The home office offers lots of opportunities for easy Green DIY. The three main home office offenders are wasted energy, paper consumption and hazardous waste.

It consumes more energy to leave your home office equipment running than it does to turn it off and reboot later. Connect your computer, speakers, fax, printer, etc. to a power bar and turn them all off with the flick of one switch at the end of the day.

In the age of wireless communication there is almost no reason to use paper. For every ton of paper you save, 17 trees stay alive! Here are some ways to go paperless in your home office:

• Use the Internet! Sign up to have your bills and bank statements sent to your inbox instead of your mailbox and pay them electronically.

• Cancel those subscriptions! Get your news from your paper's Web site and you’ll save on bin or recycling charges too!

• Go both ways! When you have to print, use both sides of paper.

• Scan and Shred! Scanning is a brilliant way to store important documents electronically, reduce clutter and recycle.

Lots of home office products are re-usable, such as: paper clips, elastics, push pins, rechargeable batteries and refillable toner cartridges. When doing simple printing jobs, use the blank side of junk mail and you’ll actually start to look forward to receiving it in the post!

Vendor Information

• Ink Jet Reuse

Read the labels and avoid high quality, non-recycled paper. Much of the paper we use every day comes from old-growth forests, so first look for 100% recycled paper. If you can’t find that, go for FFC certification as a minimum. This means the paper was made from trees grown in a sustainably managed forest.

Vendor Information:

• Recycling Stationary Products

For waste paper, keep a recycling bin next to your desk. Keep another bin for expired batteries, old printer cartridges, or electronics. Once you have a big enough supply, these should all be taken to your local disposal site for proper handling.

Electronics contain loads of hazardous materials that are difficult to dispose of when a product reaches the end of it’s life. When purchasing new electronics, go for the most energy-efficient, environmentally friendly options available.

For more information, see the following:

• Electronics
• Computers
• Printers

Before purchasing new furniture for your home office, read the following tips for:

• Furnishings
• Chairs
• Desks

Switch to fluorescent bulbs, which use 2/3 less energy than a standard incandescent. For more information, see lighting