Save Trees! Reduce the amount of paper used in your office

Here are some simple steps that I take to make our home office more eco-friendly.

• Use an online fax service This is a great way to save paper and save money. You receive faxes as a PDF. They come straight to your email, so you only need to print out documents that you really need a hard copy of. Otherwise, you can just save them to your computer. If you are just starting out you can save even more money because you don't need to buy a fax machine. It also eliminates the need for a separate phone line. (Take my advice and do NOT try and have your phone and fax lines be the same- the whole 'you just have to let me know you're sending a fax so I can switch it over' is SO unprofessional!)We have been using myfax for several years now, and I have no complaints. We pay $10/month and it's completely worth it in my opinion.
• Receive & pay bills online when possible This is one of the easiest ways to save trees- use less paper! You can simplify things by signing up for auto-pay programs too.
  
• Print drafts on recycled paper (meaning flip it over & use the other side!) I am pretty hard core about not wasting paper. Although I have drastically reduced the number of things I actually print out, of course I am still printing pages of paper on a daily basis. Now I save pieces that only have 1 used side (whether they are pieces of junk mail or things that I had to print out but didn't end up using). Anytime I print a draft or something for my own personal use I just use the other side of the paper I have been saving. We save a ton of paper with this method! It really makes sense, too- just try it & you will be surprised how many instances this comes in handy.
• Buy printer paper made from recycled content When I first started working out of our home office, I bought a case of paper from Costco. It literally lasted me around 2 years, maybe more like 3- it was ridiculous! It is really inexpensive to go that route, but totally unnecessary for a business our size that takes the steps we do to not waste paper. When the case finally ran out I started buying reams(500 sheets) of 100% recycled paper. Makes a lot more sense! Staples has a range of products that use anywhere from 30%-100% fewer trees. This is one of those things that I strongly believe in doing- why cut down new trees to make paper when it is completely feasible to make paper out of recycled content?!

As this is my first post I'm going to try and keep it short & sweet- check back for more small changes that make a big difference!