You're probably thinking, "What's the big deal, my office doesn't spend much on paper." But what most people don't realize is that the cost of buying paper is just the tip of the paper iceberg. Storage, copying, printing, postage, disposal and recycling costs can be as much as 31 times the cost of paper purchasing alone.

The economic cost of using office paper is tremendous.

• Citigroup, a large financial services company, determined that if each employee used double-sided copying to conserve just one sheet of paper each week, the firm would save $700,000 each year.
• Bank of America cut its paper consumption by 25% in two years by increasing the use of on-line forms and reports, e-mail, double-sided copying and lighter-weight paper.

When you also consider the environmental impacts of that use, you begin to understand paper's true cost. Virgin paper production (and even recycled paper to a lesser degree) requires energy, water and new fiber (primarily from trees) and produces harmful emissions in the process. Even with effective recycling programs, a fair amount of paper still ends up in the garbage and is sent to a landfill.

Recognizing that paper is one of our most widely used means of communication, what options do we have? The first step to becoming “paper smart” is to rethink how and when paper is used. When creating or sharing a document, and before sending it to the printer or making multiple copies, quickly ask yourself the following questions:

• In this situation, is there a way to prevent or avoid using paper entirely?
• If paper is absolutely necessary, how can I reduce the amount I use?
• After the paper has been used for its original purpose, can I or can others reuse it in some way?

Here are the top 10 quick fixes to save paper in the office:

1. Become conscious of your paper consumption.
2. Print and copy on both sides of the paper (duplex).
3. Save space and paper by storing your documents electronically.
4. Send, request and circulate electronic copies instead of paper.
5. Print only the pages you need instead of an entire document.
6. Use email to send memos and share electronic documents.
7. Use the "Tools/Track Changes" function to edit and share documents for review instead of printing multiple drafts.
8. Use the backside of paper already printed on one side for draft and internal documents. Place a tray by printers and fax machines to collect paper that can be reused.
9. Before printing, remove blank pages and adjust your margins and font size if only a few lines fall on the final page.
10. Subscribe to online publications in place of printed versions. Store them electronically.

There are many on-line resources available to help with paper reduction.  For detailed information on how to implement these fixes visit Paper Cuts, or Relieve the Junk-Mail Burden.