The paperless office – sounds so futuristic, right? Well it’s not! IT CAN happen and we will tell you how!
We’re in the beginning stages of movies. It’s mad nuts around our house as we declutter and start the process of packing. Surprisingly, the whole decluttering process has been pretty painless, because well – the wife handles that… (she approves of this message – I don’t declutter – I save.)
My task, was the man cave, aka my home office. Let’s just say that “we” have a major problem when it comes to our office desk. The desk is a mess. I put things on the desk, thinking they will be magically taken care of without further thought.
Going paperless is something we’ve done with all of our bills – but there are still things that come in the mail. Going paperless now is more important than ever. I hate wasting time looking for that one odd document that is buried in who knows what box!
This time around, rather than having to worry about which box a certain paper is in, we will be able to get on our computer, open up Evernote and find the document we are looking for.
How to Create a Paperless Office
If you are thinking about going paperless – I’ll show you how we are doing it. Here is How to Go Paperless:
Setup an Evernote Account
If you don’t have an Evernote account, set one up! My wife introduced me to Evernote and I’ve come to appreciate how it neatly organizes documents and makes them easy to find on all of my devices. That being said, using it for our paperless office, is a must.
Get a Scanner
We recently received a ScanSnap iX100 from Fujitsu. Previously we had an all-in-one printer scanner. While it worked, it took work to scan something. To create a paperless office, you need to be efficient and able to get your items digital QUICK and orderly. This ScanSnap scanner does just that.
ScanSnap iX100 Review
The ScanSnap iX100 is light, just 12 ounces. It scans in paper as small as an inch, up to 34 inches long (and it scans plastic!). It’s USB powered and portable. It’s small enough to stick in your bag and can be used with both PC and Mac.
All you do is insert a page and it scans in just a few seconds. It creates a searchable PDF file with the touch of a button and can scan to Evernote for easy categorization.
Scan Everything
Using your scanner, start scanning. Make sure that you are saving your files in Evernote. We have started scanning as much as possible with the ScanSnap.
It’s so easy, we’ve enlisted our 11 year old to help. While ideally everything that is needed in your office is scanned in, start small. We focused on our desks first. All bills, paperwork, IDs were scanned and stored in our Evernote account.
As we were cleaning out the office closet, we came across our kids art box. The SnapScan came to the rescue. We chose the art that resonated most with us and scanned those in. (Confession: I did end up keeping some of the more memorable works of art.)
Throw Away
Throw away everything that you have digitized. I know, sometimes paper is just so hard to let go of, but keep your eye on the prize – a CLEAN and PAPERLESS desk!
Moving Forward
As you move forward, keep on top of scanning documents and don’t let stacks of papers eat your desk alive! The SnapScan is super thin and can fit easily on your desktop or in your drawer and it will help keep you accountable to paperless living.
Thanks again Fujitsu for helping us go paperless. Learn more about the ScanSnap iX100: scanners.fcpa.fujitsu.com/scansnap11