Ask Slashdot: How To Go Paperless At Home?

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Ask Slashdot: How To Go Paperless At Home?

Posted by timothy on Saturday February 11, 2012 @05:48AM from the zippo-would-like-to-help dept.

THE_WELL_HUNG_OYSTER writes "Over the years, I've had numerous scanners equipped with automatic document feeders — and all of them jam or grab multiple pages at a time (thereby missing pages). Like you, I've got years of tax returns and legal documents to scan, but with these kinds of barriers, it would take months to scan everything. Enterprise-grade machines cost 5 figures. How do Slashdotters become paper-free?"

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You don't have to BUY a machine by chronosan · 2012-02-11 05:58 · Score: 5, Insightful

Find someone who'll rent one to you.
Re:Evernote by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-11 05:59 · Score: 5, Insightful

Better yet, use the roundfile. 99.999% of all paperwork doesn't need to exist, much less be saved digitally. Even tax documents sunset in just a few years.
Do you think it's worth it? by jcreus · 2012-02-11 06:01 · Score: 5, Insightful

All those tax returns, legal paperwork... Can't they just stay on a box or at the basement? It'll require lots of work, and get few benefits. I would understand for new documents; i.e. introducing to a spreadsheet some taxes/things to pay. But why care about the past? Or, at least, why scan? Just type the figures, it'll be more semantic and wouldn't involve machines (except for you and the computer).
"How to go Paperless at Home?" by John+Hasler · 2012-02-11 06:18 · Score: 5, Insightful

Install a bidet.

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Re:Outsource it. by mj1856 · 2012-02-11 06:25 · Score: 5, Insightful

Why the hell would you give the guy at Kikos a box of your tax returns and legal documents? Especially since you are asking him to scan them! It only takes a minute for him to make his own digital copy and poof! There goes your identity.
Re:Huh? by devilspgd · 2012-02-11 06:33 · Score: 5, Insightful

Seriously. It is much, much harder to keep records electronically than to throw the pieces of paper into a file cabinet and forget about it. This is well documented.
True. Equally well documented is how much easier it is to index paper by multiple keys, as well as rapidly resort and search file cabinets. Oh wait, no, that's electronically stored documents.
Seriously, storing paper is a ton easier and it works for many purposes. Until you move, or have a fire, or your basement floods, or you need a copy of that letter you received from your insurance company 18-24 months ago confirming a change to your home because they're now claiming they weren't informed you're using natural gas instead of electric heat and are declining a $250,000 insurance claim after the aforementioned fire.
But sure, paper is easier to throw into a file cabinet and forget about.

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Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day, but teach a man to phish...