Whether you are at home or the office, saving paper is an ideal way to reduce costs, limit waste and uphold an environmentally friendly lifestyle. While it’s sometimes convenient to use a new piece of paper to print or write on, reducing the amount of paper you use saves money and reduces the amount of trash you create each day.
Print on both sides of the paper instead of using multiple sheets. At home, print out a document page by page, and insert the paper back into the printer to make use of the backside for the following page. Set up an office copy machine and office computer to use both sides of a sheet when printing or copying.
Recycle any paper that is printed on only one side, whether it’s junk mail or notebook paper. Cut the paper in half to create memo sheets to use around the home or office. For example, recycle paper in the home for to-do lists or grocery lists, while paper in the office can be used to take messages or make notes to yourself.
Shrink a word document to fit more on a single page. Adjust settings under the "Print preview" option to add more pages to one sheet of paper. For example, if you have a document that’s four pages long, adjust the print settings to print two pages on one side, and then manually flip the paper over before inserting it into the printer so it prints the final two pages on the backside of a single sheet.
Select only the pages you need to have in hand rather than an entire document. For example, if you have a document that’s 15 pages long but you only need the second page in hand, print only page two.
Swap out paper towels and napkins for dish towels and cloth napkins to reduce paper waste in the home.