Home Office Answers

Stamps just got more expensive again! I am so aggravated that I have an entire roll of .41 stamps, it’s maddening! I have really cut down on mail and now I am going on an all out mail boycott.

In stead of going out and buying 100 one-cent stamps, I plan to figure out how to not need them. I have to admit I didn’t even realize that the stamps I had were not the “Forever” stamp.

My in-laws (who are in their 70’s) are the only people I know that don’t have access to email.  So if it is work or fun documents someone needs from me they will be getting an electronic copy.

Online bill pay I have already switched to paying my bills on-line and chances are you have too.  I do still have a few places that don’t list an on-line option on the bill.  I plan to call each of them and find out if there is a way to send the money to them electronically.  A few bills I pay go to small companies and I plan to suggest they look into Paypal if they don’t have another option.

Mail was already a sore spot for me, the exasperation of a stamp increase just pushed me over the proverbial edge.

Can you eliminate your mail?

Would you like to have your store receipts stored electronically? You may soon have the chance to do that without ever holding, or scanning a printed receipt. A new option for eliminating receipts at the checkout counters of major retailers may be around the corner.

An on-line service that will let consumers receive digital receipts after a counter purchase at big box stores, such as Best Buy and Target, is set to launch May 16.

AllEtronic is an add-in for digital cash registers running popular point of purchase applications. When it recognizes a customer as a sale is rung up, allEtronic blocks the receipt-printing process, triggering details to be sent to its servers instead.

As a consumer you can visit allEtronic’s Web site to view and export receipts to your personal accounting software. You can sign up for an count now, but the service is not active until later this week.

First you have to enter the first six and last four digits of a credit card number when you sign up for the program.

This may be a little inconvenient for people like me that use several credit cards to keep expenses separate.

Participating retailers will likely display an allEtronic decal near the usual lineup of credit card logos. Some shops may add allEtronic kiosks or tout the service in their TV commercials.

Retailers that still use paper receipts for internal records could continue to do so, but without printing a customer copy.

The company is seeking a stamp of approval from Trustwave, which would mark allEtronic as a secure service for storing partial credit card numbers.

AllEtronic publicizes its product as green for helping to save the trees felled for some 600,000 tons of thermal receipt paper used by stores each year. It takes 15 trees, 19,000 gallons of water, and 390 gallons of oil to make a ton of paper, according to the company, which is based in Fullerton, Calif.

I am all eliminating the paper printed receipts. Overall it should save me time. And save paper. I also think it may help me to be more organized. One draw back may be a mis-rung item at the checkout, but I am willing to pay extra attention as the items are rung up so I don’t have to deal with all the little tiny receipts.

Do you think this idea will catch on?

How confusing can going green be?

When I first decided to try and make a small difference in my little corner of the world
(my home office) I was excited about all the possibilities of how I could go green.

It seemed like such as easy thing to me, go green in my home office, be eco friendly, help the environment.

Boy was I wrong, or was I?

It seems these days everyone is going green and has advice on how to do it correctly.

I am really bothered by the condemning approach many of the so called experts are taking to every action.

Example, if I am using reusable bags instead of a bazillion plastic bags at the store that’s not good enough, oh no now I have to make sure my reusable bag is made of organic cotton. And the condemning doesn’t stop there; I am supposed to check out what kind of processing plant the maker of the organic bag has. Do they use green energy?

PLEASE give me a break!

I think I am a reasonable woman and I want to make reasonable efforts to make my home office green. The way I see it, using a reusable bag over and over again is better for the environment than a one use plastic bag even if it’s not the PERFECT solution.

I really worry that this all or nothing approach is going to scare off the average person from making any change at all. And don’t forget, it us average folk who really hold the power to make a real difference, there are only a few AL Gore’s in the world.

If you want common sense changes to help your home office go green subscribe to my RSS feed, and by all means share your tips here too. I’m going to do my best to provide a voice of reason and keep posting easy to implement tips here every week.

Today’s Tip - Take back your power, use any reusable bag you choose 

Going green in your home office is a step by step program. I try new ideas all the time to see what works for me.

Printing less and using less paper is a win-win for me. My home office goes green and I stay more organized.
After trying to reduce your home office use of paper as much as possible, it’s still unavoidable that you’ll need paper and printing supplies.

Now it’s time to make sure you are using sustainable paper options

Luckily there are many green paper options available. Your local office or stationery store probably carries recycled paper. I think it’s fun to look around at the different options recycled paper now comes in. There’s really no excuse for using virgin paper when there are so many tree-friendly types available. You can order bulk supplies online from many retailers as well.

My favorite source for everything a green home office might need is The Green Office. In addition to extensive paper choices, they offer all kinds of green office products from furniture to phones to ink.

Take a look at the Green Office site to see what you might need. As fun as shopping at the local retailer is, saving my time and my gas by shopping on-line is the way I choose to go.

Always make sure you really need paper, or printing supplies before you order them. Try to order at least a few months supply at a time to save on packaging and shipping.

Going green in my home office just got a little easier.

Make sure you take time to read the newsletters from your utility company.

In the most recent addition of Consolidated Electrics’ “Between the Lines” they announced a generous recyling plan.

All you have to do is bring your old light bulbs, incandescent or CFL to the Community annual meeting of members on May 17 and they will have several receptacles available for proper disposal
PLUS they will give you a new CFL bulb for taking the initiative to recycle.

If you need information about the proper way to recycle CFL’s read, Know the Compact Fluorescent Facts

Check your local electric company website and see if they have a similar plan.

If you see an idea worth sharing please post it here.

When my Flip and Tumble reusable bags arrived in my mailbox I was surprised, all 7 bags I ordered were neatly packed into one envelope. I didn’t realize they were so small. When the bag is in the attached pouch it’s a tad smaller than a baseball. It reminds me a lot of the hacky sacks my son used to play with when he was younger.

Now that I have had a chance to do some shopping with the bags here’s my review.

What I like about the bag

1) Colors- I love the color choices, so many eco-friendly bags are boring green.
Raspberry is my favorite.

2) It is ultra light weight; I don’t even know it’s in my purse. I can easily toss 5 in my small purse.

3) The bag stretches to hold all types and sizes of objects.

4) The shoulder strap makes it much easier to carry than a traditional plastic bag.

5) It’s effortless - putting in back in the pouch is sorta fun and that makes it easy to remember to toss it back in the purse for the next time.

What I didn’t like

1) The bag is wrinkled when it comes out of the pouch, no big deal.

2) The price seems to be a little on the high side, but I think it’s worth paying a little extra to have a bag I like, because I will use it.

If you don’t have a reusable bag I recommend ordering a flip and tumble.

Junk mail is a real issue irritation for me.

There are ways to try to reduce junk mail. but they take time, and lots of it.
So while you are waiting for your www.greendimes.com service to reduce your junk mail, why not try and find ways to use all that paper instead of throwing it into the landfill.

I shred most of my junk mail and save it for packing items that have to be shipped.

I dream about using the shreds to make my own beautiful homemade paper, but doubt I’ll ever take the time to do that.
If you do make your own paper I would love to hear and learn about it.

This article on using the paper to mulch is very interesting. Frugality in Practice: Turn Your Junk Mail into Garden Mulch

If you have used paper for mulching or have another idea on how to use junk mail please share it.