How can you reduce your paper waste?
We all know that we get overloaded with paper in our lives! Here are some great tips to get organized and reduce some of this paper waste up front!
1. Request electronic statements. Most businesses, including credit card companies, utilities, and loan companies offer electronic billing. Sign up and have your statement delivered to your bank, where you can review it online. Once the statement is paid, it’s rarely necessary to look at it again, and it’s available on-line if you need it.
2. Pay bills online. The benefits of online bill pay are numerous, and you won’t need printed checks, envelopes, or stamps. Schedule payments at your convenience, day or night.
3. Store documents in scanned form on your computer. You save paper and you don’t have to find a place to store them. When you file your taxes electronically at the end of the year, do you really need to print the 30 or 40 pages of your return? Save it on your computer and it’s there for reference if necessary. Scan and save legal documents like wills and contracts. If you need to send a copy to someone, it can be attached to email or copied to a thumb drive. Remember to keep a backup of saved files somewhere safe.
4. Reduce junk mail. The average person gets pounds of paper in the mail that are neither wanted nor needed. Visit directmail.com or call 888-690-2252 to request that your name be removed from direct mail lists. The Federal Trade Commission has a consumer alert about opting out of credit card solicitations and notifying the major credit bureaus that your personal information is not to be shared.
5. Say no to catalogs. Catalogchoice.org will communicate your mail preferences to more than 3,000 companies. Most catalog information is online, so there’s no need to have the printed material.
6. Use cloth shopping bags. Always keep them in your car and use them for everything. You can avoid grocery bags, paper or plastic, department and drug store packaging, and even restaurant bags for take-out or leftovers. Cloth bags last a long time and can be washed when needed.
7. Reuse packaging materials. More online shopping means receiving more goods by mail. Keep small boxes and packaging materials to reuse for holiday and gift mailings so new ones aren’t required.
8. Stop using paper towels. Micro-fiber towels are versatile, washable, highly absorbent and useful cleaning tools. Paper towels are just not necessary.
9. Reuse paper for notes or kids’ projects. If you must print things from time to time, never throw the paper away. Turn it over and cut into smaller pieces for notes. Use the back side for coloring or drawing projects.
10. Set up a paper recycling container in your home. Try to recycle all possible paper goods to keep them from ending up in the landfill. If you don’t have curbside recycling where you live, visit earth911.com for a detailed list of recycling centers searchable by zip code.
Thank you suite101.com for these great tips this morning!
Happy Organizing! Bridges