How to Save Paper: 24 Ways to Cut Down on Your Paper Use

Paper is one of those sneaky household habits. You don’t notice it muchuntil your kitchen counter looks like a mailroom, your desk is buried in printouts, and you somehow own 47 mystery instruction manuals for appliances you no longer have.

The good news: cutting down on paper use doesn’t require a full “live in a forest hut and communicate by carrier pigeon” lifestyle change. Small swaps add up fast. And they save more than treesthey also save time, money, storage space, and your sanity.

According to the EPA, paper and paperboard made up a major share of municipal solid waste in the U.S. (about 23.1% in its 2018 materials data), which is exactly why reducing paper at the source matters so much. Recycling is important, but using less paper in the first place is even better.

Below are 24 practical, realistic ways to use less paper at home, at work, and everywhere your printer tries to follow you.

Why Saving Paper Still Matters

“But I recycle!” Awesome. Keep doing that. Recycling paper helps a lot. But the most effective strategy is still to reduce and reuse first. That’s also the core message behind EPA waste reduction guidance: start by preventing waste before it exists.

Think of it this way: every page you don’t print is a page you don’t have to buy, store, shred, or recycle later. Your future self (and your junk drawer) will be grateful.

24 Ways to Cut Down on Paper Use

1) Switch your bills to paperless statements

Start with the low-hanging fruit: bank statements, credit cards, utilities, insurance, and subscriptions. Most major institutions now offer e-statements and paperless notices through online banking or apps. It takes a few minutes to set up and permanently reduces the steady stream of envelope confetti.

2) Use online banking and digital payment records

If you already pay online, go one step further and stop printing confirmations. Keep records in your bank portal, download PDFs only when needed, and organize payments by account folders. Bonus: it’s much easier to search “water bill June” than to dig through a box labeled “Important Papers??? Maybe.”

3) File taxes electronically

The IRS strongly supports e-filing, and many taxpayers can file online at no cost through IRS programs and partner tools. Filing digitally reduces paper forms, mailing, and duplicate copies. It also usually makes tracking your return easier than staring at your mailbox like it owes you money.

4) Pay taxes electronically too

The IRS also offers several electronic payment options, including secure online account tools and direct payment methods. That means fewer printed vouchers, fewer stamps, and fewer “where did I put that confirmation number?” moments.

5) Opt out of junk mail with DMAchoice

The FTC recommends using DMAchoice (run through the ANA) to reduce unsolicited marketing mail. It won’t stop every single catalog known to humankind, but it can cut down a lot of promotional mail. That means less sorting, less clutter, and fewer glossy furniture catalogs making you question your life choices.

6) Opt out of prescreened credit and insurance offers

The FTC also points consumers to optoutprescreen.com (or the official phone number) to stop many prescreened credit and insurance offers. You can opt out for five years or begin a permanent opt-out process. This is one of the fastest ways to shrink your mailbox volume.

7) Use USPS Informed Delivery before you touch the mailbox

USPS Informed Delivery is a free service that gives you preview images of incoming mail in a daily email or app dashboard. Why does this help save paper? Because it lets you spot what matters, skip unnecessary panic, and manage mail more intentionally instead of auto-printing labels, notices, or duplicate tracking records.

8) Refuse unwanted mail when appropriate

USPS FAQs also explain ways to refuse certain unwanted mail pieces. It’s not a magic “banish all paper forever” button, but using the official refusal process for mail you truly don’t want can help reduce what piles up in your home.

9) Stop printing emails

This one sounds obvious… until you notice people still printing a two-line email that says, “Thanks!” Save emails to folders, archive them, or convert important messages to PDF when needed. The EPA’s paper-reduction guidance specifically encourages electronic distribution and archiving instead of printing.

10) Save documents as PDFs instead of printing drafts

Need to review, share, or sign off on something? Save it as a PDF and send it digitally. This is especially useful for contracts, forms, and drafts. Many workplaces print “just for review,” and then print again after edits. That’s how a 3-page document becomes a 19-page saga.

11) Use e-signatures when allowed

Many forms and agreements can be signed electronically, which helps eliminate print-sign-scan cycles. U.S. law recognizes electronic signatures in many situations, but always check whether a specific form or agency still requires paper. The paper-saving goal here is simple: don’t print a document just to write your name and scan it back.

12) Use shared docs and collaboration tools

Real-time collaboration beats “print, mark up, retype, repeat.” Shared documents, comments, and tracked changes let teams review without stacks of paper copies. Even for family planning (budgets, school schedules, grocery lists), shared notes can replace a surprising amount of printouts.

13) Turn on double-sided printing by default

If you do print, make your printer work smarter. EPA guidance and federal print management templates both emphasize automatic duplexing (double-sided printing) as a key paper-saving setting. This one setting alone can cut a lot of paper waste without changing your workflow.

14) Use print preview every single time

Print preview is the unsung hero of paper reduction. It catches blank pages, weird formatting, giant images, and accidental 48-page spreadsheet disasters before they happen. EPA print management guidance specifically recommends reviewing jobs in print preview and printing only necessary pages.

15) Print only the pages you need

Don’t print page 1–32 when you only need page 4 and page 17. Most print dialogs let you choose page ranges. This sounds small, but it adds up fast in recipes, school packets, travel confirmations, and long PDFs.

16) Print multiple pages per sheet for reference copies

For slides, agendas, handouts, and reference material, use the “multiple pages per sheet” setting. EPA and federal print management guidance both call this out as a smart way to cut paper use. If nobody needs a full-size page, don’t give every bullet point a whole sheet to itself.

17) Shrink to Fit and trim unnecessary graphics

Large margins, giant logos, and full-color backgrounds can turn a simple document into a paper hog. EPA guidance recommends options like “Shrink to Fit,” removing unnecessary content, and printing in color only when needed. Translation: your pie chart does not need a cinematic poster treatment.

18) Adjust document defaults to use less paper

EPA’s office paper-saving resource even suggests adjusting document defaults like margins, spacing, and font size where appropriate. You don’t need to make everything microscopic, but cleaner formatting can reduce page count on routine internal documents.

19) Go digital for statements and notices from government programs

More public services now offer online access. For example, Social Security statements are available online through a my Social Security account, and Medicare offers a “Go digital” option that helps people track claims and costs online. These switches cut paper clutter while making records easier to check.

20) Digitize receipts and warranties right away

Paper receipts fade, crumple, and disappear into mysterious jacket pockets. Scan or photograph receipts and save them in folders by month or category (home, medical, business, taxes). Do the same for warranties and instruction manuals if digital copies are available.

21) Use a notes app instead of sticky notes for recurring lists

Sticky notes are greatuntil they migrate across your house and form a small republic. For grocery lists, to-dos, project checklists, and recurring reminders, a notes app or task app can replace a steady stream of paper scraps. Keep paper notes for quick one-offs, not everything.

22) Reuse one-sided paper for rough work

When printing is unavoidable, give paper a second life. Use one-sided pages for scratch notes, math practice, draft sketches, or packing lists. EPA guidance even mentions reusing printed paper for note-taking and other practical purposes before recycling it.

23) Create a “scan then shred” routine for sensitive paper

A lot of people keep piles of old documents “just in case.” A better system: scan what you need, store it securely, and shred what you don’t. The FTC repeatedly emphasizes shredding sensitive documents as a key identity-theft prevention step. Less paper and better security? That’s a rare two-for-one.

24) Buy less paperand buy smarter when you do

The easiest way to save paper is to stop treating it like an unlimited office snack. Buy only what you realistically use, and choose recycled-content paper when possible. If your printer paper lasts longer, it’s a clear sign your habits are improvingnot that your printer is plotting revenge.

Common Mistakes That Quietly Increase Paper Waste

Even people trying to reduce waste can accidentally burn through paper. Watch for these habits:

• Printing “just in case” instead of checking if a digital version is enough
• Printing entire webpages instead of saving bookmarks or PDFs
• Using paper statements for accounts you already check on your phone
• Keeping old duplicates (three copies of the same insurance policy is not a collection)
• Forgetting to update printer defaults after buying a new printer

A Simple 15-Minute Paper-Saving Plan

If you want quick wins today, do this:

1. Switch two accounts to paperless statements
2. Turn on double-sided printing as default
3. Sign up for USPS Informed Delivery
4. Register for DMAchoice or opt out of prescreened offers
5. Create one folder on your phone or computer called “Receipts & Docs”

That’s it. You don’t need a perfect zero-paper life. You just need fewer unnecessary pages entering your home every week.

Experience-Based Examples: What Saving Paper Looks Like in Real Life

Here’s where this gets practical. In many homes, the biggest paper problem isn’t printingit’s incoming paper. One common experience is the “mail pile trap”: a stack builds on the counter, then moves to a chair, then somehow becomes furniture. People often assume they need a complicated filing system, but the real fix is reducing the amount of paper entering the house in the first place. Once they switch to paperless billing and opt out of junk mail, the pile shrinks so much that a small folder works just fine.

Another common pattern shows up in home offices. Someone prints drafts because it “feels easier to review,” then prints the revised version, then prints the final version, and then prints the final-final version because the margins looked weird. The moment they start using print preview, comments in shared docs, and PDF markup tools, printing drops dramatically. The funny part is they usually don’t miss paper at allthey just miss the habit.

Families with school-aged kids often have a different challenge: permission slips, calendars, lunch forms, activity lists, and random papers that appear daily like confetti from a tiny office manager. A lot of parents find that one shared digital calendar and one “scan immediately” routine changes everything. Instead of keeping every paper by default, they scan what matters, add dates to the calendar, and toss or recycle the rest. The kitchen suddenly looks less like a copy center.

Older adults and caregivers often report another useful shift: using online portals for benefits, statements, and medical claim tracking while still printing only the truly important items. This “selective paper” approach works well because it doesn’t force an all-or-nothing mindset. People can stay comfortable, keep essential records on hand, and still eliminate huge amounts of unnecessary paper.

In small businesses, the most successful paper-saving changes are usually the boring ones: default duplex printing, grayscale mode, and no divider pages. Nobody gets excited about printer settings, but those settings quietly save stacks of paper over time. Teams also tend to improve faster when the rule is simple: “Digital first, print if needed,” not “Never print again.” That keeps everyone sane and avoids rebellion-by-printer.

The biggest takeaway from real-world experience is this: paper reduction works best when it removes friction, not when it adds it. If your new system is too complicated, it won’t stick. But if you make the paperless option the easiest optionautomatic statements, shared docs, printer defaults, quick scanningyour paper use drops almost without effort. And once you see fewer piles, fewer envelopes, and fewer random printouts, it becomes surprisingly satisfying. You’re not just saving paper. You’re buying back space, time, and a little peace and quiet from the world’s loudest desk drawer.

Conclusion

Saving paper is one of the easiest sustainability upgrades you can make because it also improves everyday life. Less clutter, less filing, less junk mail, fewer printer headaches. Start with a few changespaperless bills, junk mail opt-outs, and better print settingsand you’ll notice the difference fast.

You don’t need to become “100% paperless” overnight. Just aim for “less paper than last month.” That’s a win your home, wallet, and recycling bin can all appreciate.