The Productivity Guru: Six Easy Ways to Reduce Your Paper Usage

Remember when the concept of "going paperless" was all the rage? What happened to that idea?

Consider these statistics:

• In one day, an estimated 50,000 acres of trees are cut down worldwide for paper and other uses. That's the equivalent of lining up 37,500 football fields end-to-end, or the size of 10 million cars parked in a lot!
• The average American consumes 741 pounds of paper per year, which translates to approximately seven tons over a 20-year period.
• The paper industry is the third greatest industrial emitter of global-warming pollution.

Now, for the good news: Recycling rates are increasing on a national and global level. As a nation, we're recycling about 56 percent of what we consume, as well as buying more paper products.

Green Options

Are you ready to implement the "going-green" mantra and begin reducing, reusing and recycling? If so, here are six easy ways to help you get started in that direction.

1. Cut off your paper supply

Usually, mail is a good place to start. For some effective mail-stoppers, consider catalogchoice.org, which prevents unwanted catalogs from being sent to you. Remember: Just because you get it in the mail, it doesn't mean that you have to read it. Do yourself a favor and cut it off before it has the opportunity to clutter up your space and mind.

2. Eliminate junk mail

The organization, 41pounds.org, estimates that we receive about 41 pounds of junk mail per year. Through their website, you can cancel the majority of your junk mail for $41. This includes credit-card offers, coupons, real estate offerings and insurance scams.

3. Read online publications

Fortunately, as OfficeArrow members, you're already one step ahead of the game.

4. Cancel the delivery of your phonebook

Don't know what to do with that large phonebook that sits near your phone, but doesn't get used anymore because of the Internet? Consider cancelling the delivery of your phonebook at www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/. Imagine how many trees could be saved if a third of the population cancelled their unused phone book!

5. Pay your bills online

Bank online and opt out of receiving your bank statements via snail mail. Nearly every bank provides this option, and you can save the statements to a computer file for future reference, if needed. Just think about it: No more bank-statement files and no more confusion around where, why and how to save them!

6. Stop printing your e-mails:

Nearly 2 trillion pages of e-mails are printed in U.S. offices each year. And, let's be honest: It's not only a waste of trees and other precious resources, but it's also a major source of confusion, distraction, and frustration to our organizational systems. Of course, some items are necessary to print; however, the majority of what we print only adds to what I call "The Great Paper Shuffle." Consider the fact that once you print a piece of paper, you have to do something with it. And, this only creates an extra step in your workflow process. Instead, make e-mail files and folders that reflect your current projects, supervisors and team members. Additionally, remember to designate a place for reusable paper near your printer.

Have you implemented any environmentally friendly policies in your office or at home? Please share your stories! Also, green your office with the help of OfficeArrow's "green" checklist.

Sara Caputo, MA is a productivity and organizing consultant who has been streamlining environments and simplifying lives for years through consulting, coaching and training. She believes that by creating more order in our lives and eliminating unnecessary chaos, we can participate more fully in all levels of life. Sara is the owner of Radiant Organizing, a professional organizing and consulting company, based in Santa Barbara, California. Sara can be reached at: http://www.radiantorganizing.com/.