I remember when I used to lovingly scold my friends about using so much printer paper. Whether it’s at home or in the office, if you print out one document with an error, it had to be fixed and printed again. The discarded document would end up in the trash.

Commitment to Change

I’m happy to report that many of my friends are now using .pdf software as the final version of their documents and if they, on occasion, print out something with an error, they cut the paper into quarters or thirds or whatever the size of choice and use the back as scrap paper (a small accomplishment, but one small step for the home office, one giant leap for the environment).

To further prevent paper waste, we networked the house to use one printer. The printer is an old printer and is not equipped with the infra red ability to print from a device, but hooking it into a Belkin wireless printer hub (which cost about $75 ), I was able to network all of the household printers and laptop to use the one printer.

Using one central printer helps to reign the kids in from printing 20 copies of the lyrics to their favorite song or 8 full color copies of the cutest puppy in the world. The kids also understand what it means to print on both sides of the page.

Paper Saving Software

The more mature folks in the house understand the need to conserve paper and print on an ‘as needed’ basis. Therefore I installed PDF Create (a software program that makes pdf’s out of just about anything) on each computer. If anyone wants to share documents its pdf’d and sent electronically. After a little training its amazing how infrequently it becomes necessary to print.

Old School

This post may sound very old school and very ‘yesterday,’ but not everyone is equally ecologically evolved. There are still a few folks out there who have several household printers and could stand to help the environment by consolidating and printing less.

During one of my morning internet strolls, I happened upon a site that lists 100 Ideas for Your Green Family.

One hundred ideas is a lot to digest, but I think it’s worth a review.  If it’s too much for one sitting why not institute one or two ideas each week.  Imagine how much of a difference you and your family can make in a year’s time.  Better yet, share the list with a few relatives and friends.  See how much of a change the bunch of you can make.

Just a Few Ideas

The list starts off with the most practical of all ideas, buy less stuff. Then it continues on with things like growing your own veggies, having green picnics, fixing leaks and another practical tip, live within your means.

Updates

In addition to the great post on 100 Green Ideas for the Family, the Tree Hugging Family blog seems to be updated regularly (ahem… unlike this blog) and has tons of great information on making green choices to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.  I think it’s a must read for anyone interested in converting.

I was watching one of the Green TV channels the other day (don’t remember the actual channel name because I so infrequently get to watch), but the host of the show gave me a great idea, recycled bikes.

For the Non Bike Rider

How many times have you gotten a great idea to get in shape, run out purchase a gym membership, order the Total Fitness Gym from TV or the latest get in shape video/DVD only to fizzle out and realize that you spent a ton of money for nothing? C’mon, you know you’ve done it once or twice or more in your life.

Well, the idea of a recycled bike sounded great. Currently I don’t have a bike, and my old ’spend and waste’ personality would have gone to a bike store and allowed the salesperson to convince me that I needed the latest, best most expensive bike loaded with a ton of useless gadgets. After purchasing such a bike, with all of the intentions of riding it regularly, I would ride the bike once or twice and it would sit in the garage, or my kids would ride and ruin it.

Recycled  Bike

A much more economical approach is to find a second hand bike, and fix it up. Not only is it more cost effective, it’s recycling at its best. You just have to know what to look for in a used bike. After all, brakes can always be repaired, tires replaced and gear chains replaced and oiled. A bent or broken bike frame is another story.

For folks like me looking to get back into the swing of biking, I think a used bike is a great place to begin. However, once I get to Lance Armstrong’s level, then I’ll contemplate getting a new bike.

While searching the internet, I came across these interesting sites involving bike recycling. If any of the recyclers are located near you, it might be worth checking them out:

Local Motion in Vermont
Recycle a Bike in Providence Rhode Island
Recycle a Bicycle in New York City
Recycled Cycles in Colorado