Go Paperless on a Budget

!±8± Go Paperless on a Budget

So, you've decided to go paperless. You're not going to get any argument from me. Uncluttering and de-stressing by getting rid of the piles of paper in your life is a great move and one you won't regret.

You might be surprised to learn that you don't have to spend an arm and a leg to make the transition to a paperless office or home. There are a number of easy ways to go paperless on a budget, using tools that you might already have.

1. Reduce paper at the source

The first, and almost always free way to dramatically reduce the paper in your life is to reduce the amount of it that gets to you in the first place.

These days, most banks, vendors, utilities, and other businesses offer a paperless option. Sign up for it. Not only are you helping the environment, but you are making your life easier too.

Just make sure that whenever possible, you download your statements to your computer so that you don't have to worry about things only being available online for a certain amount of time.

2. Use The OCR Software And Scanner You Already Have

While I usually recommend a high speed scanner with a document feeder like the Fujitsu ScanSnap, if you are on a budget chances are you already have a scanner built into an all-in-one printer. Using a flatbed scanner will be slower, but it is do-able.

If you don't have or want a scanner, believe it or not you can even use the camera on your mobile phone. Many people do their scanning this way.

If at all possible, I recommend making your PDF documents searchable. Doing this is called Optical Character Recognition, or OCR.

Chances are if you already have a scanner, you already will have OCR software that came with it. Use that and you should be fine.

3. Use The Document Management Features Built Into Your Computer

While document management software is great, chances are you can get by with the built in features of your operating system.

Sort your documents into folders, and if you have made them searchable, Mac users can use Spotlight (the box at the top right of your screen) to search for information inside the PDF. Windows users can use Windows Search that is built in to recent versions of Windows, or you can download it for free if you have XP. Google Desktop is also a great option, and is free as well.

4. Make It A Habit

Most importantly, going paperless will not work if you don't make it a part of your regular routine. You don't need anything fancy for this. Just set up a reminder in Google Calendar, Remember The Milk, Outlook, or whatever you already use for reminders, and set it to remind you to do your scanning every few days. When you break it up like that, it makes it very easy to keep going.

These are some simple, and in most cases free, tips to help you go paperless on a budget. Good luck!

Go Paperless on a Budget

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Going Paperless - How to Start and Establish My Paperless Office

!±8± Going Paperless - How to Start and Establish My Paperless Office

If you have a small business office or home office, chances are you have paper documents stacked (or scattered) on your desk, in folders, binders, inboxes, shoe boxes and probably a large bulky file cabinet or two. With today's computer technology, now is the time to establish and move towards a "Paperless Office". Here's how your small business or home office can get started in "going paperless".

At bare minimum, the "tools" you will need are a computer (or laptop) and a document scanner. Depending on the available storage you have on your computer, you may want to add additional hard-drive space either through an external or internal hard drive.

Next you should define a well-designed folder structure (directory structure on your computer) that will give you a simple and logical organization of where you store your electronic documents. Having all your files in one directory, or in a poorly thought out directory structure will quickly make your paperless office confusing and inefficient.

Second, you need to define a standard file-naming convention. This file-naming standard will be used for every document you scan into your computer. If you do not have a consistent way of naming your files, then as your paperless office grows, you will have a difficult time finding documents and managing your files.

Once you have your tools (computer and document scanner), and you've defined your folder structure and file-naming standards, you are ready to start managing your paperless office. I recommend focusing on current documentation first. Start with current papers cluttering your desk and inbox. Start scanning them into your computer, name your documents according to your file-naming convention and save them in the appropriate folders. Now enjoy shredding and/or recycling that physical paper document.

Once you have cleared your desk and inbox, you can begin the scanning and recycling process with the rest of your hard-copy documents. You will still need a small file cabinet or some physical storage in your office for critical and important "original" hard-copy documents. You probably do not want to shred the title to your cars or your birth certificates. But you will be amazed at how much physical space you can free up and how much clutter you can get rid of when you go paperless in your small and home office.

Going Paperless - How to Start and Establish My Paperless Office

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