This battle has been going on for a very long time at my place but I do believe it’s over, thanks to a cool little gadget my husband bought for me while we were in Palm Springs at the start of the year (I think he realized how nice I could be when I was away from my desk!).

You may have seen the Neat on TV (it’s a desktop scanner and digital filing system), the ads are super annoying, which is why I had never considered it before, and it’s not inexpensive (between $350 and $400 with a 30 day free trial), but for my money, worth it.

The old theory that you should only touch each piece of paper on your desk once is do-able now.  I open the envelope, pay the bill or take whatever action is needed, I run the piece of paper quickly through the scanner beside me (highlighting where on the screen the digital file should end up) and then I shred that piece of paper.

If you have a 10 page document the Neat will scan it with page numbers.  It will do both sides at once, or just one side.  Black and white or color, whatever you specify.

The ads do promise that the Neat will analyze and label your documents, saving you typing a label each time, and I don’t think they have the technology down on this, but maybe in future models.

I have always hated filing and now I don’t need to do it any more! I’ve had the Neat for 6 months (I paid full price) and I can say with confidence, the paper war has been won and the sense of satisfaction when you have nothing left after a few hours of work but a clear desk and some shredded paper, is great. If I sound a little evangelical about this product, I am! I really do hate filing.

You can buy the Neat here, but you might get it cheaper here.

green tips:

-I sprinkle the shredded paper over my discarded fruit and vegetable peelings in my compost bin (avoid shredding glossy colored paper – it may contain toxic heavy metals)

-as I become more paperless, digital bills and receipts can be dragged and dropped into the Neat filing system.