Despite all this, going as paperless as possible is worth doing -- the less paper, the better.
The biggest objection many have is that online records may be less secure. But that's only true sometimes and potentially. Paper records aren't all that secure, either. If you're like most people, you rely on a single paper copy of, say, receipts for taxes. Those are potentially vulnerable to theft, loss, fire and other hazards. If you're careful about encryption and good password management, and retain redundant copies of your records electronically, you can maximize security with all-digital records.
I'm going to tell you which products and services I use and have found to be best for going paperless in your personal life. Interestingly, all of these have emerged since 2006. This is truly a new world of options for going paperless. Here's what I use:
Evernote: I consider Evernote the Mother of All paperless-life enablers. The service lets you type in, paste in, automatically import and otherwise add just about anything -- documents, Web pages, photographs and other stuff. It all just goes into your Evernote account, which is then synchronized with the online, desktop and mobile phone versions and indexed for search. All of it is free unless you upgrade to the Premium version ($45 per year).
The coolest thing Evernote does, in my opinion, is that it finds words in your pictures, and indexes those words for search. That means you can use your camera phone or a digital camera to snap away at everything, then find it later with a Google-like search. The iPhone has a spectacular Evernote app that lets you capture pictures and upload them to Evernote by pushing three buttons.
Shoeboxed: Shoeboxed provides postage-paid envelopes. You stuff them full of business cards, receipts and invoices, and drop them in the mail. In two or three days, all the data on those paper documents show up online, and in a form you can use. Business card data, for example, flows right into your e-mail or contacts software, and receipts flow right into your budgeting software or services.
Evernote announced a deal with Shoeboxed this week that enables the two services to work together. Your Shoeboxed stuff goes right into Evernote.
Shoeboxed costs at least US$10 per month. I consider Shoeboxed a nice convenience, but not necessary. You can do the same thing with a digital camera. It just takes a lot longer.
Earth Class Mail: Unless you're familiar with Earth Class Mail, you may think there's no way to make paper snail mail digital. Earth Class Mail gives you a new address in the city of your choice, which you provide to every person and company that sends you mail as if you've moved to that address. Earth Class Mail receives your mail, and scans the outsides of the envelopes for you to look at online. If you click on a button that tells them to open it, the inside documents show up online for you to read. You can also opt for them to recycle, store or send the mail either before or after they open it.