10 Ways to Reduce Your Paper Consumption

Recently Sheryl Crow suggested that in order for Americans to reduce their paper consumption everyone should try to cut back on their use of toilet paper and use only one square per visit. While Sheryl's heart was in the right place, reducing your paper consumption doesn't have to be as drastic or nasty as Sheryl made it out to be, here are some easy ways to reduce your paper consumption.

1. Buy hemp paper as often as you can. We lose an estimated 37.5 million acres of trees annually most of which are used for paper. Only 1 acre of hemp is needed to produce the same amount of paper as three acres of tree, and while one tree takes hundreds, even thousands of years to be replaced, hemp plants can be replaced in around one hundred days.

2. Replace your paper napkins with cloth napkins, and your paper plates with regular dishes.

3. Sign up for e-statements and pay your bills online. It saves you the physical and mental clutter as well as money because you won't have to buy as many envelopes, stamps, and checks, plus its way more convenient.

4. Buy recycled toilet paper, and only use the amount of paper that you need. Don't buy Kleenex or tissues made specifically for your nose, either use a handkerchief or the toilet paper that you already have.

5. Instead of buying CD's, pay for and download your music online.

6. If you love to read magazines sign up for an online subscription, magazines like Elle have this feature. If your favorite magazine doesn't have the option, write letters telling them that you'd like for them to start an online subscription in order to reduce paper waste. In the meantime if receive a ton of magazines in the mail, reduce the number of subscriptions you have.

7. Instead of using Post-It Notes or notebook paper in order to remember things, save it in your cell-phone, or onto your computer. If you want the things to be easily accessible buy a dry-erase board and dry erase markers that you can jot down notes on and then erase when you're done. Or buy a small chalkboard and do the same.