With so much emphasis on being “green” and environmentally conscious, you might want to consider how you can comply for 2010 without being excessively neurotic.  Some people get carried to the extreme with being “green,” that they’re not practical at all.
However, there are some things you can do.  Such as:

Separate trash in office and home, especially if your city or town has separated collection containers or bins.
Take separated materials to recycling areas.  Some of these even give you money for what you’ve collected, particularly in states where you must pay deposits on cans and containers.
Reuse paper…for instance, we use the …read more

Selling “green” products?  How you package them might make a statement, too.  Consider how to organize so your packaging is as green as possible, too.
My niece tells about ordering pencils that were made from recycled materials.  She wanted to see what they were like, perhaps use them for stocking stuffers, and do her bit in saving trees.
However, she wondered how much “greening” the seller believed in.  Of course, for sending something in the mail or via another delivery service, there are limitations on packaging.  However, within the mailer, the pencils were inside an attractive non-recyclable (not #1 or#2) plastic container.  This …read more

With all the concern about environmental safety, greenhouse effect, overloading the earth with disposable stuff, more and more businesses are looking into being more “green.”  Have you organized a green office?
What are procedures you can do to be ”green?”
Paint the office green, I guess, to remind yourself.
Use green stationery, sticky notes, pens, pencils and organizers.
Then… recycle, reuse, and refuse to be wasteful. 

Separate out the recyclable items.  We have a wastebasket for all the paper goods that we can dispose of in the paper waste at our recycling center.
We separate cardboard for that bin at the center.
Some of our paper goods are made …read more

As more people are becoming “green” conscious, not necessarily “green” extreme, you’ll find more office supplies and gadgets developed that help preserve and conserve our environment, as well as make life easier for us.
I’ll check out some of these over the next few posts at My Organized Biz to help you see about organizing your office and business in a “green” manner.  I’ll also try to find some “green” web sites that assist with this.
If you’re using “green” and recycled supplies that you find especially handy, do let me know.  Also, if some of the green supplies don’t hold up …read more

Part of organizing is getting rid of “stuff” you don’t need.  You’re either hanging onto it for possible future use.  Or you don’t know where to dump it.  Often it’s perfectly good, or at least has usefulness to someone else when you no longer need it.
A yard sale is one possibility.  But you may not have the time nor facilities for organizing one.  You may be restricted by zoning where you live to hold a yard sale.
What do yo do?  Explore the possibilities with Freecycle. 
Here people give away, for free, items they no longer need.  Those who join the Freecycle …read more

Jean Murray wrote a former post, Green Office: Recycle Your Shredded Office, and detailed ways to use this again as well as tossing the paper into a recycling bin.
A reader recently mentioned:
You may want to check with your recycling facility. Not all recycling companies accept shredded paper as some machines are clogged by such shreds.

Thanks for visiting My Organized Biz and leaving your comment. It is a good idea to check and see if your recycling facility accepts shredded paper and how they want it packaged.
At our recycling facility, which accepts shredded paper, they do want it bagged or boxed, not …read more

I hate shredding files. It’s noisy. And boring. But with today’s climate of identity theft, it’s a must. And you still have to get rid of the paper shreds, right?
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 …read more

(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – This video is incredible. Please, when you have 20 minutes, watch it. The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard.The way you look at business will change.
The main premise of the 20 minute video is that the economy can’t exist in its current paradigm forever because the planet’s resources are finite. Instead of gloom and doom, it’s a bracing wake-up call for change – including really clear and do-able steps.
Here’s an except from their Another Way website for an idea about how you can contribute to positive change:
Power down! A great deal of the resources we use and …read more