Going Paperless

At least, as much as I can.

For years, people have been talking about the paperless office, an idealized concept in which all documents and communications are of the electronic variety. I don’t know about anyone else, but looking around my office, it is far from paperless. Sure, a lot of once was done on paper is now done via electronic means, but I still have more paper around my office than I’d like.

Still, the situation at my office is far better than at home. Every day I receive reams of paper in my mailbox that I do not need. Magazines (I never read and have unsubscribed from), catalogs (from which I’ve never ordered—opting instead for their web sites), weekly circulars (for stores I never shop at), credit card offers (for cards I’d never get), and bills (which I suppose I need, sort of).

In an effort to rid myself of the piles of junk I either shred or recycle every week, and save a few trees, I did two things. First, I signed up for paperless billing from all of my utilities and paperless documents from my bank and credit union. The immediate benefit of this, besides not having my mailbox filled with paper is archival. Bank statements take up room in filing drawers and that room runs out quickly. Bills just get shredded, because I have no desire for them to take up what little room isn’t being taken by bank statements. By opting for electronic delivery, I can save as many bank statements and bills as I want—for years—and it takes less space on my hard drive than my photo collection.

Second, I signed up for GreenDimes, which advertises itself as a way to stop junk mail and save the environment. Initially, I was going to sign up for the free account and use their pointers to manage the junk mail myself. Then I noticed that the $20 fee for their premium service is a one-time fee, not a subscription. So I opted for this service, to free myself of the hassle of freeing myself from junk mail. I don’t know how effective this service will be, but I’ll report back in a couple of months on the relative success or failure of it.

One thing I found odd about GreenDimes was the $1 offer. There are three options for this nominal sum: receive it as a check in the mail; use it to plant a tree on my behalf; or receive a free trial issue of Plenty, the magazine of hip, green living. I can’t help but think this is a test. The irony of the first and third options was immediately apparent to me.

I still receive periodical publications from memberships. My bank, AAA, Costco, and the Zoological Society of San Diego. Most of the time, these magazines go unread. I save some (Zoonooz) and toss the rest into the recycle bin. Still, if possible, I’d like to receive these electronically as well. A PDF file is far more environmentally-friendly, and takes up less space, than a print magazine.