10 Ways to Green Your Home Office

As more and more people set up offices at home, they are starting to think about how to make green choices for their work spaces. Luckily, working from home/telecommuting is already an eco-friendly choice because you won't be wasting energy on a daily commute. There are also some simple things you can do to make your home office a more environmentally sound space.

To start, don't feel like you need to go out and buy new furniture. Look for second-hand desks, filing cabinets and shelving at thrift stores, flea markets and consignment shops -- Some retailers even specialize in used office furniture. Plus, you may even end up with higher-quality pieces than you could afford new. Second, think twice before you buy anything for your office and ask yourself, "Do I really need that?" Cutting down on consumption in the first place is the easiest way to go green.

Here are ten easy ways to make an earth-friendly difference in your home office:

1. Embrace automatic energy savings. Make sure your computer is set to an energy-saving mode -- You can find this in your computer's system preferences.

2. Turn it off. Shut your computer down every night; it's still drawing energy in the "sleep" or "standby" mode.

3. Use a power strip. Plug all your other office electronics into a power strip and switch it off when you are finished for the day -- It'll make it much easier to make sure everything has been powered off.

4. Make ink cartridges last longer. Print your documents in "fast" or "draft" mode and use black and white ink only. Save color and high-quality print settings for presentation materials.

5. Recycle printer cartridges. Most manufacturers and stores like Best Buy and Office Depot offer some kind of free printer cartridge recycling program. Go online to find out how to recycle your printer's particular cartridges.

6. Pick your paper. Always buy recycled and chlorine-free paper; look for paper with the highest percentage of post-consumer recycled content.

7. Conserve paper. Save used sheets of computer paper and print on the backside the next time you go to print. Then, recycle! Keep a bin for paper recycling right next to your desk so you won't be tempted to toss the paper into the trash instead.

8. Get a plant. Not only will a touch of flora cheer your office up, a houseplant cleans the air by taking in CO2.

9. Swap your bulbs. You've heard it a million times, but we'll tell you again: Replace your traditional incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs or LED bulbs. Both CFLs and LEDs are greener choices than your usual bulb.

10. Buy rechargeable batteries. If you still have tools or gadgets that use traditional batteries, invest in a set of rechargeable ones. You'll save money in the long run and keep toxic batteries out of landfills.

Craving more green living design? Check out salvaged materials like you've never seen and a pool made out of a dumpster.