1 January Featured Space: Home Office - Going Green!

Time to get green, green with envy!!  If there is anything I would want people to be envious of, when it comes to little old me?!  It would be my determination to find ways to keep going green, and taking care of the beautiful earth that gives me and my lovely family and friends, a home.

As some of you may recall from my resolution post, I resolute to live more green!  And although I don't typically think green is too flattering on me, in this case, it's worth it!  Therefore, with each month's featured space, I am going to do what I can to find ways to keep that space more green, and then share the goods with you lucky readers!  Don't you feel like you just won the state lotto?!

Go Paperless!  Whether it's for your utility bills, auto payments, bank statements or credit card statements, most banks and companies are giving you the option to switch to paperless statements.  In fact, many are starting to actually charge to send out paper statements.  It's a great option to go paperless, as it saves on printing, paper and postage costs.  Your information is also easy to access and locate on-line, which equals less filing work for you!

Recycle Recycle Recycle!  If you already have a waste basket in your home office space, add to your desktop or inside a cabinet, a basket to be designated solely to paper.  When you have a designated space for the paper and envelopes that accumulate within a home office, you are more likely to ensure you do actually get those papers recycled.  And on the other end of the spectrum, remember to purchase recycled paper and paper products.

Recharge!  The widespread use of batteries has created many environmental concerns, such as toxic metal pollution.  Cut down on the amount of batteries being placed into our landfills, by purchasing a charger and putting it upon your charging station or desk space.  Then, going forward, only continue to purchase rechargeable batteries.  Not only will it save you money in the long run, which is always fun, it will also be better for our planet.  I am finding that some rechargeable batteries are similar in cost to some that aren't, and just buying a pack at a time was a lot less immediate impact on the pocket book.  They are GREAT for use in our camera, kid's toys and other portable electronics.

Strip Down!  No, no, put your top back on... what I mean is ensuring all of your home office electronics are plugged into a surge protection strip vs. directly into an outlet!  Electronics use electricity when they are off to support certain features.  To stop up these electricity leaks, you actually have to pull the plug. Or plug the appliance into a power strip (or surge protector) with an on/off switch and turn the switch off when not using the appliance.  Also, while on the topic of office electronics, OK, the main offender, the computer, don't let the thing run all day!  Only power on the computer, monitor, printer and fax machine when you need them.

Solar Power Rocks!  So, you want to be the coolest office geek around?!  Check out these new ultra green desk lamps!  And they aren't just green, they come in a variety of colors!  These ones are available at Ikea, and I am sure we will start to see this as a new office trend.  These babies are solar powered!  Key features:  Solar cells transform sunlight into electrical energy-requiring no electrical connections!  And LED consumes 70% less energy and has at least 4 times longer life than incandescent bulbs in similar lighting.  So, although I am uber bummed I have no window in my new office space (reveal coming soon!), these sound pretty amazing to me, and I would snag one up in a heartbeat if I could!

So, now that I shared some ways we can, will, should, want to go green in the office space this year, please share if there are other things you are doing in your home office space that I am missing out on!  I would love to know!