cut down on paper products
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Between the mail, the newspapers, printer paper and magazines, most homeowners are drowning in paper. It's easy to assuage the river of paper by making a few smarter decisions and a few greener choices. By cutting down on what comes into your home and recycling whatever paper you already have and will continue to get, you can tame the paper monster.
Instructions
1
Opt out of mailings that you don't need or want. Write refuse/return on mailings and stick them back in the mailbox. If that doesn't work for some of them, you will have to try to call them or write to them. Catalogs usually have a phone number you can call to tell them to stop mailing you their stuff.
2
Do as much of your business dealings as you can online. Pay your bills and do your banking online and you'll stop the paper flow of bills and statements. Most utility companies and large credit cards, department stores and insurances are set up with safe websites to deal with. It's faster and easier and there's no postage to buy.
3
Recycle old newspapers. Roll them into logs with a paper roller or by hand and burn them in your fireplace or chiminea. If they're rolled tightly they will burn pretty well. Use them for starter logs for wood fires or even for outdoor burn piles. The colored pages make the flames turn pretty colors, too. The papers are disposed of and they served a purpose.
4
Give your old magazines to a hospital, doctor's office, nursing home or other organization that would welcome them. You can also donate magazines with nice pictures in them to an art teacher or a grade school for projects. You can subscribe to almost all magazines online now and you wouldn't have any old magazines to get rid of at all.
5
Don't use plastic--or paper--at the grocery store. Buy a nice sturdy set of tote bags and carry them to the store. You can also take them to department stores and bookstores. Always keep your own set of tote bags in the car so they'll be handy wherever you go.
6
Print on both sides of the paper you use at home. Unless you're printing something out for work or school, you can use paper on both sides and cut your paper clutter and cost in half.
7
Buy smarter at the grocery store. Buy larger packages of cereals and pastas, oatmeal and other staples to cut down on the packaging you use. Also, choose items without excessive packaging on them.
8
Use washable items in place of disposable ones. Use rags and sponges and cheap wash cloths instead of paper towels for cleaning. You can soak them like diapers in a small bucket of water with a little pine cleaner or scented ammonia until you get enough to wash. Buy a big supply of cloth napkins--or make your own even more cheaply from an old tablecloth or other piece of fabric--and stop using the paper ones.
9
Find the recycling center in your area and ask how they work. Many communities have recycling centers you can drive to. Make the trip when you have a good amount of materials and you're going in that direction anyway. If you are fortunate enough to have this with your garbage service, take the extra moment or two and put things into different containers to be recycled.
10
Recycle, reuse, repurpose. Determine to do your part in stopping slow down the waste we produce. Make it a family affair and teach kids while they're young to do their part to save the planet and cut down the mess in your home as well.
Tips &- Warnings
Shred paper for safety 's sake and for making it more biodegradable.
Avoid buying small packages of things--buy large to use less packaging.
Tags: both sides, department stores, down paper, down paper products, grocery store, paper products, tote bagsSource: www.ehow.com
