latest websites on fry pans at stainless steel fry pan and on upright vacuum cleaners at upright vacuum cleaner   which reviews the best and most affordable stainless steel fry pans and vacuum cleaners in the country.

 

 

Article Source: ArticleRich.com

 

 

 

 

 

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