reducing paper usage

Forests are an essential natural resource. They clean our air, house many diverse ecosytems, prevent erosion of our precious soils, prevent flooding and give us a sense of peace. They also provide us with a precious resource: Paper products. We use these excessively and we must curb our usage if we wish to have forests in our future.

1. Use hankerchiefs instead of tissues.
2. Buy recycled paper products, such as paper, toilet paper, paper towels, etc.
3. Use rags/cloths instead of paper towels to clean up messes.
4. Don't buy greeting cards. Make you own, or if you do buy a greeting card, write the greeting in pencil so that the person can reuse it.
5. Use scrap paper for notepads. Good things to use are: the back of paper that has already been printed on and the back of envelopes.
6. Use permanent coffee filters and tea bags/balls.
7. Buy used books.
8. Get books out of the library.
9. Stop your newspaper/magazine subscriptions. The library has a wide array of newspapers and magazines for free.
10. Get yourself off junk mail lists.
11. Put a "NO JUNK MAIL" sign on your mailbox.
12. If you pay your bills online, ask your pay collectors to not put an extra envelope in your bill. You don't need it, so why have it?
13. Reuse envelopes.
14. Get your magazines/newspapers online.
15. Ask your bill companies to not put inserts, for special offers, in your bill.
16. If you have a piece of paper with a list, or other information that you use on a regular basis, instead of printing it out again and again, laminate it. (especially pertinent in a work setting)

This article is based on a GNU FDL Activism Wikia article: Ideas_to_reduce_paper_usage

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