There comes a time in a person’s life when one needs to
get a fresh supply of trash bags, buy a new heavy-duty paper shredder, back the
pick-up truck to the basement door, get out the large party-size coffee maker,
and clear the clutter.
For me, periodically fighting the “Stuff Monster” has been a
survival tool – or I would have been the tragic-lead character in a serial
reality horror show on hoarding a long time ago.
Yet, in my personal journey of a life-long struggle with the
“Stuff Monster,” the deck has always been stacked against me.
For, you see, my situation has been exacerbated by the fact
that I have been self-employed all my life. Many colleagues have been able to
fight the “Stuff Monster” much more easily because all the filing cabinets full
of papers and pallets of boxes in records storage, has been the responsibility
of their respective employers.
Well, with me – since the late 1960s – I’ve been my own
employer and keeping records, documents and stuff has always been my
responsibility.
And, of course, for the last 35 or so years, in addition to
art and farming, I have continuously served on any number of local, county or
state boards, committees or commissions – and for many years, as an elected
official – all of which was accompanied by my bringing home papers, documents
and records by the wheelbarrow load.
[….]
I am trying to go as paperless as possible.
My paperless initiative
is in part, because technology has advanced to the point that I can now handle
many office and administrative functions more efficiently - without paper.
However, my reasons
for going as paperless as possible are in part, as a matter of practicality.
Above and beyond the fact that we travel a lot and are simply not at home to
get hardcopy paper-mail at our post office box; at my advanced age, handling
mountains of paper day-in and day-out has not gotten any easier.
Curiously, after
almost 40-years of office administration, if you hand me a piece of paper, in
several hours, I have no clue as to where it is. However, I always seem to be
able to find electronic paperwork… Caroline will tell you that I have come to
like reading online so much that I scan-in letters and writing-newspaper-research
materials just so that I can read it on the computer…
Moreover, a large
part of my decision to go paperless is a product of my environmental activism,
which in part springs forth from faith beliefs…
Whatever - - I am a
geek and although a few electrons may be inconvenienced; paperless is far more
efficient…
That said, LOL – the
initiative sure has had some interesting moments – and a few profound failures;
however, it has been for the most part, quite successful…
