The company Hacoa brings this notion full circle with a collection of elegant wooden office products. The collection is quite diversified going from keyboards, to paper clip holder and even USB flash drives, and all products have a nice Zen feel to them. Enjoy

Paper Clips holder

Apple Keyboard Stand

Keyboard

Usb Flash Drive

Mouse Pad

Stapler

The only fear I have about using these products is the amount of splitters you might get, especially while typing on the keyboard.

This is part II of our 5 part Guide to Green Office. This guide contains ways of measuring  your environmental impacts as well as a checklist for things one could do in terms of greening one’s product line.

A. Measuring the Environmental Impact of Switching to Green Products

(1) Recycled paper products.

• To determine the environmental impacts of various types of paper in terms of energy used, greenhouse gases and other air pollutants emitted, waste water volume and pollutants discharged, and solid waste generated, enter the appropriate data in the Environmental Defense Paper Calculator: http://www.environmentaldefense.org/papercalculator/. This website provides charts and graphs showing the impacts of different types of paper (freesheet, groundwood, corrugated, and paperboard, etc.) with different recycled contents.
• Comparisons:

•   A pallet of copier paper (20-lb. sheet weight or 20#) contains 40 cartons at 50 pounds each and weighs one ton (2000 lbs). Each ton of such virgin paper (no post-consumer content) uses 24 trees.
• One carton (10 reams) of virgin copier paper uses 0.6 trees.
• One tree makes 16 2/3 reams of copy paper, or 8333 sheets.
  Source: Conservatree http://www.conservatree.com/learn/EnviroIssues/TreeStats.shtml .

(2) Computer notebooks, desktops and monitors.

• See the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT): http://www.epeat.net/FastBenefits.aspx

B. Increasing Your Use of Green Products

Using green products in your own operations (Check all that currently apply or interest you).

• Paper and plastic products with significant quantities of post-consumer recycled content
• Re-manufactured products (e.g., ink and laser toner cartridges)
• Electrical products that are solar powered (e.g., calculators) or certified as energy efficient by Energy Star
• Compact fluorescent light bulbs and other energy efficient lighting
• Products that are reusable, rewritable, refillable, rechargeable, more durable or repairable
• Products that are recyclable
• Cleaners and solvents that are nontoxic; non-VOC (volatile organic compound); biodegradable; water-based; ammonia-, phosphate-, and chlorine free; and derived from renewable resources rather than petroleum
• Detergents, cleaners and other liquids in concentrate, which minimizes packaging
• Writing instruments with non-toxic inks or other marking fluids
• Furniture, carpets, and paints that do not emit harmful levels of VOCs from adhesives or finishes
• Products made from plant-based materials
• Compostable items, such as garbage and grocery bags
• Multi-purpose electronic equipment (e.g., combination printer-scanner-fax machine)
• Bins for collecting recyclable materials
• Power strips and other devices that enable you to manually or automatically cut power when not needed
• Products certified by reputable third parties as being environmentally superior in specific ways, such as those noted above (See the Green Glossary for a listing of some popular certifications.)

Binder Clips Hack

Everyone’s favorite office supply can be transformed into infinite other useful tools in the examples below.

D.I.Y. Notebook Stand

With 4 binder clips and 4 sheets of paper, you can create the most inexpensive notebook stand that will sure to save your computer from over heating as well as unnecessary expenditures.

Patterned Paper Clips

Make your own high-end fashionable and functional binder clips that will sure to add personality and accent to even the mundanest of office tasks.

Toothpaste Clip

Keep you half-used toothpaste accessible by rounding up the end and fastening the end with a binder clip.

Pictures and pencil holder

This brilliant device use 8 binder clips secured by rubber bands of your choice. The ensuing device will be sure to provide you with endless fun as you try to create intriguing tessellations with various pictures and your favorite pens.

Chips Clip

Keep your favorite snacks fresh and crispy with binder clips.

Hanging folders stopper

Keep your hanging files nicely stable and separated by placing binder clips where you see fit.

Cable catcher

Organize your unruly cables with binder clips.

Paper Clips Hack

The following hacks will take one of the smallest of office supplies into something extremely useful.

Paper Clip into Clothing Pin

When in need of a clothing pin, grab a paper clip off of the corner of your desk and bend it into its familiar relative, the clothing pin.

Turn Paper Clip into Lock Picks
Check this video out if you want to learn how to turn a little paper clip into the essential tool to pick locks!

Paper Clip into Zipper Pull

When your zipper goes missing, replace the end part with a paper clip, and you will be sure to attract attention where there wasn’t.

Tape Hack

The following hacks below allow you to do quite a lot with a flimsy piece of tape.

Relabel with tape

Next time you’re labeling, lay a strip of clear tape onto the folder tab before you apply your label. Next time you’re re-organizing, re-using the folder will be as simple as pulling the label off the tape. The tape protector works on just about anything you’d potentially re-use, so keep a roll of the clear stuff handy.

Tape Page Turner

One of my favorite office supply hacks because it is so effortless to make, but so useful, especially when I have to go through massive amount of papers.  Simply reverse tape your index finger. Make sure the sticky side face outside. Rub the sticky part on paper towel, or cloth material a bit, so it picks up some lint and looses some stickiness. Now you have the perfect page turner, with enough stickiness to help you glide through pages.

Rubber Bands Hack

This stretchy little office supply is so versatile and can be transformed into so many things!

A Pencil Eraser

Fold a rubber band in half a few times and use it to erase pencil markings.  It works surprisingly well.

A Wallet Replacement

Is you wallet showing wear and tear rather ungracefully? Get rid of it.  Instead, wrap your cash around your ID and credit card and then wrap a rubber band around the outside of the cash.

Elastic Hold-It-All

Completely original. This simple hack will turn your cubicle into the MOMA of office supplies. All you need is 2 push pins, with an elastic band of your choice in between. And viola, you now have an extremely versatile device that will hold almost anything from pictures, to notes, to pens, to decorative objects, to even my lunch!

Exacto Knife Hack

Turn  your used Exacto blades into an inspired ninja weapon.

Letter Tray Hack

Place all your unruly hardware on your desk and you will have the extra space you always craved for on your desk.

Clipboard Hack

With a little bit of time and effort. You could turn the ugliest particle clip-board lying around into the best looking photo frame of your choice! This should also be relatively inexpensive compared to any store bought photo frame.

Ruler Hack

This is a ruler turned post-its holder, that is probably more applicable to certain offices than others. This is for all the cubicles that have cloth material as dividers. Though this type of material may be good at muffling sounds, and pinning thumb tacks in, the material is really bad at holding anything with a sticky surface. Thus, thanks to my ingenious co-worker, he devised this ruler hanging by a thumb-tack to be a hold all for post-its! Ingenious!

For more examples of office hacks from our blog, click here!

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LETS START WITH THE 50’s.

If you were a working girl during the 1950’s you were either on crack, a prostitute, or divorced. The definition of working girls in the 50’s really means you are working inside your home- cooking, cleaning. Lets take a look at their fashions, and see how it reflects their lifestyle: notice the obligatory aprons, waist clinching bodice, and the full circle skirt. Lovely, truly lovely.

THE 60’s WORKING GIRL.

The sixties working girl uniform changes slightly from what was known before, women are more encouraged to work, taking clerical, secretarial, or even sales associate jobs at various companies. Of course there are always the select few women who became doctors and executives, but since we are keeping things simple here lets not get carried away. The typical uniform consisted of a knee length skirt, a blouse, and a vest. She could have also worn a long sleeved shift dress with button details. The silhouette is straight, with a slight A-line twist. This was a dramatic change from the silhouette from the previous decade.

DISCO DISCO 70’s
The seventies saw a higher rise of working girls. As women’s rights progressed and birth control was available (still taboo of course), women saw more freedom and rights. By this point I’d say there was a strong divide between the housewife leech, and the independent working woman. The jobs were still limited, as most men took hold of capitalist America. Many women still took jobs only as a venue to meet men. Here are some pictures of the film 9-5 with Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda. One of the major additions to seventies working girl uniform was the BISHOP SLEEVE, which is slighty puffier at the wrist than at the top. Look at these sex kittens, don’t you just want to drool over the dorky glasses and flower prints? What about the heavy usage of colored eye shadow? And the permed hair which functions more like a bird’s nest? This kind of bouffant actually reminds me of the Marie Antoinette times.

I LOVE THE 80’s

Think Donna Karan body suits, full men’s pantsuits with broad shoulders, GLITZ, GLAMOUR, chunky gold jewels, and last but not least; heavy eyeliner and crazy red lip. YES we love the eighties. The epitome of the EIGHTIES power dressing movement captured on film would be WORKING GIRL with Melanie Griffith. This is one of my all time faves and the outfits of this movie captures this time so perfectly. I STILL DON’T UNDERSTAND padded shoulders, but hey, who really understands the body suit? I don’t understand any of it, but it surely is great in all its cracked out goodness.

90’s OFFICE FASHION

Heather locklear in Melrose Place defines the work uniform pretty well, and you know she got a lot of bootay on that show, just from her hemlines. Look at the hot miniskirt suit in RED. You gotta love the nineties. Outfits like this were quite typical, and the 80’s suit still continued on, just not without the padded shoulders. Oh, lets not forget Sharon stone in Basic Instinct and her outfit in the smoky questioning scene. That kind of working girl hotness cant’ be beat.

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This amazing piece of office supplies art is made by Steven Nicholson is a 2yr student at Plymouth university in the United Kingdom studying Graphic communications with typography. And apparently he is a genius with a hole punch? Check out this self portrait using 10 different sized hole punches on 1 piece of paper that he just sent over. Can you imagine the patience?

Courtesy of NOTCOT.

How long do you think this piece of hole punch art takes?

This following guide to green office is divided into 5 parts, which will be consecutively published in the following 5 week. Each part of this guide will provide checklists, tools, references, and other suggestions that can help a small to medium sized commercial business improve its environmental practices and image in a manner appropriate for the nature, size and location of the company. The Guide is arranged so the company can assess its current situation and opportunities, and then select those steps it wants to take to improve its programs.

By following this Guide, your company should not only be able to enhance its reputation as a responsible corporate citizen, but better meet the needs of customers, improve efficiency and productivity, and make the organization more attractive to talented new recruits.

Part I- Reducing carbon footprint

Ideas for Reducing Your Company’s Emissions of Greenhouse Gases and Energy Consumption. Review your operations against the following checklist of ideas to identify opportunities to reduce your greenhouse gas footprint.  Many of these suggestions will also enable you to reduce operating costs.

Check all that currently apply or interest you

(1)    Building/Process Energy Use

• Energy Star Equipment. Reduce energy use by purchasing personal computers and other electrical devices bearing the Energy Star certification label from the US Department of Energy, which is granted to energy-efficient items. See http://www.energystar.gov/ .
• Computers on Power Management, Power Strips. Activate the power management feature on computers.  (If all computers in the US used this feature, this would product a CO2 reduction equivalent to removing 1.5 million cars from the road.) Plug multiple computer devices into a power strip and shut off the strip at the end of the day.  Electric adapters for computers, printers and other devices use energy even when the device is off.  Switching off a power strip is one way to avoid this overnight drain of electricity.
• Energy-efficient Lighting.  Replace low output (60 to 100 watt) incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.  (CFLs last 10 times longer and use 50 to 80 percent less energy.) Replace high output (100 to 150 watt) incandescent bulbs with halogen bulbs.  Replace incandescent bulbs in exit signs with LED bulbs.  Replace T-12 fluorescent lamps and magnetic ballasts with T-8 lamps and electronic ballasts.
• Energy-efficient Systems. Use other energy-efficient lighting and heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems to the extent this can be decided or influenced by the organization.
• Upgrade Equipment.  Replace old inefficient boilers, water heaters, heating and air conditioning equipment with new highly efficient models.  Install solar systems or other alternative sources of energy where feasible.
• Fix Leaks. Seal air leaks around doors, windows, electrical outlets and other wall openings.
• Insulation.  Enhance insulation in ceilings, walls and floors as appropriate.  Install windows with better insulating properties.
• Natural Lighting. Use natural lighting in place of electrically powered light.  Paint walls in light colors to enhance the effect of natural light.
• Shading. To reduce electrical demands for air conditioning, control the heat from natural lighting by shades, awnings, or glass film.  Plant trees or vined trellises to provide natural shading during warm weather.
• Lights-out Policy. Adopt an internal policy that encourages employees to turn off lights, computers, and other equipment at the end of the workday and otherwise when not likely to be in use.  Apply “switch-me-off” stickers as reminders.  Install timers and motion sensor light switches where practicable.  Use task lighting to illuminate only those areas where light is required.
• Thermostat Settings.  Alter the settings on the thermostat to reduce the use of heating and air conditioning equipment.
•  Loading Areas.  Install air infiltration barriers in loading areas.
•  Energy Audit. Conduct and implement an energy-saving audit of the office, where cost effective.  Some electrical utility companies will do this for free or at a very modest cost for their customers.  Do a free self-assessment using the Business Energy Analyzer at http://www.energyguide.com/ .
•  Other Energy-saving Measures.  See the ABA-EPA Law Office Guide to Energy Efficiency at http://www.abanet.org/environ/climatechallenge/lawofficeguide.pdf for other practical measures that can be taken to cut energy use in an office setting.

(2)    Employee Travel

• Energy-efficient Commuting. Subsidize or otherwise encourage employee use of car pooling, energy-efficient vehicles, car-sharing programs (e.g., FlexCar, I-Go, Zipcar), mass transit, or bikes, or take other measures to reduce the energy consumed by employee commuting or other travel.
• Flexible Work Arrangements. Provide flexible work arrangements, such as early or late hours, compressed work week, telecommuting or other practices to eliminate or reduce employee commuting time.
• Teleconferencing. Adopt guidelines on the use of web, telephone and/or video-conferencing and other means to avoid unnecessary travel and associated carbon emissions.

(3)    Product Deliveries

• Reduced Deliveries.  Arrange with suppliers to reduce the frequency of deliveries to the extent practicable.
• Efficient Delivery Routing.  Use special routing software or other tools and load consolidation to improve the energy efficiency of product delivery to customers.
• Reduce, Reuse Packaging.  Reduce the amount of packaging used for product deliveries to the minimum needed to protect products from damage.  Use durable reusable shipping containers.  Shred or form used paper into shipping packing.

(4)    Paper Use

• PCW Paper. Increase the recycled post-consumer-waste (PCW) content of your office paper.
• Paper Recycling. Recycle discarded mixed office paper and corrugated materials.
• Double-sided Copying; Printer Defaults. Institute double-sided copying at least for internal documents. Use printers with an automatic duplex option, if possible. Narrow the margins on documents to conserve paper.
• Electronic Communications.  Route faxes electronically; maximize the use of e-communications in lieu of paper documents to the extent practicable.
•  Paper Re-Use. Re-use one-sided non-confidential paper documents for drafts or notepads.

(5)    Waste Generation

• Pollution prevention.  Reduce or prevent the generation of waste where practicable.  Most waste materials generate greenhouse gas emissions in their production, use and disposal.
• Waste Recycling.  Recycle paper, corrugated, aluminum cans, plastic, metals and other items that can reasonably be recycled in your community.  Local recycling often avoids much the generation of greenhouse gases that would occur if virgin materials were used.

(6)    Other Actions

• RECs, VECs, Offsets. Purchase greenhouse gas credits (voluntary emission-reduction credits, renewable energy certificates or greenhouse gas offsets) to make up for some of the greenhouse gases being emitted.  See footnote v of Appendix 1 for a listing of reputable offset retailers. Also, some airlines and discount travel services like Expedia allow you to buy an offset for your trip when you purchase your airline ticket. Bear in mind many firms are offering offsets and some are not reputable.
• Employee Ideas.  Create an incentive program which encourages employees to suggest ideas.

According to dictionary .com a customer is “a person who purchases goods or services from another; buyer; patron.”.

This statement is a wonderful depiction of the word customer, however there are so many other aspects of a true customer. A true customer is a not only a buyer of goods or services but can easily be defined as a buyer of a “relationship”. When I refer to this word “relationship” I am encompassing many aspects of the buyer -salesman relationship. From the growth of this relationship we can compare it to the method of caring for a household plant. If this plant is not watered or trimmed or taken care of the plant will fall ill, turn brown and die. AS I have seen in recent years customers want to be pampered in every sense of the word. The “customer is always right” theory is playing a role on a much grander scale these days in this horrible economy customers want everything for nothing…To continue and build this “relationship” it will need a perfectly molded structure of on time delivery, complete shipments, a perfect charge to a credit card and even a wonderful manicured UPS driver. Salesman around the world please get together and build a relationship with your customers, they are your greatest assets…..

Until next week….

Among the new upcoming innovations, is the Polaroid PoGo™ Instant Mobile Printer – a small portable printer, which will let people print on the go. This printer is the first of its kind, using Zink - the zero-ink technology. No more need of printer cartridges! And because there is no ink, the Zink printer has the unique benefits of being small, simple, elegant, and mostly eco-friendly.

The secret is in the paper; the PoGo’s thermal print head activates dye crystals in the glossy photo paper. Sheets of the 2-by-3-inch printer are thinner than the old Polaroid print paper and contain three layers of primary colors suspended in the paper itself. The print is ready usually within 60 seconds.

The PoGo is designed to mostly print snapshots from a digital camera or a camera phone. It connects to cell phones via Bluetooth, and Polaroid says that the printer is compatible with over 80 percent of the cell phone models on the market that are equipped with Bluetooth and a camera. The PoGo also connects to PictBridge-enabled cameras via USB and to your PC.

As with the original Polaroid cameras, the main attraction of the printer is to obtain instant gratification, while it also offers mobility. The printer sells for $150 and holds 10 pieces of paper at a time. The paper conveniently comes in packages of 10 sheets for $4.

So, its rounding about 12:30 in the office and half of your day is done but you’re ravenous , craving a high in fat, high in carbs, high in sodium packed lunch to satisfy your emotional stress.  You’re even thinking about peeking into the office refrigerator and stealing someone’s overdue cheesecake.

I for one have had food dreams the first half of my work day.  Sometimes I would dream about hale and hearty tomato cheddar soup with cheese fries on the side, or a loaded hamburger with tater tots.  Not once have I dreamed of a salad, turkey sandwich on wheat, or even a Whey Protein Shake.

Here are several different ways to combat food dreams during office hours.

1. Bring green tea powder.

Pills or packets to work so that they are ready and available for you when you are thirsty.  I’m sure most of you are in walking distance of a water fountain at your office (unless you work in a third world country or a factory, that is)? This way every time you’re parched you can not only drink water but get extra boost for metabolism and energy. Did I mention green tea decreases your appetite by 15 %?

2. Pack your lunch, and eat it later than everyone else.

Why? First of all, as the daughter of a former executive, I know my mother always spotted out the employees who were too busy working and didn’t eat on time, or they brought their own lunches. She thought they were more diligent than those who went out, sipped their coffee and ciggs, had lunch and conversation, and then returned.  It always looks better to your boss if you bring your own lunch, it means you are a money and time saver.  You can also control your portion size and the amount of fat the food has. I suggest packing a delicious yet light meal; whole wheat pasta with chicken and broccoli, or a turkey avocado wrap with bean sprouts.  Also, if you eat around 2 pm instead of 12 pm, you will be able to feel full for the second half of your work day and not have the urge to eat a huge dinner.

3. Eat a huge breakfast.

Breakfast is the best time to binge, yet not everybody does. Stop waking up so late and train yourself to eat a huge meal after you wake up.  Two eggs with hash is a definite must, throw in a carrot juice on the side and you’re set to go, trust me when 1 pm rolls around at work you wont be craving fried chicken with mash potatoes.

4. Brush your teeth after lunch.

Yea its embarrassing if you have to go to the bathroom and brush your teeth, what if you bump into an employee and she gives you a weird look? WHATEVER, you want to lose weight don’t you? The minty fresh feeling of a mouthwash or toothpaste will make you forget about hamburgers and pizzas. Think mints in all forms, popping Altoids sporadically will also help you cut back on eating.

5. Make sure to pack a snack.

And never walk over to the vending machines or the fridge as a ploy to steal someone else’s cake! The real way to steal someone’s cake is to steal their paycheck and get the promotion so don’t think about the fridge, THINK ABOUT THE MONEY.  The skinnier and hotter you are the more likely it is that you’ll bring in the dough.  Obtain your own snack, whether its 100 calorie pack cookies by Nabisco or baby carrots with low fat ranch dip.  Once 3 or 4 pm rolls along, you’re gonna want some cookies or chips, SAY NO! Say yes to the coffee and a home packed snack.

6. Skip dinner on weeknights.

@#$*(@*#$*@#$ …yes yes I hear you all cursing me out there.  Try to skip dinner during the week, and you’ll see the results. Come home, eat more carrots, drink a martini and try to go to sleep.  Eating dinner past 6 pm is bad for you.  You’re body starts to shut down and burn fewer calories. In fact the reason why most people gain weight is because dinner is largerin proportion and heavier in fats.  Once you learn to skip dinner, you can eat lighter dinners and still feel full.   Anyway you can use the weekend to enjoy yourselves, you don’t have to do it everyday.

7.  Try to occupy your time with dates after work

Dating requires quite a bit of nervous energy, which makes you lose your appetite.  That butterfly in the stomach feeling? Yea, use that to your advantage and try to meet as many people as possible.  Dating to lose weight is always effective and quite necessary.

Now are you all ready to look hot? Follow these steps and you will.  Trust
me you will thank me for it.

In your real physical work space, documents are structured, marked, organized, and construed to contain subtle informative cues that help us tremendously in processing our daily work load. Such expressive cues are lost when translated into the virtual world. If your computer desktop is anything like mine, it is most likely littered with non-descript uniform icons with names that doesn’t really reflect the essence of the documents. If your computer desktop is anything like mine, I would not poke those file with a ten-foot pole, in fear of loosing myself in miles of data I can not extrapolate myself from. Why can’t my computer desktop resemble the ease and usability of my desktop at work? Well, actually, Anand Agarawala, recently created BumpTop, which promises to bring the interactivity, the quirkiness, and the logic that exist on your desktop at work to life on its virtual counter. Some of the images below capture my favorite features of this computer desktop.

Crumpling documents into crumpled paper state before deletion might be ultra useful as a way of organizing file.

File on the desktop can be made into neat piles that then can be manipulated in various ways to be examined. This particular command allows one to browse pile by fanning out the content.

One of my favorite feature of this application allows one to place weight and emphasis on a particular file by enlarging the file, that then literally takes on physical weight and can not be moved by smaller lighter objects.

What other suggestions do you have to improve your computer desktop interface and experience?