Green Office Tips

1. Be thrifty with paper. Did you know each year Americans throw away enough office and writing paper to build a wall 12 feet high, stretching from Los Angeles to New York City? Do not print out each memo or email you receive. Read and delete the ones you do not need to save and electronically file others you might need to refer to later. Whenever possible, make two-sided copies. Save even more paper by using the blank sides of used sheets of paper for note-taking and printing drafts.
2. Got goose bumps? Speak to your boss about your space being excessively cold when the weather is hot. Politely relay that you are uncomfortable and suggest that the business could improve customer comfort and their own profitability as well as conserving energy by bumping up the thermostat a couple of degrees. Do you put on a sweater when you go to work in the summer or wish you had brought one along? This may be a good opportunity to speak up.
3. If you are using fluorescent lighting there is a 15 minute rule for when to turn off the light vs. leaving it on. It does take more energy to turn on a fluorescent light but it is equivalent to only 5 seconds of the light being on consistently. The real energy loss is in the life of the light bulb. Each time you turn on the light you shorten the life expectancy of the bulb. A study was done recently which looked at energy conservation and found that if you did not need the light for greater then 15-20 minutes then turning it off did conserve energy and money. If, on the other hand, you are only leaving the room for a short period of time, then leave the light on. Also, many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched off. These "phantom" loads occur in most appliances that use electricity, such as VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances. In the average home, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. This can be avoided by unplugging the appliance or using a power strip and using the switch on the power strip to cut all power to the appliance. Unplug battery chargers when the batteries are fully charged or the chargers are not in use.
4. Most commuters work and live within 5 miles of another commuter. If everyone carpooled just one day a week travel times in the DC area would average 40 minutes instead of 1 hour. Do your part for the environment, save money on gas, and shorten your work day. Also, Instead of running the car and the air conditioning while waiting for someone or something, turn the car off and go in the building or turn it off and sit in the shade. Be thoughtful about your car's emissions and keep them to a minimum. When you are waiting for your kids after school, turn off your engine, and inspire other parents to do the same. You will be saving gas, money, and the environment.
5. Instead of just chucking out the cup sleeve along with your empty Starbucks cup, take the sleeve off and at least put it in a recycle box. If it is not trashed, you can even use it for your next cup of coffee! Or, you can buy one of these snazzy sleeves: www.CupCouture.com. Trust me, people will notice and catch on to the trend too!
6. Do you bring a sandwich to work for lunch each day? If so, you can buy one of these www.ReUsableBags.com and just bring it home and rinse it off and use it again the next day! It will work great for other snacks too! Think of all the cling wrap, foil, wax paper, and sandwich bags you will save!

Green Living Tips

1. Recently I was shopping for a good deal on ink cartridges for my home computer when I found this great Web Site. Not only are they recycled cartridges but they were more reasonable than the new ones at your local Office supply store.  I have been pleasantly surprised with the products purchased, the quickness of service and the lower cost. Check them out at www.eCycleInk.com.
   
2. Recycle Your Electronics! We are all accustomed to recycling cans and newspapers; but what about old electronics? Best Buy now offers electronics recycling nationwide. Don't put your old electronics in the landfill. For more information, visit www.BestBuy.com and search for "recycling."
   
3. Reuse newspapers for cleaning glass around the house and office. It works better than paper towels. Also use a vinegar and water solution instead of expensive cleaners. Works well on automobiles too. Recycle the paper when finished.
   
4. I recently found a great power strip at Sam's Club. It's called Belkin Conserve (energy saving surge protector with remote switch) For Home Theatre. There are 10 outlets 2 of which stay on all the time (for items such as DVR's) and the rest turn off by a switch that has a 60 ft range. It set me back about $30 but I was already in the market for a new surge protector and have been making the effort to crawl under the desk to turn my old strip off (but was often too rushed or forgetful). So this one made perfect sense for my home computer station and I will likely buy two more for the living room and kid's room! I mounted the switch next to my room light switch and easily turn off 7 devices! I have had it for over a week and not once have forgotten to turn it off when leaving the room or before bedtime. ~ Submitted by Quail Ridge
   
5. Buy reusable shopping bags and use them at the grocery store.
   Turn the water off when you brush your teeth!
   Buy locally grown foods...less gas is used to transport.
   
6. Make sure you’re green next time you clean by searching for “Seventh Generation” products. Seventh Generation distributes household products that are designed to work as well as their traditional counterparts, but use renewable, non-toxic, phosphate free and biodegradable ingredients, and are never tested on animals. For more information and to find out where to buy, visit www.SeventhGeneration.com.
7. Turn off your stove before cooking is done and turn your oven off early as well. Residual heat will finish cooking your food. Also, in the winter months, after you have finished using your oven, leave the oven door open. It will help make your house a little more toasty!
8. You should be well traveled, not your food. Help promote a healthier economy and lower carbon emissions by checking the labels to see how far your food has come, then choose seasonal fruits and vegetables that do not originate half a world away. And always buy local when you can. Going to the farmer’s market supports local farmers and is great fun!
9. Toss delicates or quick-dry items in the dryer for less time and hang up heavy cottons, blankets, jeans and other clothes that take longer to dry. You can toss the latter in the dryer for just a few minutes if they are stiff from air drying. Use settings with sensors that stop the dryer when clothes are dry to avoid wasting hot air. Also, if you have wrinkled clothes, instead of ironing or steaming them, save the energy and try something new and easy! The night before, hang the garment on a hanger and mist with water. In the morning, your garment will be wrinkle-free! Obviously, this will not work on all fabrics, but it works like a charm on cotton!
10. The dryer is one of the biggest appliances in your house. Cleaning your dryer vent will save energy and make your dryer much more efficient. Dryer time should be no longer than 55 min. Cleaning the vent will not only dry your clothes faster, but your dryer will last a whole lot longer!
11. Junk mail accounts for up to 90% of mail deliver to almost everyone in this country. How many gallons of gas does it take to move this bulk? Ban junk mail and you could take up to 90% of the mail vehicles off the road. Did you know that each year millions of trees and billions of gallons of water are used to create junk mail, most of which never gets recycled? There are several things you can do to reduce how much junk mail you receive. Get off of national mailing lists by sending your name, address, and signature to:

    Mail Preference Service
    c/o Direct Marketing Association
    P.O. Box 643
    Carmel, NY 10512

    Every time you subscribe to a magazine, buy something from a catalog or online store, or donate money, be sure to say (by phone or email): "Please do not rent or sell my name or address." If you don't want to receive catalogs or solicitations from charitable organizations, ask that your address not be added to any mailing lists. Call your credit card companies and banks to make sure your address isn't sold. Say no to credit card offers by calling the credit reporting industry's opt-out number: 888.567.8688. Have your address removed from the Valpak Mailing Lists. When you receive unwanted mail, take a minute to call the company (usually toll-free) to remove your address from its list. Some companies will remove you from mailing lists for a fee. You can find them by doing an Internet search for "reduce junk mail." If you continue to get junk mail, after using it, and any other paper you do not need to keep, as scrap paper, recycle it.
12. In the morning, place frozen items in the fridge to thaw. This transfers the energy invested in freezing them to the fridge, making the fridge not have to "work" as hard to keep things cool that day, and makes your dinner take less energy to cook in the evening. A win-win! Also, let hot, leftover food cool to room temperature (no more than two hours) before placing in the refrigerator. The fridge has to work harder, thus using more energy to cool off hot items.
13. Recycle magazines more than once. Most households receive several magazines each month. After you have finished reading them, drop them off at your salon, barber, doctor, or dentist office. You can also recycle by sharing magazines with a friend. This eliminates trash and someone else gets to enjoy them before they get tossed in the recycling bin!
14. Stop buying bottled water! Install a filter on your sink or use a Brita filter pitcher in your fridge instead. All of those bottles you are throwing away are just filling up landfills! Much of bottled water is bottled tap water. It requires large amounts of energy to transport. It costs energy to recycle plastic and many bags/bottles are not recycled. Those take hundreds of years to disintegrate. As far as bottled water goes, it is much better to use a filtered water pitcher. And it is way cheaper too! You can pour your water into one of these: a Camelback www.CamelBak.com or a Sigg www.MySigg.com.
15. Put a plastic bottle in your toilet tank. Did you know each time your toilet is flushed, it uses five to seven gallons of water? In five minutes, you can save one or two gallons per flush! A small plastic juice bottle or laundry soap bottle works well. Soak off the label, fill the bottle with water, put on the cap, and place it in the tank. Be careful that the bottle does not interfere with the flushing mechanism.
16. Run only full loads of laundry and dishes. If your washing machine has a setting for the amount of clothing you are washing (small to extra-large load), choose a low setting. You will use less water and your clothes will get just as clean. If your dishwasher has an option to run a "full" or "short" cycle, choose the short cycle.