Working from home is a great money saver. You don’t have to pay to commute anywhere and work clothes can be reduced to the bare essentials. Many home office workers could not imagine working outside of their home office, especially during this economy crisis, when offices are becoming even more stressful places as people fend to try to keep their jobs.
Despite enjoying some financial rewards of working from home, for those that have desire to save even more, you can…and you can help the planet in the process. Your office can be transformed into a more “green” work environment and in doing that, you will see more green showing up as you save cash during this economy crisis. Try these 3 simple ways to make it happen:
Buy for cheap the paper that you need for your daily work and use it “all” up. You can find lots of quality paper that you can buy for cheap right at your local thrift stores, office surplus shops, or even at a neighbor’s garage sale a lot of times. Get as much as you can when these deals are presented. If you just have to have a specific kind, make sure to use the coupons and in-store discounts that office supply retailers usually. Pretty much, you never want to pay full price.
Once you get the paper, use all parts of it. Print on double sides whenever it is professionally accepted, use shredded paper for stuffing packages, and make notepads from the scraps or blank “half” pages that you have left over. Of course, you should always strive to maintain a professional image, but for home files and other incidentals, get the most out that paper.
Second, go digital with your filing and faxing. Instead of using paper for these tasks, you can sign up with an online faxing service, many of which are free or offer subscriptions that you can by for cheap, that allow for your faxes to go directly to your email for electronic filing. You will save financially and you will help the planet by producing less paper and metal waste from those file folders.
The other way to max out the savings and get the maximum green effect in your home office is to decorate it and furnish it with recycled furnishings. Buy for cheap good quality furniture from office surplus stores, clearance sales, thrift stores, and of course, yard sales and you will be able to have a beautifully furnished office for pennies on the dollar. In this economy crisis, finding ways to help our pockets can mean the difference between a successful business and one that struggles through this difficult financial time. In the long term, if our efforts help the environment, that’s an even better endeavor.
A great place to find free office supplies and furniture is FREECYCLE.com or Craigslist.org. On these sites, you will be able to find tons of free stuff for your office that is offered by people that want to help our planet by reducing waste. You can always rehab the furniture, cover it, paint it or whatever to give it the exact look that you want. But, with it being free, you can save a significant amount of green for your pocket and still do the “green” thing for the world!
Creativity, planning, and a little research are key to finding items that will work for your home office that can save you money and be a part of saving the environment. During this economy crisis, people are looking for ways to get more for less or get more out of what they have. Research, recycle, and reuse to get your office as green as the money that you’ll be saving with your effort!
