Hey earth muffins! Even though the world is (mostly) back to normal, there has been a huge shift in people working from home. I am at the office 99% of the time, but during tax season, I’ll typically work from home on Saturdays. There are plenty of ways to be more eco-friendly at the office; but, there are things you can do to stay sustainable when getting your work done remotely too. Keep reading for the top tips to be green when working from home!
1. Use scratch paper instead of notebooks
While I use my laptop and computer monitor for basically everything, there are times when I need to jot things down. Instead of using notebooks, recycle paper from around the house. Whether it be the backside of junk mail or old sheets of paper, there are plenty of reused options instead of using a new notebook.
2. Reduce the trips to coffee shops/other places to work
A great thing I found when working from home during the pandemic was that I was able to minimize my impact of driving to work. Working remote allows you to stay at home… But a lot of people like to work in coffee shops, the library, or shared workspaces. If you are one of these people, make it a goal to only go to these places two or three times a week. The rest of the days you can work at home and reduce emissions from driving to these spots.
3. Cook lunch for yourself instead of ordering takeout
There are plenty of ways to pack a zero waste lunch for work. If you are working from home, you have access to your whole kitchen! 😍 Take advantage of that and make lunch for yourself every day. Work can get busy and ordering takeout may sound easier, but be kind to Mother Nature and cook for yourself!
4. Power down your laptop when you are done!
At the end of a long work day, completely power down your laptop. This not only prevents you from logging back on in the evening, it also ensures less energy use. A lot of people just put their laptop to sleep, so I encourage you all to actually shut the computer down after your day of work.
There you have it – so many ways to be more eco-friendly when working from home! Remote work is a great option for a lot of people, and it allows more flexibility for those with sustainable lifestyles. Reduce your impact by commuting less, reusing paper (and other office products), and powering down your laptop at the end of the day. How do you stay sustainable when working from home? Comment below and let me know if you are still working remote!
Love,
Jenna ♥
Excellent suggestions! I am so bad about powering down my laptop and often put it to sleep. I will work on this!