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DCL
If you're anything like me, you're still waiting for that "paperless office/paperless classroom" we were promised somewhere in our distant past. Instead of less paper, it seems that I'm dealing with more mail, catalogs, newspapers, and sales circulars all the time. And when we add in the literally dozens of papers my daughter brings home from school in a week, I could be buried in paper before the weekend is even in sight.
To keep my sanity, as well as some semblance of order to my home, I've used a few techniques to try to keep the paper chaos to a minimum.
10 Tips for Dealing with Paper
1. Scan what you can. If you have a scanner, you have one of the best tools ever for dealing with all of that paper. School calendars, takeout menus, contact lists, and articles you want to keep for future reference are all good options for scanning. Recycle the original document once you've scanned it, or shred it and use it in your vermicompost bin. Or throw it in the compost pile.
2. Don't click "print." It took me a while to get out of the habit of printing every useful article or blog post I came across online. This is what bookmarks (or favorites, depending on your program of choice) are for. If you'd rather not mess around with bookmarks, look into Microsoft OneNote or EverNote (which is free) and simply copy and paste whatever text you want to save into the program. You'll have it at your fingertips anytime you want it. (One important note in relation to these first two suggestions: make sure you back up your data regularly! You don't want to lose all of the information you dutifully scanned and saved.)
3. Subscribe to your local paper online. Most major papers now offer some type of web-based subscription deal. See if yours does. At the very least, most papers offer a basic version of the day's news on their websites, for free.
4. Ditto magazine subscriptions. See if your favorite magazine offers online subscriptions rather than paper-based ones. Many publications are getting on board with this trend, and it's good for you and the environment.
5. Create permanent filing systems for paper you must keep on file. Tax returns and associated paperwork, birth certificates, passports, and insurance policies are just a few examples of papers you'll need to keep. One of my favorite tips for keeping these papers organized and accessible is to create a "grab and go file." Basically, put all of your essential paperwork in one file or file box, and stash it in a place where you could grab it going out the door (such as in the case of a fire or natural disaster).
6. Make ample use of bookmarks. You don't want to save every single thing you find online onto your computer. Bookmark or favorite useful articles and blog posts that you want to read again but don't necessarily feel are important enough to store permanently. Go through your bookmarks once every few months and purge them of those you aren't interested in anymore.
7. Don't keep business cards. Either scan them into your computer or simply type the information from the card into your address book or other contact list. 8. Keep an online calendar. Most of us are sitting in front of a computer all day, so how much sense does it make to keep a paper calendar? You can use any number of free web services, from Google Calendar to sites like Memo to Me, to keep a calendar and set up email reminders. And, of course, many email programs allow you to keep an electronic calendar as well. 9. Replace post-its and other types of paper notes. Have you been sticking sticky notes to your computer screen or monitor? Use desktop stickies programs instead, and save a few trees and a lot of clutter. You can also try Tweeting notes to yourself, using a free service like Remember the Milk, or create notes and task lists in Google Docs. 10. Opt out of junk mail, phone books, and catalogs. The less that comes into your house (especially stuff you don't even want!) the better. Even if you only incorporate one or two of these tips into your life, you'll find that it's much easier to control the paper in your life. And maybe, just maybe, you'll see your desk top sometime this decade. WATCH VIDEO: Learn More About Recycling with Ed Begley!
