Five easy steps to going (almost) paperless

Posted: May 01, 2013

Paper is everywhere. We use it on a daily basis to do the most simple of tasks. However, there are some cases where too much paper is a bad thing. If you find yourself swamped in a copious amount of files, it may be time to rethink your current filing system.

Paper is everywhere. We use it on a daily basis to do the most simple of tasks. However, there are some cases where too much paper is a bad thing. If you find yourself swamped in a copious amount of files, it may be time to rethink your current filing system.

It's over between me and my file cabinet. Six drawers full of dead trees. Total weight: a gargantuan 194.7 pounds of paper. I can't think of any less useful way to utilize home office space, especially when most of the contents, once filed, will never be touched again. I’m also gearing up to move, and the thought of packing, unpacking, and refiling all that stuff made me even more eager to end the relationship, pronto.

My goal wasn’t necessarily to get rid of every scrap of paper (an impossibility in some cases, as I’ll discuss), but at least I wanted to get it all down to a single file cabinet drawer. Here's how I did it, and you can, too.

1. Sift and sort ruthlessly

Sifting through nearly 200 pounds of paperwork is a Herculean task that took me the better part of two full afternoons. If you’re embarking on a similar quest, this first step is easily the most difficult but also the most rewarding part of the process.

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