I love paper. As an Artist, paper is my main venue. The feel of a 4B pencil skimming over the silky surface of vellum or whispering against a stiffer rougher bristol is music for my fingers.

But that crap that comes through my mail slot and the receipts I’m supposed to keep for 7 years and checks and packaging and the files that clutter my garage shelves and especially those “online forms” you have to print, sign, and scan, I find super irritating. I really don’t like wasted paper, and worse, I hate keeping it around. I love books. Books are cool.

Except for a growing collection of 3×5 cards which I won’t do without, I thought I was pretty good at keeping extra paper out of my life.

And then I met a master.

Brooks Duncan is the pope of paperless, preaching The Way to a Life Without (my saying, not his) from his pulpit at documentsnap.com. The steps are simple: scan it, tag it so you can find it, back it up, and shred it.

I met Brooks last November at the SimpleREV event in Minneapolis where we both spoke about living simply and intentionally. He’s an outstanding fellow with all the ideas and methods you need to go paperless, and he makes it easy to make big progress.

A File System Based on Roles

Brooks invited me write to his folks about my Filing System that Keeps You Motivated. I don’t think I’ve mentioned this here, but yes, I organize my files by roles, too. Go read it. You’ll find the themes familiar, and you just may also find another way to keep yourself organized and motivated.

Send your comments there please. I want to make sure he feels our attention.