According to The Economist, the average American consumes almost eight 40-foot trees per year in paper. Even if you're not environmentally minded, reducing the amount of paper you consume has many benefits, including saving money and reducing clutter. 

To help you get on the path to living a paperless lifestyle, here are six tips to consider:

Switch to paperless billing
If you're still getting paper bills in the mail, consider switching to paperless billing. Many companies, banks, and utilities offer paperless billing options. The bills will typically be in PDF format, which you access online. When the new bill is available, you'll usually get an e-mail or a text message alert. E-bills will save you from having to scan the bills yourself and shredding them.

Download PDF manuals
More and more companies are offering PDF manuals and user guides for everything from digital cameras, TVs, to furniture. If you save your manuals, find the PDF versions online, then recycle the paper ones. PDF manuals are much easier to find on your computer than trying to remember where you kept the paper manuals.

Scan your documents
Scan any paper documents that aren't available in electronic form and any old documents you've held on to. If you have a multifunction printer (all-in-one), put the scanner to good use. Many multifunction printers come with software that automatically converts your scans to PDF files. For large and frequent jobs, consider getting a multifunction printer with an automatic document feeder or a dedicated document scanner. You can also scan receipts and business cards on the go, with your smartphone.

Print to PDF
If you want to print something interesting on the Web, like this how to, save yourself some paper and ink by printing it to PDF. There are a lot of free PDF printer programs available and if you use Google Chrome, it has PDF printing built in.

Access PDFs from the cloud and on devices
Going paperless means having a lot of PDF files on your computer, but they don't all need to be locked away there. You might want to store some PDFs in the cloud, to make them more accessible. Cloud services like Dropbox, SkyDrive, and Box let you access your files from multiple devices, from almost anywhere. And if you've got a Kindle, you can always send your PDFs to your Kindle as well. As CNET's Stephen Shankland suggests, using Dropbox is a great way to view PDF files of subway maps and boarding passes.

Sign documents electronically
One of the annoyances of electronic documents is that sometimes, you actually have to print them. Documents that require signatures are one reason why. If you've got a smartphone or tablet, however, you can forgo this process by using apps designed to allow you to sign them with your finger or stylus.

Five creative projects for the avid photographer

 

With smartphones boasting excellent lenses and good point-and-shoot cameras becoming more affordable, photography has become a greater part of everyone's life. Just look at some of the most popular apps and Web sites, like Instagram, Flickr, and even Facebook Photos: they've exploded in activity as people discover a previously untapped passion for capturing moments and quickly sharing them with the world.

As a fellow everyday photographer, I scoured blogs, Pinterest, and (unashamedly) previous How To posts to dig up the tips, tricks, and tutorials that take this newfound passion for photography to greater heights.

Whether your smartphone is your primary lens, or you've adopted a dSLR that hardly leaves your side, this collection of tips can be enjoyed by just about anyone. 

1. Make huge prints inexpensively. Like a neighborhood Italian restaurant decorated with large canvas photos from the better days, your home can really get a lift from displaying large prints of family and friends. Most of us, however, will quickly dismiss this idea after a glimpse at the price of canvas prints. Sidestep this barrier with a simple tutorial from Jenny Komenda, who shows you how to make large canvas-style prints on the cheap. 

2. DIY Instagram photo strips. Insta-addicts will love this simple tutorial that will help you turn your carefully edited Instagram shots into vintage-style photo strips to display in your office, gift to friends, or use as a bookmark for your "old-school" books. 

3. Wood photo transfers. Photojojo, an awesome Web site packed with unique photography-related gadgets and novelty items, never fails with its DIY projects. This time around, the clever staff shows you how to transfer a photo to a wooden surface and create a one-of-a-kind piece of art where your photo takes center stage.

4. Your headphones as shutter release. iPhone users, did you know? Your headphones can double as a shutter release, allowing you to take supersteady shots from a distance. This isn't a project, per se, but will become a go-to technique for any avid iPhotographer. 
 

5. A simple, effective portrait setup. Gorgeous portrait shots often seem difficult to achieve. The immediate assumption is that the photographer must have used a high-end camera with an equally pricey lens. Sometimes that's the case, but in general, lighting and technique is more important than fancy equipment. Rachel Durik shows you her easy, DIY setup over at her photography blog, Savor Photography. 

Share your computer screen the easy way with ScreenLeap

 

A lot of instant messaging or tech-help software includes a feature for sharing your screen with other people. Unfortunately, not everyone uses the same applications, which requires one or more parties to download something in order to see the shared computer screen. Instead of worrying about creating new accounts or downloading software, ScreenLeap offers a super easy way to share your screen to any device, or look at someone else's shared screen. 
Note: This service requires Java Runtime Environment (JRE), which most users will already have. If not, it's a free download that is useful for other sites besides this one -- so it's not a waste of time to grab it.

To share your own screen:

 

Step 1: Head to ScreenLeap.com and click the giant green button labeled Share your screen now!
Step 2: If the Java Runtime permission window pops up, click Run.

 

Step 3: Click the link, or code, to copy it to your clipboard and send it to the person you're sharing with.

ScreenLeap pop-up window options panel.

You will see a small window pop-up that says your screen is shared. You can adjust the sharing area by selecting Share inside rectangle from the drop-down box, pause the sharing, or stop it completely from this window. There's also a viewer count in the top right-hand corner.

This is how your screen will look when you choose the rectangle sharing method.

To view someone else's screen:

Step 1: Click Join a screen in the top right-hand corner of the Web site.
Step 2: Enter the code you were given by the person sharing their screen.

This is how the shared screen looks on a Samsung Galaxy Note.

Step 3: View their screen on your computer, smartphone, or tablet.
So now the next time you have a relative with computer issues, or you need to share a presentation with a few co-workers, try ScreenLeap to save time on downloads and setup.

Mp3 Search Engine

        Mp3 is the buzzword in the industry. This has become the de facto standard for the audio industry all over the world. There are a number of popular audio search engines available on the internet today. Our very own Google successfully performs the searching but has its limitation at certain aspects and forms.
Today we will be reviewing the mp3-2000.com. The engine was started in the year 2000 and is mainly concerned with the searching of the MP3 files only. When you visit this site all the available songs are arranged in the alphabetical order and it can be useful sometimes when we search for a particular track. Another innovation that has been done on the homepage is the populating a list of top 50 most downloaded songs in the recent past. So if you are looking to download music for free then you must check this site out.

          The website has option for those who want to download free songs as well as for those who want to opt for paid download. I have searched for several local bands of US and India but the results were not so impressive.
          Once you have selected a certain track for purchase or download, there are a number of tabs that contain different information, offers and other stuffs that are related to the track. You have the power of social media interaction these days and you can easily share your track on a variety of platforms of social media. You can stream the audio track and can also add your comments and reviews in a special area that is dedicated for the comments. You might get the lyrics of the song also.
          Simply search for the songs using the search box or navigate according to the alphabetical listing. The site has a list of top 50 in US, World and Downloads. The website claims to have more than 1.5 million files in its index and there are a number of websites that will offer the free music throughout the world. Therefore you are advised to look for the free version of the track before going for the paid download.