Paper Lite Tips of the Day for April 2010 from VerveCards.com
Sending paperless ecards from VerveCards.com is just one of many simple ways to reduce paper waste. In honor of Earth Day's 40th birthday 4/22/10, for each day of April we're posting a "VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day" to our Home page and social media outlets. By May 1st, we'll have a comprehensive list of 30 fast and effective tips that we'll be circulating to the media to reach a wider audience. These tips will live on in our Media Room for easy access in the future. Let us know how they work for you by dropping us a line at info@VerveCards.com -- thanks!
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip:
To streamline and green your greetings routine, switch to paper-free ecards. One-of-a-kind ecard boutiques, like VerveCards.com, offer creative, quality greetings. And, their unique linkless format means no virus risk -- or waiting for a card to load. Special features like future scheduling and a personal ecard history are uber efficient, and one price for unlimited sending saves you green!
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/1/10:
Stop junk mail dead in its tracks (and keep all that paper out of land fills) with one or a combo of these customizable services: 41pounds, DMAchoice, or Catalog Choice.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/2/10:
Think outside the box for gift wrapping. For eco-friendly alternatives, such as hand made cloth gift sacks, old calendar pages, maps and wallpaper, visit EarthEasy. Some reusable cloth wrappings we like: the BOBO Wrapping Scarf, Wrapsacks and LivingEthos gift bags.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/3/10:
Cloth napkins lend a certain je ne sais crois to any meal while reducing paper waste. Avoid constant washing by assigning a color or pattern to each person, or using different napkin rings for ID. In a pinch, laundry marker initials in a discreet place. We covet these exotic safari animal, festive henna cut-out and chunky rolled paper napkin rings. Ditto for these silk screened and batiked napkins in olive/aqua and vermillion/gold, and these brilliant assorted solids. Do-it-yourselfers, click here.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/4/10:
Who needs a fistful of napkins when one or two will do? When ordering to go, state your preference loud and clear -- light on the mayo and lite on the paper napkins!
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/5/10:
Use shredded waste paper for packing material in lieu of styrofoam peanuts. Mini shredders that pop onto a waste basket, then tuck flat for storage, are great for home use. And we've been eyeing these cool 9-blade scissors for shredding personal info on the spot because they also have craft applications.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/6/10:
Think twice before printing info that can be saved and retrieved online. And, if you feel like getting on your e-soapbox about it, visit thinkBeforePrinting.org for instructions on adding a "Please consider the environment before printing this email" banner with tree icon to your automatic email signature.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/7/10:
Catch you on the flip side for eeking out extra mileage from printer paper before recycling. Print drafts on the back of used paper, including mail and fliers with a clear back side. Half a sheet still clear after that? Cut and staple those pages to make scratch pads for shopping lists and phone messages.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/8/10:
Have mug, will travel! Here's a caffeine buzz kill: an estimated 14.4 billion disposable coffee cups end up in U.S. landfills annually because their waxy hot/cold coating makes them unrecyclable. So, bring your own to-go cup or mug -- some java joints even offer a discount to byoc-ers. And, if the classic cup o' joe visuals are de rigueur for you, try a chic ceramic imposter -- either the "We Are Happy to Serve You" Greek deli cup or the ubiquitous white-on-white with sippy top.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/9/10:
More on the a.m. coffee ritual -- if bringing your own vessel isn't in the cards (yet!), then at least mitigate the paper waste by saying "no thanks" to double cupping and passing on a corrugated cardboard sleeve. Buck up -- the cup will cool off before you know it!
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/10/10:
Go cold turkey with the paper towel habit by having a bevy of thirsty alternatives at the ready. With more absorbent and durable Euro cloths, foodservice towels, pop-up sponges, cloth diapers, bar mops and expandable towelettes, there will be no withdrawal jitters. And, if you must stash a paper towel roll while weaning, make it 100% recycled.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/11/10:
Replace your old paper towel holder with this newfangled substitute: a wall-mounted plastic bag organizer, stuffed with thinner, paper towel-sized rags (think old tees, pj's or reusable wipes), so they pop up like tissues. Voila -- the new default go-to!
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/12/10:
Premium microfiber cleaning cloths, the 8th Wonder of the World, remove household gunk from dust to grease from any hard surface -- using plain tap water. No jive! The secret's in the tightly woven fibers that capture and hold grime until rinsed, then release it for good when machine washed. Durable and effective, these puppies are actually eco-friendly squared, as they obviate the need for paper towels and toxic cleaning products.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/13/10:
Newspaper is THE best way to get gleaming, lint-free, streak-free windows and mirrors. Spritz a mixture of 3 tablespoons white vinegar per gallon of warm water and a drop of dishwashing liquid, and wipe with crumpled newspaper in downward vertical strokes. Cinchy!
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/14/10:
Newspaper, as well as brown paper bags, are great for ripening fruits like tomatoes, pears, peaches, plums and avocados to perfection. Wrap them individually, or together by type, and leave them out at room temperature until ripe. (Yes, tomatoes and avocados are fruits -- anything with seeds, pits or stones is -- and many, like squash, are chronically mistagged!)
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/15/10:
Line the vegetable crisper in your fridge with a layer of newspaper to deodorize, dehumidify and extend the life of your produce.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/16/10:
More tricks for overnight deodorizing and dehumidifying with crumpled newspaper -- use it inside damp shoes and sneakers to dry them out, or sealed inside metal lunch boxes and thermoses to absorb lingering odors.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/17/10:
Out with paper and plastic disposables, and in with eco-chic single-use dinnerware for guilt-free entertaining. Biodegradable plates, bowls and platters made from steam-treated, pressed palm leaves are both sturdy and stunning. Post party, either compost them whole, or toss them broken into a garden or yard to return to the earth in just 2 months' time.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/18/10:
Before recycling, up the pass-along power of your magazines with a community rack for sharing. Apartment lobbies, classrooms, laundromats and communal mail rooms are great places for a magazine exchange rack. Funnel overflow to salons and doctors' offices for maximum eyeballs per issue!
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/19/10:
Repurpose magazines and catalogs as source material for collages and other creative projects. Construct a Vision Board (a.k.a. Treasure Map) with pictures, words and symbols depicting your perfect life a la Ellen Whitehurst's "Make This Your Lucky Day." Page 73 offers a clear how-to for harnessing the power of astrology and Feng Shui to give it extra oomph!
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/20/10:
Nip more paper waste at kids' birthday parties with a personal and permanent b-day tablecloth. Using a white bed sheet and fabric markers, kids can add a new layer of overall patterning each year, and take pride in their own funky heirloom as it evolves. For better results, pull a section of the fabric tight, and secure it with push pins on a wooden board before drawing.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/21/10:
Throw the book at huge phone directories that waste a whopping 5 million trees to produce annually and cost tax payers $17 million to recycle. Contact your local phone company to opt out personally. And, visit Ban the Phone Book to support a nationwide opt-in delivery program, so only those who request directories receive them.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/22/10:
What to do with the voluminous phone book or two you've already got lying around? Either recycle them (only 16% of Americans know they ARE recyclable and do it); or use individual pages as you would newspaper for cleaning windows, igniting a grill or fireplace, packing breakables, or ripening fruit. Whole phone books also make a comfy kneeling pad for gardening.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/23/10:
Hit the composting bin before the garbage or recycling bins with heaps of unlikely household materials, including shredded phone books and newspaper. Composting is not just for organic waste. Tear these lesser known paper compostables into small pieces for a return trip to earth: used paper plates (sans waxy coating), napkins, and tissues; pizza and cereal boxes; wrapping paper, paper towel and toilet paper rolls; and shredded bills, documents and printer paper. Newspaper, instead of plastic, provides a compostable alternative for lining outdoor beds.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/24/10:
Skip the back-breaking labor when making way for a new garden bed. Mow the desired spot, and cover it with a 1/16-inch layer of newspaper or phone book pages, then a 4-inch layer of straw, shredded leaves or bark mulch. Hose that down, and in a few months, the bed will be grass-free, fully composted, and prepped for planting.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/25/10:
An envelope is an envelope is an envelope. So, save and reuse reply envelopes received with statements and special offers. Slap a mailing label over clear plastic windows or pre-printed addresses, and they're ready for reassignment. Don't rely on prepaid postage to send elsewhere -- use stamps. And, if you opt instead to recycle, the clear windows can stay. Post-consumer paper centers are equipped to handle them.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/26/10:
Paying bills online is a no-brainer paper saver, plus it's speedier and more secure. Amplify those perks with billeo.com, an award-winning free download that centralizes all of your accounts, passwords, payment info and receipts for even more expediency, and snychs up with online shopping and bargain hunting features, to boot.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/27/10:
Wave away those paper shopping bags -- unless you've forgotten your reusable totes for the umpteenth time. No more self flagellation over that! We have giddy school crushes on our parachute cloth Baggu bags that come in a host of Vervacious hues and convenient sizes. Multiple bags tuck flat into their own pouch for stashing in a purse or glove compartment -- always at the ready. And, both the sacks and pouches are stylin' enough to use as casual purses in a pinch.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/28/10:
The New York MTA's mantra, "If you see something, say something" applies to paper lite practices, too. Customers have sway with the companies they patronize -- and the power to spend their money elsewhere. Are any businesses that you support playing fast and loose with excessive packaging, double cupping, or other carelessness? A gentle "Ah hem" from a regular could go a long way toward righting that.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/29/10:
Once you've canceled unwanted catalogs, remain vigilant about staying off all lists permanently. Always opt out of information sharing or receiving promotional materials when completing online forms. Do not enter sweepstakes or contests that request personal information. Avoid the charitable list renting/swapping arena by donating to charities anonymously and online -- instead of sending checks with an address. Lastly, fill out only a temporary Change of Address form when you move to keep your new contact info from entering circulation.
VerveCards.com Paper Lite Tip of the Day for 4/30/10:
Since the average office worker blows through an estimated 10,000 sheets of paper annually, make it your business to promote paper consciousness at the workplace. Some easy tweaks include: digital file sharing, online company manuals and office-wide communiqués, 100% recycled paper products, two-sided copying and printing, direct deposit payroll, and lighter paper stock.
