This post is my submission to February’s APLS blog Carnival http://theaplsblog.blogspot.com/. This month’s topic is how to stay motivated about living a green life. Check Going Green Mama http://going-green-mama.blogspot.com/ on February 24 for the carnival round-up and lots of great ideas.
Recently I posted about the changes to our family’s life, which led to some changes for Greening Families http://www.greeningfamilies.com/families/thinking-about-next-steps-for-greening-families/. With the launch of my husband’s business, we have made the switch to complete self-employment, something we have been working toward for years. We are already reaping benefits in terms of flexible schedules (we both attended our daughters’ Valentine’s Day parties at school with zero guilt – amazing!) but the change has also meant longer-than-normal hours for me over the last few months as Rich’s business – and income – got off the ground.
When I am racing a deadline, I sometimes have a hard time maintaining my motivation for green habits. Since I know many others are starting or growing their own businesses these days, I wanted to share some tips to maintaining green motivation in the workplace. (I also wanted to encourage myself to keep following the green path so this article itself is a form of self-motivation!)
Ways to Green Your Home Office
1) Buy only what you need. When starting a business, it is easy to be tempted into buying items that might come in handy since you don’t know exactly what you will need yet. Hold off on making any purchase until you absolutely know you need it.
As an example, I started my business more than 10 years ago thinking that I would need a monitor stand since I spend so much time working at my computer. Money was tight so I had to get creative. And here I am, still perfectly functional all these years later without one!
<Insert photo of paper under monitor>
2) Along this same line, reuse everything possible. Along with stacks of paper serving as monitor stands, in the early days my kitchen table was my desk and an old milk carton from college was my file cabinet. I also look for ways to reuse items I receive as part of my work. Folders, pens, paper clips, and name badges all get multiple uses in my work.
3) Consider used furniture. My current desk is a beautiful solid wood desk that we found in the used section of a local furniture store for about $100. Both my husband and I also found solid wood bookcases for our offices there for equally low prices. We don’t have to breathe in the chemicals released by pressed wood, we have lovely pieces that will last our lifetime, and we saved a bunch of money.
4) Be thoughtful about your work processes. This is where I really have a tough time when stress mounts. I’m a grant writer so I pour over Requests for Proposals as I’m working with clients on grant applications. These RFPs are often long – one hundred plus pages of densely worded text is typical – and most grant applications go through multiple iterations before they are finalized so I could easily burn through lots of paper. I’ve been focusing on limiting my printing. I’m doing so by keeping more many more items electronic (thanks in part to the handy comments feature in Adobe http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrfaq.html). When I do print, I double-up pages whenever possible. I then recycle everything printed once the project is complete. My daughters are big artists so they find lots of uses for used paper!
5) Utilize the Power Save options on all electronic devices. One of the downsides of working at home is that I’m responsible for paying the utility bill. I work to keep mine low by taking advantage of the Power Save options on my computer. Rich is a techie so he helped me figure out all the choices but there is a handy tool, called EZ Wizard http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=power_mgt.pr_power_mgt_ez_wiz, that will do the same thing if you need a hand (although you won’t get your fill of Star Wars humor with the software.)
6) Utilize renewable energy where possible. One of the advantages to working at home is that I have more control over the source of the energy I am using. We switched to renewable energy as soon as it was an option in our area. These days many utility companies now give their customers the option to purchase at least some of their energy from renewable sources. Check out the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency http://www.dsireusa.org/ to learn about alternatives in your area.
7) Delete unused files and emails – even from the deleted folder. It takes energy to store information, even when it is in the deleted file. While it is hard to get a measure of how much energy it takes to store files and emails (see One Green Generation http://1greengeneration.elementsintime.com/?p=887 and Treehugger http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/the_footprint_o_1.php for two attempts), I have (slowly) been learning that keeping only what is needed makes the work environment more pleasant so the benefits to this action go beyond energy reduction.
8) Maintain equipment so it won’t have to be replaced. A little time can save a lot of money. Helpful primers on maintaining computers and computer accessories is available here http://www.wikihow.com/Maintain-Your-Computer and here http://support.gateway.com/support/manlib/notebooks/solo1150/8507028/maintain.htm. If you utilize other forms of equipment in your business, ask how to care for them properly when you purchase them or seek out guidelines online.
9) Select office supplies carefully. When buying supplies for work, check to see if eco-friendly options are available. I’ve found paper with recycled content, pens made out of recycled plastic, and
10) Keep plants near your work space. Plants don’t only look good, they also help clean the air of toxic chemicals http://www.care2.com/greenliving/top-ten-houseplants-for-cleaner-air.html. And caring for a plant has been shown to increase people’s level of happiness so you could get two benefits for the price of one.
11) Store office supplies where kids can’t reach them. OK, this one may be unique to my family but, from what I have seen of kids and Post Its, I don’t think it is. After way too many fine-tip dry erase markers were mashed into oblivion by my preschool daughters, who were used to the fat-tipped markers at school, I moved my office supplies to a location they couldn’t reach. It saved a bunch of supplies and was much less frustrating since I always knew what I had, and where it was.
12) All the stuff you do in the rest of your house. Use power strips. Clean with non-toxic cleaners http://www.greeningfamilies.com/your-home/save-money-and-the-earth-with-homemade-cleaners/. Use CFLs. Dress appropriately for the weather. You know the drill.
This post is my submission to February’s APLS Blog Carnival. This month’s topic is how to stay motivated about green living. Check Going Green Mama on February 24 for the carnival round-up and lots of great ideas to keep your motivation levels high.
Recently I posted about the changes to our family’s life, which led to some changes for Greening Families. With the launch of my husband’s business, we have made the switch to complete self-employment, something we have been working toward for years. We are already reaping benefits in terms of flexible schedules (we both attended our daughters’ Valentine’s Day parties at school with zero guilt – amazing!) but the change has also meant longer-than-normal hours for me over the last few months as Rich’s business – and income – got off the ground.
When I am racing a deadline, I sometimes have a hard time maintaining my motivation for green habits, especially the ones that take a little extra time. Since I know many others are starting or growing their own businesses these days, I wanted to share some tips to maintaining green motivation in the workplace. (I also wanted to encourage myself to keep following the green path so this article itself is a form of self-motivation!) Here are my top twelve tips for greening your home office: Read more
As we have been preparing for the new school year, we’ve been looking backwards as well as forward and reviewing our progress over the year to date. We have our green goals and have been tracking our progress on them but it struck me that the benefits of going green have gone far beyond meeting those goals. Here are the main benefits of going green we have experienced: Read more
Filed Under:
Featured,
Going Green While Saving Green,
Green ResourcesTagged:
benefits of going green,
Going Green While Saving Green,
green cleaning,
hybrid,
organic gardening,
parenting,
recycle,
reuse,
save money 
Can you tell I’m deep in preparations for the start of school? I’ve been wrestling with how to extend our efforts to green our family to helping create a green school environment. And I want to do this in a way that really is helpful to the school.
Our eldest began kindergarten last fall so I don’t have a lot of experience dealing with schools as a parent. We tried several schools before we found the right fit, which didn’t occur until the end of February, so I have even less experience with our current school. We love, love, love the school’s approach to teaching, the teachers, and the other families but are still learning how the business of the school is structured.
We received our student supply lists and my initial reactions fell into four categories. For items like pencils and notebook paper, I immediately started thinking about products that would be more eco-friendly, like pencils made from recycled wood
and recycled paper
. Other items came with very precise descriptions, leaving me to wonder if Fiskar scissors were really needed or if the non-Fiskar scissors we already have would suffice. A quick conversation with the teacher will resolve these issues and, since the school has encouraged folks to use items already on hand, I think I know how it will go.
Then came the items that I would prefer not to purchase but will because I understand why they are helpful in a group of small children – things like tissues are included here since I just don’t see 10 kids with hankies working out well during the winter. The last category is where I am struggling. The supply lists for both of my kids included plastic zip lock bags – one box for the youngest and two for the eldest. That means 10 boxes of plastic bags will be used one classroom and 20 boxes in another for a total of 600 plastic bags just for their classes! The very thought of that makes me feel ill. Read more
Filed Under:
Featured,
Green Resources,
Greening KidsTagged:
carbon footprint,
eco tips for children,
Going Green,
green community,
green school,
parenting,
recycle,
reduce,
reducing carbon footprint,
reuse 
This post is part of August’s APLS Blog Carnival. Learn how to go green and save money by visiting Going Green Mama on August 19 to read all the submissions.
I appreciated the opportunity to write about this month’s APLS topic “Green on the Cheap,” in large part because it has given me the opportunity to make a public confession. I didn’t begin my green journey because I was troubled about the plight of polar bears or was appalled at the size of my carbon footprint. Nope, my initial reasons for going green had nothing to do with living an eco-friendly life. I simply wanted to get out of debt. Read more
There has been a lot of discussion in our house about the new year. Many of the conversations involved things we changed during 2008 that made us happier. As we talked about those changes, it soon became clear almost all of them also made our lives greener. It was nice to see the two characteristics line up so nicely so I thought I would share!
First is an overview of the greening steps we made during 2008. Since I love hearing about other people’s resolutions, this is followed by the resolutions we have currently made for 2009. Read more
Filed Under:
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BPA and plastic,
csa,
Fair Indigo,
free trade,
Freecycle,
Going Green While Saving Green,
local food,
New Year's resolutions,
recycle,
reuse,
Simple Shoes,
thrift store,
waste-free 
I posted earlier about our back-to-school shopping trip but wanted to go into more detail about the benefits of thrift store shopping. When we initially considered shopping at thrift stores, my first thought was, “Ick!” In case that is also your reaction, here are some reasons to consider it. Read more
Filed Under:
Families,
Going Green While Saving GreenTagged:
Goodwill,
money saving idea,
recycle,
recycle clothing,
recycling,
recycling clothing,
reduce pollution,
Rehash,
reuse,
Salvation Army,
save money
