Paper, paper everywhere!

This is not fun.

I really don’t even want to do this part. But I suppose I owe it to you. After all, when you go on a diet, you’ve got to know where you’re starting from before you can begin to measure your progress. So, come on into my office. But watch your step.;)

People who know me are in for a bit of a shock. You see, I’m the same person they chide for keeping my spice cabinet in alphabetical order. The one who keeps her shoes in Closet Fetish boxes with photos on every box. The one whose wine cellar is organized by bin number. And now, you’ll all see why going on a paper diet is going to be a year-long effort.

Drumroll, please… (more…)

Find the chocolate chip cookies

photo: flickr/mrs magic

Yesterday, I scooped up a 4-inch thick file and walked it over to my desk. It was a file of recipes.  How appropriate, since we are going on a paper diet.

Excitedly, I grabbed my hubby. “Watch how fast and painless this is!” I said as I slid a stack of 36 pages into the scanner. “Go ahead, push the button,” I giggled. He didn’t even have to think about which button to press because there’s only one; it’s labeled SCAN and highlighted by an inviting blue light. He was amazed that the scanner sucked those pages through so quickly.

As if that wasn’t enough entertainment for him, (more…)

Super scanner to the rescue

Being an early adopter, I can’t even count the number of scanners I’ve owned over the years. In the early 90s, there was the original PaperPort. Next, a handful of flatbed HP scanners, each new arrival sleeker and less costly than its predecessor. Once, when browsing at an airport kiosk, the former CPA in me fell in love with NeatReceipts, and years later I tried NeatDesk, its big brother.

But ever since the Fujitsu ScanSnap swept me off my feet, I haven’t been able to entertain the thought of another scanner.

This baby rocks.

One button. How simple is that?  (more…)

Paperless does not mean paper-free

Let me be clear about what I’m aiming for here. For my purposes, paperless simply means getting by with less paper. Having a reasonable amount of paper is not a bad thing in my book. I’m certainly not aspiring to eliminate every scrap of paper from my life, in a fanatical kind of way.

Maybe we should think of it as paper-less.

A paper diet for the New Year

This year, I’m actually fairly happy with the readout on my bathroom scale. But it’s January 1st, and I am still going to start a diet: a paper diet. Because over the years I’ve accumulated so much paper that I can no longer walk through my home office comfortably.

It’s everywhere: There are piles on my desk, stacks on the counter and storage boxes on the floor. The closet, cupboards, cubbyholes and filing cabinet are all bursting with paper. Filing never seems to make my priority list, and finding what I need when I need it takes far too long.

Getting my work done in a space full of clutter is such a chore that I often opt to work at Starbucks, my satellite office, where I can concentrate without all the visual distraction that surrounds me when I’m seated at my own desk.

This has got to stop. (more…)