How To Go Green In Your Home Office

Last Updated on March 24, 2017 by Work In My Pajamas

People are a lot more environmentally responsible than they used to be, and that’s great news for the future of the planet. Many large companies have publicly announced initiatives to reduce their carbon footprint. For environmentally conscious employees, this makes their intentions easy. Everyone’s doing the work for them. If you work from home, the only person who can implement a solid green policy is you. Fortunately, it’s possible to make meaningful changes without spending a fortune.

Consider Your Lighting

Every decent office needs proper lighting. What are you currently using? High efficiency light bulbs may cost a little more initially, but since they draw less energy, they’ll pay for themselves over time. You’ll get to help the environment while simultaneously reducing your energy costs. For maximum efficiency, consider putting your office lights on a dimmer switch.

How Are You Plugging In?

Your computer, your printer, and any other electronics you use obviously need to be plugged in. There’s only one issue: even when you’ve turned your equipment off, it’s still drawing up small amounts of power. Plugging your equipment into a power strip with an on/off function can help you prevent that wasteful draw. Once you’re done for the day, power down normally, and then flip the off switch.

Be Sparing With Paper

How much paper do you really need? Some projects may require printed documents to be sent out, and that’s unavoidable, but you may be able to avoid printing duplicate copies for yourself. If you’re using a Cloud based computing system with proper backups, you can always store documents electronically. Because of the green initiative, many reliable services provide hosting for, or facilitate electronic transfer of important documents without any paper at all.

Source Smart

Furniture is a must. You can’t have an office without desks and shelves. Instead of buying new furnishings from a company that doesn’t have a clear environmental stance, consider buying furniture secondhand. You can also repurpose other furniture you’re not using, or look online for things people are giving away. If new is a must for you, research and select furniture companies that use sustainable resources to create their products.

Upgrade to EnergyStar

Many office equipment manufacturers are modifying their products to fit EnergyStar standards, which are strict in terms of reducing environmental impact. Anything branded with EnergyStar has the highest efficiency possible when it comes to power usage. These products are easy to find, and exist across a wide variety of price ranges.

Create a Circle of Recycling and Reusing

Not only should you recycle as many things as possible, but you should also be purchasing office supplies that are manufactured with recycled materials. Get a small recycling bin for your office to remind you not to throw paper products away. Create the full circle by buying as many recycled products as possible. Everything you can imagine, from envelopes, to paper, to cardboard boxes are all available in a recycled variety at any office supply outlet. Extend your efforts even further by reusing as many things as possible. Gestures as small as sticking to refillable printer cartridges can make a world of difference over the lifetime of your home office.

Taking the right steps to become eco-friendly is not only good for the planet, it’s good for your wallet. If you’re creative, there are plenty of upcycling and DIY projects you can do for your home office to take things to the next level. If you’re not the hands-on type, simply making wiser purchasing decisions and being conscious of the energy you use will do enough.