niteflytes's Profile

I went paperless almost 5 years ago. It was a huge time investment in the beginning. If you have access to a scanner with automatic document feed then use it. It will save your sanity.

At first I went digital to save space but there have been benefits that I didn't anticipate when I first went digital. I use Dropbox and I can access my files with my phone. It has saved me from having to run home for a forgotten document that I needed for an application, it has helped me answer questions at the doctor's office, and it has made dealing with personal business at the office much quicker and easier and has been invaluable when I find I need a receipt or proof of something because the business or agency can't find their record of the service or transaction. One of biggest benefits is having OLD documents available. There have been so many times in the past 5 years that I've needed a personal, "historical" document or receipt and the space those documents take up is minimal. In fact, the space in general for personal documents is minimal.

I also scan owner's manuals but first I try to find a digital copy on the net that I can download.

Here are my tips for going paperless

1. Choose a file format for your documents and be consistent. I scan everything in as a PDF.

2. If you can use a scanner with ADF, scan in everything at once and use a program like PDF Split & Merge to split up the documents.

3. Backup, backup, backup. It doesn't take much time or cost. I have my files on my hard drive, an external drive, a thumb drive and Dropbox. Use what you have available to backup your files before you go out and purchase something. There are so many gadgets these days that can store files that there should be a minimal cost to backup. I'm thinking old iPods or other music players, old smart phones, a significant others computer, the storage space your ISP gives you to create a website, cloud services, thumb drives or SD cards and probably more that I haven't thought of.

4. Scan new documents ASAP. It's so much faster and easier to scan one or two items than a large stack.

5. If it's something you're going to need for more than a few months then scan it.

What I scan...
a. receipts for large purchases or anything that I may need to make a warranty claim on in the future
b. pay stubs
c. insurance documents
d. auto maintenance and repair documents
e. Loan documents
f. Lease and housing documents
g. Medical documents like shot records, etc.
h. Vet records
i. Tax documents including tax returns
j. Legal documents
k. Bank & credit card statements (can usually download these)
l. Any other important documents

What I keep a paper copy of...
Not much but there are those odds and ends that shouldn't be scanned and shredded like savings bonds, diplomas, birth certificates, social security cards, sentimental documents (such as the foot prints the hospital made of my daughter after she was born), etc. Those items I keep in a fire safe box.

I live on the bottom floor and had a great upstairs neighbor. His dog would go "wild" after coming in from a walk, but it only lasted a minute or two and was not during any odd hours of the day or night. His floor squeaked in a few spots, and we heard the occasional "bowling ball" falling to the floor. I not only got used to the sounds but they they were comforting in the sense that the sounds were regular and became familiar. He recently moved out and I miss the familiar noises and worry that when new neighbors move in upstairs their noises will bother me. It helped that he was a really nice neighbor and would come running downstairs to check on us if he heard the smoke alarm go off.

My 21 year old daughter, in college, lives with me. When she's in classes her stuff is EVERYWHERE, like a tornado went through. That drives me nuts. The cat box living in her bathroom drives her nuts.

I lost my zebra, have you seen him?

Cat, light (when I'm sleeping), clutter. I have a TV but don't watch it much, except when folding clothes.

Space heaters do not save $. They use a LOT of energy. You will use more energy using one little space heater to warm up a room than you will by using your furnace to warm up the average sized home (unless you live in a mansion at which point you can afford to run space heaters in every room).

I have allergies and asthma and an AC is medically necessary. A lot of people need to have an AC for health reasons, especially the elderly and children under 5. Neither can regulate their body temperate as well as the rest of us. I'd love to be able to go with out the AC and save money and every year I wait as long as possible to turn it on but in the end the allergies and asthma win.

meganborg, what's cruel about using Soft Paws? They are a humane alternative to de-clawing. They don't cause any pain or discomfort. I know because my cat wears them on her front claws and they don't bother her at all. They fall off eventually as the nails grow and have to be replaced. I have no need to frighten her with spray bottles, don't have to get upset with her for tearing up anything or scratching me when we play so it's less stress for me and the cat.