According to New York University, 5.6 million tons of junk mail ends up in landfills all across the USA. There are also studies that show the production of junk mail destroys at least or more than 100 million trees each year. During the manufacturing of this junk mail, there are an estimated 28 billion gallons of water wasted every year. These statistics only show details about junk mail and doesn’t provide information about bills, letters, and other types of mail.
In addition to becoming a hero without a cape by saving the environment, going paperless also saves us a lot of time. If we go paperless, we wouldn’t have to sort through as much mail or file as administrate documents as we do today. There is also savings of money by keeping paper out of the home. Things like catalogues and magazines, newspapers and the odd credit card offer just tempt you to shop; taking these out of your environment would also help alleviate any potential mindless consumerism. But don’t despair, there are plenty of online deals and coupon codes to find that will help you save while you spend!
Tips For Going Paperless
Here are some tips and strategies to help the modern family go paperless. Some of this won’t resonate with others, after all, your plan to go paperless must be reciprocating to yours and your family lifestyle. Please don’t feel frustrated by the effort it sometimes takes to go 100% paperless either, it may not happen, the overall idea for everyone is to try to cut down paper production and waste that comes from woodlands and forests, as much as possible. Transitioning to a paperless household requires plenty of dedicated commitment and It will take some time for the paper use into your household to slow down but the time you spend making changes now will pay off in the future.
Rethink Your Toilet Paper, Facial Tissue, and Paper Towel Use
OK, I Said it. Many people forget that paper products that include toilet tissue are made from trees and these products devastate complete forest areas at an incredible rate. According to a data survey from the National Resources Defense Council, the research showed that if each household in the USA replaced just one roll of original toilet paper with synthetic biodegradable toilet paper of 500 sheets, then we could save 423,900 trees.
Photo by Pixabay from Pexels
Opt Out Of Junk Mail Lists And Subscriptions
Cancelling subscriptions, to reduce the paper coming into the house, will save some money. Reassess your newspaper subscriptions; many of the mainstream news organizations have an online application. Also, reevaluate your magazine subscriptions and cancel any subscriptions that don’t seem worthwhile. For example, old children magazine subscriptions. If you have any old catalogues or newspapers, reuse them in a creative way to wrap gifts or donate used magazines to local community groups.
Sign Up for E-Statements And Pay Bills Online
Most well known high street banks have the option to sign up to receive electronic bills and statements. You can either sign up for e-statements and e-bills by registering on each of the company’s websites you need to contact. You will need your account number and identification credentials for each company when signing up for an account. It does take some time to set up online accounts but you will immediately see a reduction of paper coming into your home.
Some utility institutions offer online services which allow customers to view and pay bills online. Companies such as cable companies, utility companies, and land/property/council tax organizations allow customers to pay bills on their websites. You could even sign up for automatic bill payment plans for the added convenience. Online payments made on a company’s website typically result in the generation of automated emails to contact you to keep you informed of the transaction. This acts as a receipt.
Digitalize Your Documents
Scan the documents that you need to keep and store them electronically on computer hard drive or storage disc. I know, scanning old papers doesn’t sound fun but it saves a ton of space and reduces clutter. Be mindful though, if you don’t correctly label your documents, then it can get a little confusing. Try setting up a system for labelling as you’re scanning them in.
Another option is we can also store photos and documents on many reliable online Cloud and backup sites. Microsoft One Drive and Dropbox are popular options for PC Users that offer 5-10 gigabytes of free storage and free gigs for referring friends. iCloud is a storage application that works with Apple devices and setting up your account couldn’t be easier with guides like this: https://setapp.com/how-to/set-up-icloud-mail-on-your-mac – which will take you ‘step by step’ through the process from start to finish.
Digitalize Your Signature
You may sometimes receive an email with an attached document that you need to sign. The next stage is then to print, sign, scan, and then send back the document. You can minimize wasting paper by saving a digitalized version of your signature on your personal computer. If you have a touchscreen device, you can follow this guide, which will allow you to sign PDFs with your finger or tablet pen and then submit them electronically.
Rethink Your Printing and Paper Use
Sometimes you do need to use paper. For example, you may run a small business which deals with paper invoices. Sometimes it cannot be avoided but we can all still find ways to cut down. Considerations can be made on the documents that you are printing too. You can cut down by just reducing the font size of the document to 10 and adjusting the margins. This will take up more space on each printed page. You can also choose to print the document on both sides of the paper. Utilizing these tips, we can all use less paper when we print documents.
By cutting down on paper waste and usage, we cut down on the deforestation that happens to our planet. We then ensure a greener and more pleasant environment for future generations to come. What do you do to help cut down on your paper usage at your home? Let us know in the comments below!
