by Jeannine Kantz

Created on: June 07, 2009

Breaking the Hard-copy Habit

I am the first to admit that I love my books, perhaps because my relationship with the written word began pre-computer. Despite all the information available electronically, I like the feel of stretching out in a comfortable chair, propping my feet up, a cup of tea on the side table, and thumbing through a book-highlighting text, marking pages I want to go back to and scribbling notes in the margins. In particular, when I fly, I like to take hard copies of favorite magazines to read on the plane.

I have a particular weakness for craft books and DIY books-it seems the very best patterns and plans just can't be found on the web for free. However, my book collection is getting rather big and the reality is that I buy a whole book and complete one or two projects out of it and never use the rest, except to thumb through occasionally for inspiration. Or I get hard copies of a magazine or journal, but really only find one or two articles that are keepers. On top of that is the problem of finding the particular article or project in my hundreds of volumes when I am looking for one thing in particular. I can't stand to send a perfectly good magazine to recycling, so they tend to stack up while I try to find someone who wants them. I have been mired in a self-perpetuating cycle of paper clutter accumulation, but am trying to change that in my quest to live more sustainably.

I have focused my efforts in two areas-reducing the amount of paper I have in the house and switching to digital versions of the information I crave most. Many magazines now offer digital options and there are several websites that sell craft patterns and plans of all kinds, so you can buy only the pattern you want to use and download it directly to your computer. There are numerous sources, usually through professional associations or your work place, which will allow you to access digital versions of journals. One nice perk of going digital is that you can increase the font size if you are reading on screen. Here are some ideas to help you break the hard-copy habit:

Six Ways to Remove or Reduce Paper Clutter

1. Donate or give away books and magazines that are in good shape. You can contact local organizations to see who is willing to take reading materials-local churches, schools, libraries, literacy groups, thrift stores, your local Freecycle.com, hospitals, hospices, assisted living centers, prisons or homeless shelters, just to name a few.

2. Sell

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