Make sure you recycle your paper shreds. At minimum, toss them in the recycle bin. (Please use a cross-cut shredder that makes tiny pieces of paper – for your confidentiality!) There are other creative ways to use those tiny bits of paper.

Packing
Just last week I need to ship a package. Forget styrofoam peanuts or other non-green items. Use your paper shreds! It was the perfect cushion, and it didn’t cost me anything extra.

Play
Have a small child who’s past putting things in his/her mouth? Let them play with a small amount of the paper. If they scatter it, it’s easily vacuumed. They can put it in containers and practice moving it from cup to cup. Or in a toy dumptruck – easier to clean than sand or dirt, right?

Nesting
Have any birds, hamsters, or bunnies? Could they use it to make a nest or line their cages? (I haven’t checked safety elements on this one – it’s just a quick idea.)

Storage
Need to store breakables for a bit? We’re rearranging things so I can move my desk. I took down a few nicknacks and will be storing them until we’re done. Just like when I shipped a package, it was perfect for cushioning.

I’m sure there are many other ways of using your shredded paper, too. Don’t just toss it into a landfill. Think about how you can reuse it a bit and make your small business a tiny bit greener.

Have you thought of ways you can recycle shredded paper?

Image: morgueFile

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But it adds to our already burgeoning file cabinets. And deep down we know we probably don’t need it. So to keep dumpster divers from grabbing it, just shred it.

There are some great shredders out there now. I started with a little one that would only shred 3 pages or so at a time. But when I had a big pile of stuff, it would overheat. So I bought a heavier-duty shredder. It can handle up to 12 pages, credit cards, and CDs. And it makes confetti, which I sometimes use to pack things away in boxes.

So I’m getting rid of confidential information in a safe way AND I’m recycling. But right now I have a pile of shredding to do. That’s another thing – don’t let it pile up too high or you’ll suddenly have an hour’s worth of shredding waiting on you.

There’s a caveat to all of this. Make sure you are keeping important records like taxes and employment files for the proper amount of time. Check with your accountant or attorney if you need help deciding how long to keep records.

And for things like receipts? You can always scan and then shred them. (That’s especially a good idea if your receipt is printed on thermal paper – some of them fade within a few months.)

Do you regularly use your shredder to keep on top of paper clutter?

Image: morgueFile

Post from: My Organized Biz

After a while, you just can’t physically store that paper any longer, can you? That’s when it’s time to consider scanning as much as you can. Since scanned documents are much more acceptable than they once were – including tax receipts and some legal documents – and storage devices are continually dropping in price, it’s a good time to start scanning.

But would you trust someone else to scan your documents? A company called Pixily proposes to do just that. For a fee, you drop a pre-paid envelope in the mail with the items you want scanned. They scan, post to your account, and then mail you back the paper.

Interesting. Would you do that if your office generated more paperwork than you could process by yourself? Or do you have just enough paper that buying a small scanner of your own is a better investment? (A review of one of those small scanners is coming soon.)

What do you think of a service like that?

(via: unclutterer)

Image: morgueFile

Post from: My Organized Biz

But besides paper clutter, there are other ways to go green in your office, and Dumb Little Man gives us nine. So go take a look and then tell us, what are you doing to make your office more sustainable?

Post from: My Organized Biz

Today’s feature comes from AJ West at Lifehack with an post about how to free yourself from paper clutter.

Want to know which papers to keep – and which ones to throw away? Do you know what the government expect you to have on file if you’re ever audited? Here’s the post you’ve been waiting for. And AJ serves it up.

This is also timely information considering tax season is just barely behind us. Maybe you set an intention for that proverbial new leaf. Check it out here.

When you sort through your papers, how do you know what to keep and what to get rid of? How do you know something is worth keeping?

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They kick off the series explaining a cool product that digitizes your documents – which makes the paper disappear – and progress from there.

Do you use a scanner for managing excess paper? Have you tried it and gotten stuck?

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May’s Friday Features will be addressing the challenges of paper clutter. Today’s feature comes from Pam Hix as featured on HGTV with some office clutter-reducing ideas.

I especially like her suggestion of giving files an expiration date – like a carton of milk has. This can help keep you accountable for dealing with files at the end of their life span. This also ensures that paper will flow out just like it comes in to your office with frightening reliability.

What do you think of these suggestions? Are they plausable for you?

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Here’s a small sampling – compiled for your viewing pleasure:

Greener Files – ideas for saving paper, printer ink, and integrating digital records.

Greening Your Electricity at the Office – learn how to prevent juice leaks, maximize natural light, and get connected to renewable energy.

Resources for Recycling Office Electronics – here’s a huge pile of resources for this invasive problem.

Check in often at Greener Assets for ideas and information about how to run your business green!

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