Maybe your boss is finally convinced that telecommuting is OK or perhaps you're a freelancer and work from home all the time. Maybe, due to job cuts, you've been thrust into a work from home situation. Whatever the reason you are working from home, is your home office green?

A new guide from Treehugger gives you all the info you might need to work towards a more green home office. As someone who works from home every day, I found it a very interesting read. Of course, I work on the obvious stuff like not printing everything and reusing things we already have in the house instead of buying all new office stuff but I found some other really useful tips.

I can't go out and buy all new furniture at the moment but I can make sure my window is open when it makes sense so that the fresh air reduces the amount of chemical gas in the air. I can keep the blinds open as well to bring in that nice natural light which is better for me and means I can turn off the lamp for a lot of the day. I probably should pull a plant from another area of the house and bring it in to freshen the air as well.

The greenest part about my home office is the ability it gives me to do other green things. Sure it cuts down on my carbon footprint since I am not driving to work every day but it also gives me plenty of time to hang loads of laundry out on the clothesline in between writing posts. I can easily make a batch of bread on a weekday while i am working and keep an eye on the weather, allowing us to keep the windows open and the air conditioning and/or heat off.

I keep a sweater on my office chair and keep the windows open as much as possible. It's finally fall in Texas and we've had the windows open for almost two weeks now. Great for the electric bill and our carbon footprint, but it's only possible because I'm home working all day.

How are you greening your home office? I think the most important thing you can do when setting up an office is to take good care of yourself. Yes, an old kitchen chair is cheaper than buying an ergonomic office chair but if you're going to sit in it every day for years to come you need to keep in mind your physical health as well.

[Via Lifehacker]