We received a lovely pamphlet on how to be Green & Lean in your workplace environment. Check out what it said:

“At home, most of us recycle; many of us are committed to minimizing waste, buying organic and doing our part to help contribute to a healthier and greener environment. But in the workplace, it’s sometimes a different story. Trash cans can be seen full of recyclable item. Restrooms are stocked with virgin paper products while being cleaned with potentially environmentally harmful chemical products. Breakrooms are typically stocked full of foam and traditional plastic cups, petroleum-based plastic utensils; and non-organic everything.

Now is the time to start thinking about converting your place of business to a more green-concious work environment, but maybe you’re not sure where to begin? For starts, there are many alternatives to traditional Breakroom, Restroom, and Recycling products. Contrary to popular belief, it’s much easier, and can be less costly, to switch over to earth-concious choices than ever before. While many think that Green products are more expensive, many are now available at competitive prices and are as functional and effective as their traditional counterparts.

Many of us understand that these traditional non-green products produce billions of pounds of waste per year:

• 4.5 billion pounds of restroom paper
• 6 billion pounds of cleaning products
• 100 billion plastic trash bags
• 2 billion pounds of plastic water bottles

When we make an effort to reduce our carbon footprint by regularly purchasing and using recycled, biodegradable and compostable products, both at home and the office, it lessens the pressure put on our natural resources and helps to keep the ecosystems intact. In addition, it saves energy and water, assists in preservation of landfill space, supports recycling markets and bolsters the economy..

“Green” is the only way to go when we consider what George Burns once said, “I look to the future because that’s where I’m going to spend the rest of my life.”

Suggestions for a GREEN Breakroom:

Use biodegradable breakroom products that reduce the impact of trash generation: These can include:

• Hot Cups & Sleeves
• Cold Cups, Straws, & Lids
• Plates & Bowls
• Disposable Utensils

Other products that can also be used daily in the breakroom and are better for the environment:

• Recycled Paper Napkins
• Recycled Paper Towels
• Recycled Draw-String Trash Can Liners
• Recycled Soap Pads
• Environmentally Friendly Dish Detergents & Cleaners

The EPA states “Recycling prevents the emission of many greenhouse gases and water pollutants that save energy, supplies valuable raw materials to industry, creates jobs, stimulates the development of greener technologies, conserves resources for our children’s future and reduces the need for new landfills and combustors.”

Currently, the US recycles approximately 32% of its waste, which saves an equivalent amount of greenhouse gases to removing 39,000,000 cars from the road annually.

Start Your Recycling Program

• Determine what you will recycle
• Purchase the appropriate recycling containers and compostable trash can liners
• Place containers in easy accessible places- next to your desk, copier, printer, breakroom, etc
• Make sure containers are properly identified-plastic, paper, and waste
• Notify employees/co workers of the available recycling containers.

For more information on green/recycled products, call us at 877-SHOP-001  and we’ll help you find what you need + save a lot of green! 

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[Don’t worry it’s not that intense]

When I was little my older brother was really in to origami. Yeah I guess I’ve always thought it was kinda of cool, but in the past few years I’ve become a huge fan. When one of my brother’s got married, we made a ton of paper cranes to stick on their tables. I learned that origami takes a lot of patience and when you mess up a tiny bit, it shows a lot. If you make one fold a little too big, you’ll have lopsided wings or a deformed face.

I realized this morning, when is there a better time to practice origami than in the office? You have your own little secret cubicle to become an expert and you can show off during boring meetings.  Here’s a few ways to do origami in the office:

Origami Post it Notes

Buy the ones that show you how to do it (at Think Geek or use your normal ones to make boxes, cranes, etc. (Box pic from Instructables)

Origami Office Furniture

Designer Chishen Chiu is a genius. Go to Flexible Love watch the video on how many different sizes and shapes you can create with this expandable couch.  So even if you have cardboard, you probably can’t do that.  Instead, turn to Foldschool.com At this site, they give you free downloadable instructions to make cardboard furniture. You probably have lots of extra cardboard sitting in your warehouse, or stacked under your desk from the new monitor you just got. Impress your eco-obsessed boss with an entire office of recycled cardboard furniture.

Make a Stool

Make a Rocker

Make a Chair

Business Card Origami

Now this is cool, right?  See the lady who made it + instructions Here.

Here’s what you can make with all those extra business cards you have lying around (not necessarily yours, but all those you’ve “collected” from other people)

View the instructions and ideas (so so many ideas!)Here and Here.

Toilet Paper Origami

When you go into a hotel bathroom, you love seeing this stuff. Why not make your co-workers feel excited to use the company restroom? Check out lots of cool designs and the instructions here

Office Origami: The BOOK.

When I was first writing this blog post, I was searching “Office Origami” and came across a book called Office Origami: The Highly Sucessful Slacker’s Guide to Workplace Procrastination. Looks like an essential addition to your office library.

Sticky Note Origami

Another great resource. Buy Here.

Towel Origami

And another fun one. Buy Here.

Thanks to Origami Resource Center for all the great ideas and well, resources!

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Some office humor to lighten up your day! Enjoy!

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The very essence of a salesman is a person employed to represent a business and to sell its merchandise (as to customers in a store or to customers who are visited.
This is a fantastic rendition of what a salesman could be however I take it all in stride. In my opinion a true salesman sells nothing tangible but a salesman should be considered to be a relationship builder. When I use the term “relationship builder” this encompasses many aspects of the trade starting from day one of sales.

The first endeavor a salesman sets out to do is to reach a specific audience which will in turn become a hot lead. This hot lead will become a first time sale and that will lead to cyclical business. In a perfect world this sounds great but let’s be real here folks in a perfect world what will bring you the highest level of cyclical business?

How many times have you gone out to dinner to a local restaurant or have gone shopping at a local boutique and find that you return to that business because of the relationships that you build with an owner or worker? The food might not be the best or the prices in that boutique might not have been the best but you will return because you enjoy the company in that setting. The worker has done his or her job by building that relationship with you driving sales and bringing you back once more. That is a perfect sale without selling anything! Relationship building, befriending of all possible clients and trust building are all necessary ingredients that will build your client base raising your sales way past your quota!

Build those relationships whether on the phone or door to door you will be a true success in your realm of the sales arena!!

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As we all know (or really should know by now) Mother’s Day is this Sunday. THIS SUNDAY. Did you buy your gift yet?
I’m not sure who your mom is but if she’s anything like my mom, she loves new technology. Women over 40 is the largest growing group on facebook! They email, they text, they blog, they love their digital camera, and they even know what Twitter is. The best day in your Mom’s life is when you tell her about some new thing or show her something and she already knows about it! She can tell you about an article she read or how she’s discussed with her friends.
For this Mother’s day, give her something that none of her friends/family have. Something she can look up, read about, and tell her friends all about. Check these out:

The Fit Bit

www.fitbit.com

What it is: This nifty little gadget tracks all the calories burned in your life. What you burn while you sleep, walk, eat, breathe.
Why your mom wants it: Because every mom is always concerned with living a healthy lifestyle and looking nice.
What she will tell her friends: This cute little thing goes with me everywhere! My son, you know Brian, he gave it to me for Mother’s Day! Waterproof MP3 Music Player

Featured Here
What it is: 6 hours of playtime with 1 GB of memory, you could swim until your arms fell off.
Why your mom wants it: Swimming is SO the new thing. It doesn’t hurt your joints and it works the entire body.
What she will tell her friends: My daughter got me the blue one because she knows I love blue. Can you believe this little thing can hold all of my music? Sigh, technology these days.
The Pink Pharos GPS

Pharos GPS
What it is: Let’s be honest it’s just a GPS with a pink cover. (The screen is very nice though)
Why your mom wants it: She’s sick of traditional maps, she never quite got the hang of mapquest or google maps, just get her this for her car. Especially if she lives in a big city, this will make her want to drive, not take a taxi all the time.
What she will tell her friends: This little thing is my best friend! I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere without my Pharos.
“COMBmando”(The KNIFE comb)

[via Design Boom]
What it is: Obivously a comb + knife. But what a killer name! COMBmando? Love it.

Why your mom wants it: Every mom has a comb in her purse to keep those bangs looking nice. Why not protect her too? Police at crime scenes love combs for evidence. She’ll get lots of evidence with this thing.
What she will tell her friends: My son is always trying to make sure I’m safe. This thing is so sharp! I keep it inside of my sunglasses case so that I don’t accidentally cut myself.

The Hot and Cold Faucet


[via ThinkGeek]

What it is: Light changes depending on the temperature of the water.
Why your mom wants it: If the water in your kitchen (or bathroom) always takes forever to get cold or hot, you can do other things!
Why your mom might be offended: I dont’ know if moms always appreciate getting something that implies they are always in the kitchen.
What she will tell her friends: Our water takes forever to change temperature! Now I can be all the over at the stove and know when the water is ready. What will they think of next!

The Takeout Menu Organizer

Buy at Perpetual Kid
What it is: Organize all the take out menus from your favorite restaurants. Plus, the most important part, is the what do you want sheet.
Why your mom wants it: Because she sick of asking everyone what they want, just hand her the sheet! Oh and knowing about all the cool restaurants in the area is soo in.
What she will tell her friends: (Next time they are going out to lunch or dinner) Oh I have this nifty organizer that my daughter gave me where I keep all the menus from the restaurants we go to all the time. It makes things soo easy. Oh! Let me go grab it and we can look through it.
Soooo your cheap/your mom doesn’t fit any of those tricky gifts. Publish her face on a magazine!

You get to personalize the headline, subheadings, etc etc. What a treat for her to show her friends and leave out on the coffee table. It might be so humorous that it will be carted around to neighbors’ and friends’ houses for their enjoyment too.

Go to YourCover.com

Hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day! In case your mom loves her home office for that home business, we’ve got lots of nice office supplies at Shoplet.com.

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