How to Go Totally Paperless

Going paperless might sound like a worthy pursuit but an unrealistic goal.

It is within reach, though -- if you're willing to invest some time and energy.

Here's how you can make your home paperless, whether you're new to the idea or ready for advanced tactics.

Beginner

Look for alternatives to paper: When possible, choose reusable cloth products -- napkins, dishtowels, coffee filters, etc. -- over their disposable counterparts.

Reuse paper before you recycle it: If it's only printed on one side, let your kids use it as drawing paper. Use old envelopes or strips of used paper for grocery lists, and use shredded paper as filler in packages.

Remember: Don't print anything unless you have to. When you do print, use both sides of the page and, when possible, squeeze more than one page onto each side.

Intermediate

Take paper out of your daily routine: Instead of using Post-It notes for your to-do list, keep an electronic version on your computer or cell phone. Use a digital calendar instead of a paper one. If you tend to take a lot of notes, like paperless undergraduate Robert Burdock, consider investing in a tablet PC.

Instead of using cookbooks or files of recipe clips, use a laptop on your kitchen counter for quick recipe searches (just be sure to keep the computer far from splatters and spills). Stop printing your digital photos; instead, display them in digital frames.

Reduce the amount of paper that enters your home: Sign up for online bill payment. By viewing and paying your bills online, you'll greatly reduce the amount of paper entering and leaving your home.

Switch to online newspaper and magazine subscriptions. Then stop junk mail: If you're on a mailing list that you don't want to be on, call the organization and ask to be taken off the list. For a fee, 41 Pounds promises to stop 80% to 95% of your household's junk mail for five years. Catalog Choice lets you decline unwanted catalogs free.

Advanced

Stop buying books: Instead, visit the library. The electronically included might buy a digital reader like the Sony Reader Digital Book or the Amazon Kindle and make any new purchases online.

If you're exceptionally gung-ho, scan your existing books and upload them to your digital reader. Then donate the paper copies to a local school or library, or sell them to a used-book store.

Scan, save and shred: Empty your file cabinets. Scan all of your bills and statements and save them as .pdfs. Then create a "file cabinet" on your hard drive. Using the file labels from your real file cabinet, create folders within your electronic file cabinet and save each of your scanned documents in the appropriate folder. For instance, save all your electric bills to the folder "electric bills," all your pay stubs to the folder "pay stubs," and so on.

If this process sounds a little intimidating, there are software packages that can help. Check out the Runningman Software digital file cabinet or Papermaster Pro .

No matter how you set up your electronic file cabinet, you'll need to make plenty of backups on external hard drives, DVDs or online data storage sites such as Mozy and .mac . Once you've got everything stored digitally, go ahead and shred the originals.

After you've established your digital file cabinet, you can use it to store important new paper documents like receipts for home renovations. Scan and save them as .pdf files in the appropriate computer folder, then shred the originals. (For some especially important documents, such as a birth certificate or car title, it may be necessary to save the original.)