Home Office Answers

Did you catch Ed on Larry King last night?  He only got a few minutes of air time at the end of the show.

He suggested that we each try to do the small things to save the environment and we will save some money along the way.

He brought a “real” perspective to his ideas by readily admitting most of us average folks can’t run out and buy a hybrid because the gas price went up.

Make a small adjustment today to save a little energy.  Walk to the store if you can.  Turn off you electronics that are using phantom power, turn up the thermostat during the day.  Find a little way to save energy and cash and try making it a habit.  I’m with ED one small change at a time is the only approach most of us can take.

Ed also had some really cool looking “plastic grass”  someday maybe I can afford that.

Utah is changing it’s ways and most state employees will be on a 4 day work week schedule.  They want to save energy, and reduce the carbon footprint of the state offices.

I hope more states and companies follow their lead.  Again I point the US Post Office, think how much energy our country could save if they just went to a 5 day work week.

Do you work a 4 day work week?

Home Depot announced  today they will recycle CFL’s in stores at the return counter.

They also have a plan to change out there existing light bulbs in the stores.

It’s nice to see more easy ways to recycle CFL’s.  You can read about it here

Imagine spending 3 million dollars every time the cost of gas goes up one penny? That’s about 15 million dollars, or more, a day on average right now.

That is a real number for the US Postal Service.  A 3 Million dollar increase in expenses every time the cost of fuel goes up one cent!

YES 3 million dollars.

I believe it really is time to rethink the post office operation and the mail needs of this country.

As I have mentioned more than a few times, at least half of the mail I get in my box is unwanted and not necessary. Why should I be forced to contribute to this problem that I choose NOT to be a part of.

The problem in my opinion is HUGE! The cost OUTRAGEOUS and the waste of resources SHAMEFUL!

I have signed up for many do not mail list. I sign up and constantly request to stop catalogs and yet they still show up in my box weekly.

Why can’t it be simplified? How about a tag on my mailbox that indicates to the carrier, no deliveries allowed to occupant.
No fliers, no papers etc. Shouldn’t that be MY choice.

Shouldn’t my rights as a postal consumer be to only receive mail that is addresses to me?

I also favor elminintaing mail delivery at least one day a week. Think of the billions of dollars in fuel money that will save plus how much gas that will put back in the supply chain. If the USPS agreed to change to delivery 5 days a week starting in 2009 we could see gas prices back below $3.00 a gallon this summer. The announcement alone would stop the wild traders and speculators. I think if they announce it now and start in 2009 everyone will have time to adjust there schedules.

If we can eliminate a small portion of unwanted mail there should not be any extra burden on postal workers by eliminating a delivery day.

Maybe I should write in to Bill O’Reilly on FOX News, it really is time to stand up and do something!

Please share your thoughts by posting a comment

A recent Reuters article highlighted the possibility of cutting back the business hours of convience stores in Japan.

When I was younger, about 30 short years ago, no one in the U.S. had ever heard of 24/7, at least not where I grew up.  I can remember when the grocery stores started opening on holidays and my grandma used to say “DO NOT shop on holidays anywhere, or someday you will be working on the holiday yourself”  Grandma was sure right on that one.

We can barely schedule any family gathering now when someone doesn’t have to work.

Grandma believed very strongly that everyone should be home with their family on a holiday and  Sunday’s too for that matter.  She also knew we would survive Thanksgiving without the whip topping she forgot to put in the grocery cart the day before.  As I write this and remember the holidays I don’t remember what dress I wore, what food we did or didn’t have but I do remember how important family was.  Grandma would always say “turn off the TV when friends and family come,  they are so much more important!”  but that’s a story for another day.

Today let’s think about the price we are paying for 24/7.  The additional energy used to power virtually every store.  Yes I know there is still power on when the store is closed, but every time the outside door opens the climate control system heat or air has to be run harder.  Multiply that number for every store in the U.S.   The lights and computers in most stores NEVER get shut down.  The next time you are shopping at Walmart, look at how many lights are on.  AMAZING!

I would be in favor of returning to having to make it to the store before 10:00p.m.  I think if I don’t have it by then I can most likely make it until 7:00 a.m. without it and maybe that would save enough energy to help save our planet.

I am sure there are people who find it convenient to shop late, so maybe stores should offer 1 or 2 nights a week with extra hours instead of everyday at least until we can get used to a non 24/7 world again.

Maybe we would all take more time for friends and family.

What do you think? Please post your comments.

After receiving my ever increasing electric bill I decided it is time to unplug or at least power down all my home office equipment when I leave my office each day.

At first I was a little resistant to this idea, thinking I was already conserving power with the devices in sleep mode.

Then I read this quote  ”Our tests found that leaving a Playstation 3 on while not in use would cost almost… five times more than it would take to run a refrigerator for the same yearly period,” said the study which was published on Choice’s website www.choice.com.au.”

Now of course I don’t have a playstation3 in my home office (darn it), but I do have a couple of printers, a credit card processor, a caller id box and a laptop.

Now when I am done working for the day I turn off the power strip and that cuts the power to each of these devices.  I feel like I have helped in a small way make my home office greener and save a little energy for another day.  It’s too early to tell if my electric bill will benefit too.

I have noticed an advantage I was not anticipating; I feel more “unplugged”.  With everything off I choose not to run back in after dinner to finish that one last job, or check email or voicemail one last time.

So if you don’t already unplug your office, I highly recommend you give it a try.

  When I was getting my information for taxes together, I realized I needed a copy of a closing statement from a real estate transaction that had occurred during the year.  I contacted the realtor that handled the transaction and asked if I could get an electronic copy.  They said they could not send it electronically for security reasons but they could overnight it to me.  I thought that was a prosperous waste of money and told them I would pick it up when I would be near their office on other business.  Now I was able to do that because they are only about 15 miles away and I did have to meet someone near there for other business.  If I had been across the country or even across the state they would have overnighted the papers to me.  I started thinking about the tremendous amount of wasted resources we spend everyday on this ridiculous overnight and shipped paperwork. 

Until today I didn’t have a real solution to offer then I ran across this press release.

(Accellion press release snippet) Accellion, Inc. (http://www.accellion.com/) has introduced a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional shipping. The Accellion Green Digital Logistics Solution enables corporations to eliminate the traditional costs, time delays, security issues, and environmental concerns associated with physical delivery. Accellion Green provides corporate users with digital delivery at digital speeds, reduced costs and reduced CO2 emissions. 

“If you can make it digital, you can ship it via Accellion Green,” said Yorgen Edholm, president and CEO of Accellion.(end)

I checked out their web site and this service looks like an excellent choice for many industries like financial intuitions, health care, insurance and really any company that now uses a traditional courier for papers. Digital shipping is good for the bottom line and good for the environment.

I am definitely keeping this web site bookmarked, the next time I need paperwork I will have a resource to recommend.

If you try their service please tell me what you think?

   Do paper phone books keep appearing at your door step uninvited?    I used to take mine right from the door step to the recycling bin mumbling to myself all the way.  Now there is a better way.  If you don’t want your “fingers to do the walking” sign up for this eco-friendly service and STOP receiving paper phone books. 

According to Yellowpagesgoesgreen.org over 500 Million phone directories are printed each year.

The resources needed to produce these books is tremendous

19 million trees need to be harvested 

1.6 billion pounds of paper are wasted

7.2 million barrels of oil are misspent in their processing (not including the wasted gas used for their delivery to your doorstep)

268,000 cubic yards of landfill are taken up

3.2 billion kilowatts of energy are squandered

Yellowpagesgoesgreen.org is an organization working to educate consumers and promote the green movement to eliminate the unsolicited delivery of Yellow and White Pages books. This site is aimed at starting a national movement to solicit the White/Yellow Pages industry to proactively stop the delivery of books or to begin moving legislation to mandate the stoppage of this activity. This movement should be similar to the National No-Call Registry that have stopped and/or decreased the number of unwanted solicitations telephone calls to consumers.

Make your home office eco-friendly green, save some trees and stop receiving unsolicited phone directories.

Have you seen the revolutionary new rechargeable battery - the USBCELL? This NiMH AA cell can be used like any normal battery and can be recharged simply by plugging into a USB port.  If your home office equipment is using normal AA batteries, USBcell may be a green friendly alternative. There are over 15 billion alkaline batteries made and thrown away each year, wasting resources, C02 and creating toxic Landfill -
USBCELL offers a eco-friendly option.Each one can be re-used hundreds of times as no charge adaptor or cable is needed, saving you money, hassle and waste.  

Do you use rechargeable batteries? 

If you like this product tell your friends you heard about it at Home Office Answers

  If you send or receive faxes in your home office and you haven’t tried using an internet fax service lately, consider trying one for the next 30 days. 
Internet faxing is an easy and cost effective way to green up your home office.
You will reduce the paper you use.  There is no need to ever print a cover sheet or annoying spam ad again. You can reduce the paper that’s lying around the office by printing only the pages of the document you absolutely need to. Remember to also use the 2 sided printing whenever possible.

You will save money on ink and toner.

You also save time storing the documents.  Since the fax is received electronically all you need to do is label it and file it in your computer file where you want it.

Once you decide internet faxing is a good fit for you, and I really think you will, you can eliminate the cost you are paying for that extra phone line and long distance charges.

Most online fax services provide you with a toll free number to keep your home office looking professional.  Most providers also offer a local number if you need it.

Using an Internet fax is very convenient and very portable; you can access it anywhere, anytime — wherever you find the Internet.  This can prove to be an added benefit if you need to visit a client or take business from the home office to the road office.

I like being able to send and receive a fax if necessary, even when I am on vacation.
The business person on the other side of the transaction doesn’t know if I am sitting at my desk in my home office or sitting on the beach somewhere.

Most internet fax services offer a plan to fit every business size, so if you fax 50 pages or 5000 pages you will find a plan to work for you.

There are many online fax services to choose from.   Here is a list of links I have complied for you.

UReach, EFax, TrustFax, RapidFax, RingCentral, Metrohispeed, MyFax and Send2Fax

For my home office I use UReach Internet Fax Service UFax.

I have used this service since 2006 and am very pleased with it.  Originally I chose UReach because they were the most affordable option for me.  I have continued to use their service because it has worked well for my business needs.  During the 2 years I have used the service I have only found it necessary to call customer service twice. Both times I actually spoke with a person when I called and my question was answered and my issue was resolved before I hung up.

I also really like the private and secure feature offered by UReach.
That way I know I am the only one that can see my faxes I am sending or receiving.
Be sure you read and understand how the service you choose uses on-line storage of documents. 

I think most internet fax services offer a quick setup a free trial and are very user friendly.   

So will you take the challenge and try an on-line fax service for 30 days?

Please post your comments and tell me what service you chose and why.
If you already use an on-line fax has it helped your home office be more organized and green?