Going Green as a Freelancer

If you are a freelancer, you are “greener” than most of the folks already. Just think of the CO2 emissions and pollution you have prevented by working from home and not commuting every day! However, you can do even more than that! Here is my little guide towards more eco-friendliness in your home office!

Use Refurbished Tech

You can benefit greatly from buying refurbished laptop and smartphone (I use these items primarily). There is a popular misconception about refurbished things that something is wrong with them and you are in for an unpleasant discovery sooner or later. However, “refurbished” does not necessarily mean that there ever was any malfunction. In many cases, refurbished goods return to manufacturer due to miscalculations in orders, so they are perfectly fine – not only as good as new, but actually new.

By buying refurbished item, you get a gadget in working order for much less money, plus you help to prevent wastage and save the environment. If no one buys those unfortunate laptops and phones, they are literally going to waste, being perfectly normal!

Use Energy Saving Mode

When you work from home this option for your laptop or desktop is even more important than for office workers, and here is why.

At home, you can get distracted more often – by your parenting duties, by your friends visiting, by your cat knocking stuff over. Sometimes you just take an unplanned break. Your schedule is more flexible – after all, that is why you probably have chosen to freelance in the first place. Yet this flexibility often means that you frequently leave your laptop unattended even when you did not plan to. This is why default energy saving settings are so important. You may get distracted for 5 minutes or for 2 hours – it does not matter because your tech will go into sleeping mode and will not waste energy if you do not need it.

Make Your Laptop Energy-Efficient

Apart from automatic settings, use manual control of screen brightness and lower it when the ambient light is dim. Appropriate adjustment of brightness is not only green but is good for your eyes as well.

It is also very important to make sure your laptop does not overheat and waste energy on running unnecessary processes. Use Activity Monitor for Macs (Task Manager for PCs) to track all the apps/programs you that are running. You might be surprised at the number of apps running constantly in the background. Uninstalling apps on your Mac if you do not need them is a good practice. At least prevent them from running every time you switch your machine on. To achieve this, simply take them off your Startup List, so they won’t vamp the energy while not in use.

Choose Greener Lighting

That is, when it is possible, use natural light from the window. I am lucky to have a skylight, so I get a bright, nicely diffused daylighting for as long as it is possible. When it is necessary to switch on the lights, I make sure I do not leave them on when I exit the room for more than ten minutes.

Use CFLs or LEDs, they are officially the greenest lamps there are. I prefer LEDs because they emit better-directed light and that is important for my work. On top of that, you can choose one in any “temperature” from cold bluish to warm yellow, reminiscing of incandescent bulbs (without overheating and wasting energy, of course). In addition, LED’s expected lifespan is up to two times longer than that of a CFL, which also helps to prevent wastage of resources.

Cut down your paper usage

As a graphic designer, I still do sketching on paper – and I am not the only one who still uses paper in their home office. Therefore, it is important to use it wisely and thriftily. First of all, I make sure I buy chlorine-free recycled paper, of course.

Then, I use paper only when I need it, and from both sides. When I can no longer use it for sketching, I do some scribbling and notes on the blank spaces that left. I keep the stack in a tray so all those random sheets do not make a mess on my desk. I then use those to protect furniture when I repot my plants or my nephew wants to mess around with watercolors (sometimes he chooses my sketches as his colorings in the process). Then, they do their final service as great birdcage liners.

Say “No Thanks” to AC

By preferring ceiling fans, you will save a ton of electricity. It is not always easy if you leave in a very hot area or have a health condition that makes it dangerous for you to stay in a hot room for long. Sometimes one cannot do without at least a mini-split system. However, we are rather spoiled by the controlled environment in general, and sometimes we use it when it is not quite necessary.

If refusing yourself an AC is only a matter of a slight discomfort – weigh the pros and cons and decide whether the impact on the environment is worth it. I only use an AC at my place when it is extremely hot outside and my mom comes to visit – she has a heart condition. In addition, sometimes when my guests insist. As for me, I can do without it even when an outside temperature is dangerously close to 100 °F.

The underlying matter

For your interior design, it is better to choose a natural tile or wooden flooring – they are much easier to maintain. Carpets require much energy, water, and chemicals to keep them clean and hygienic – vacuuming, washing, shampooing. While tiles and wood can be handled with sweeping and occasional moping – and stay nice and clean. If your feet tend to feel cold when you sit still for a long time – I have this condition myself – you can still do without wall-to-wall carpeting. Just throw a little rug under your desk, and better make it natural. Hemp and bamboo are a great choice.

Of course, I barely scratched the surface on being a green freelancer. The above tips are only what I use for myself. There are plenty of other specifics if your job is different from what I do, or if you are traveling and change homes often. I would sure love to hear all about it from you! Don’t hesitate to leave a comment!