We are creatures of habit.  Fifteen or so years ago when offices first began using e-mail, you may have found yourself printing out every single one that you would send and receive.  Was it really necessary to print out that “Thank you for my birthday card!” e-mail from your co-worker?  At the time with e-mail being so new, maybe many of us DID think it was necessary!  Hopefully you still do not take printing out e-mails to that extreme, but if you took a moment to think about it, is it necessary to print out the e-mails that you do on a regular basis?  Maybe there are some annual projects that involve always printing out the correspondence between involved parties so that you have it as a reference for the future.  But is there another way to manage that in order to reduce the amount of printing that you do?

One suggestion that might be useful is to utilize the Folder feature in MS Outlook to store correspondence.  Hopefully you already do this as it’s an excellent way to stay organized.  But if you are not utilizing the Folder feature in Outlook, it is very easy to do.  Simply go to the Help feature in Outlook and browse “How to create a Folder” to get started.  Once you get familiar with using folders in Outlook, you will likely start to think of more and more ways to reduce the amount of e-mails that you normally print out.  Another great aspect of using folders is that if you’re checking your e-mail from home using EagleNet, you will be able to access your folders to pull up information that you might need while away from the office.  Much more convenient than having to wait to get back to the office to browse through a binder or stack of papers with that information printed out.  In addition to e-mails, also consider (if applicable) saving documents, presentations, and projects on your office’s shared drive as opposed to printing them out.  Always remember that not everything should be saved electronically — refer to the UMW policy regarding the Electronic Storage of Highly Sensitive Data as there are specific restrictions regarding how and when data can be electronically stored.

If you have any suggestions for things we can all do differently each day to create more sustainable environments, please feel free to leave a comment or email me the idea to be featured in a future Tip of the Week.

The PCS Action Group members for the “Office Sustainability Tip of the Week” are Kevin Caffrey, Elizabeth Sanders, Robert Louzek, and Dre Anthes.

Last week’s Tip of the Week: Donations.

Picking up right where we left off last semester, the “Office Sustainability Tip of the Week” is back!  If you’re new to this series, the “Office Sustainability Tip of the Week” is a weekly article featuring different ideas and suggestions that hopefully people will put into practice in order to create more sustainable office environments.  And sometimes, we like to look outside of the office as well.

Did you know January is the most popular month for joining a gym?  We indulge a bit more than we wanted to during those last few weeks of December, and then come January 1st, we’re making plans to join a gym, go seven times a week, and lose 40lbs in a month.  Obviously very achievable goals.  We know that you have probably already started to see results, so maybe now is the time to think about donating all those clothes you no longer fit into/no longer wear.  It is estimated that the typical American discards approximately 68 pounds of used clothing a year, resulting in two quadrillion pounds of clothing being tossed into our landfills every year.  Therefore, in addition to donating to those in need, donating your used clothes or items to charities is one of the easiest ways to help the environment.  You can also deduct your contributions from your taxes as you would a monetary donation.  Furthermore, you can start the new year off right by clearing clutter from your house.  Before you know it Spring will be here — so get a jump on that annual Spring cleaning!  Here are just a few organizations that accept clothing donations:

• American Red Cross  (collects clothes, paired shoes, handbags, linens, stuffed animals, small toys; will come to your home to collect any clean, wearable, unwanted clothing)
• Vietnam Veterans of America (Pick Up Please can pick up your donation within 24 hours in many areas; your donation of clothes, household goods, books, shoes, small appliances, electronics, and more make a big difference in the lives of America’s Veterans and their families. The items you donate generate the majority of the funding to support the local, state, and national programs of the Vietnam Veterans of America)
• The Salvation Army  (one of the more well known charitable organizations, you can go to their website to find a nearby location or schedule a pick-up)
• Dress for Success (The mission of Dress for Success is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life)
• Big Brother Big Sister Foundation (When you donate clothing and other items to the BBBS Foundation, the donations are sold in bulk at their own “Big B” thrift store and other stores. The net profits then go to BBBS mentoring organizations. During times of need, donations are given to families)

This article is not a means of officially endorsing any of the above organizations, but rather just giving the reader some suggestions of places to look into if you are considering donating clothes or other items to charity.  Of course, you can also donate locally — churches, thrift stores, homeless shelters, school clothing drives, etc.  Rappahannock Goodwill Industries contains a list of goodwill stores in the area that you can bring your items to donate.  The goal should simply be to DONATE your used clothes as opposed to throwing them out.  Help others, help yourself, and help the environment!  We know what you’re thinking (“But what if I gain weight back?  I may need those old clothes!”).  Don’t be such a pessimist!  We KNOW you’re going to keep that weight off, so it’s time to buy yourself some new threads and donate the old ones to charity!  And don’t forget — Faculty/Staff and Faculty/Staff secondary card holders (a spouse or partner) are eligible to use the UMW Fitness Center with a UMW ID Card.  Plan your work-outs around your work schedule and you’ll not only save money by avoiding high fitness center/gym fees, but you’ll also be helping out the environment by reducing the amount of car trips you make by going to another fitness center/gym.

If you have any suggestions for things we can all do differently each day to create more sustainable environments, please feel free to leave a comment or email me the idea to be featured in a future Tip of the Week.

The PCS Action Group members for the “Office Sustainability Tip of the Week” are Kevin Caffrey, Elizabeth Sanders, Robert Louzek, and Dre Anthes.