Do you sometimes wish paper was never invented? (My 1000th Post!)

[AnArmyVeteran]

The Chinese invented many great products like gunpowder, compasses, silk, noodles, forks and paper, just to name a few. But sometimes I wish I could go back in time to remove paper from their list of inventions. Oftentimes, I feel buried in paper everywhere, all of it being kept for some reason or another.

I have a lot of memorabilia, but keepsakes like photographs aren't the problem. I'm a photographer and filmmaker, so having stacks of photographs or scripts isn't as mentally draining as facing a stack of unrelated papers. I have filing cabinets, bins and drawers full of papers, letters from long ago friends, and stacks of IRS papers I'm required to keep. Since I had my own business it means I accumulated a lot of paperwork I have to keep just in case the IRS wants to audit me.

But what of the other paperwork a typical person accumulates? How many others have huge amounts of paper that has gotten to be unmanageable? And how do you purge the seemingly mountains of paper you acquire? Being a writer used to add to my burden, but since I began writing exclusively on desktop computers and then laptops the growth of my paper mountain slowed down.

Any ideas, tips, or methods you would like to share?

Or would you be willing to loan me a box of matches? Or a flamethrower! :)

OR

BTW #1: Paper was either invented in 105 AD or 200 years earlier, according to different history sources. But in both cases, China was the place of origin so we can blame them for those stacks of paper cluttering our houses today.

BTW #2: Now that I reached my 1,000th Post do I win anything? A new car? Cool vacation? Lot's of money? How do I collect my winnings? Will a 'prize patrol' show up at my door today?

[virgogal]

1. No.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

2. At one point I scanned a few hundred 8x10 prints I had.

It's a nuisance, but I did it.

Punchline: I didn't throw out the box of photos, of course, but at least I don't have to dig into the box if I want to work with an image.

[napi21]

3. Yea Paper can be a real PIA, but all those damn stone tablets would be a REAL B BUSTER! nt

[BlooInBloo]

9. Troo fact: we were supposed to have 15 Commandments....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TAtRCJIqnk

[LuvNewcastle]

4. My ass is thankful for paper.

Using corn cobs gets old quick.

[AnArmyVeteran]

12. Then thank the Chinese, not Charmin!

[Heidi]

5. Nope. (nt)

[blue sky at night]

6. corner of 12th street and Broad Blvd....

we have a dumpster in our parking lot at Church...we get money for recycling paper....if you are worried about someone looking at your old bills, well then you have heard of a Shredder?

[BlooInBloo]

7. World without paper = world without books = world not worth living in.

[EFerrari]

8. If you feel overwhelmed by paper, hire or trade someone

to organize you. I've done it for years for a family member. You're still taking care of it if you arrange for it to be done.

ETA: And congrats! :party:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. No. Paper is good.

And recyclable. I like paper; it's what books are made of.

[blogslut]

11. Recycle it

Fire logs from old newspaper:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Intro_1/

Numerous possibilities for recycled paper pulp:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Paper-That-Grows-Recycle-Renew-and-Plant--1/

[Morning Dew]

13. Your 1000 post prize

is a DU commemorative notebook.

Enjoy!

;)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. My dear AnArmyVeteran!

I am more than grateful for the invention of paper!

Some of my most priceless possessions exist there...

Letters...poems...pictures...

I am most grateful for having it!


And...

Biggo congrats on your 1000th post!

Here's to many, many more wonderful, intelligent, smart posts!


:party: :toast: :toast: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :toast: :toast: :party:

[AnArmyVeteran]

18. Thanks CaliforniaPeggy!

What a nice post! Thank you for that! I loved the emoticons too!

I agree with the memorabilia, but all that business stuff! Help! Can I send it all back to China where it was invented? :)

[csziggy]

15. Most of the stuff that has no personal meaning, I have scanned

And stored on CDs. That includes most of my old financial files. The papers that I feel I need to keep for the IRS are stored in plastic shoe boxes, one for each year. Now all my finiancial statements are in electronic format and that is cutting down on what has to be physically stored. I've been keeping my records with Quicken for nearly twenty years now so that saves a lot of hassle. Periodically I burn a couple of copies of that data to CDR and give one copy to my accountant to stash in his files.

I used to have files of manuals for all sorts of gadgets and appliances. These days most of those manuals are easy to find on the internet so I am more likely to toss them, though I do miss the habit I had of stapling the purchase receipt inside the manual so if I needed a repair, I could check the warranty. I used to keep copies of contracts even after the contract was over so I could use them as templates for new contracts. Once those got entered into a word processing program, I keep a folder of contracts in electronic form on the computer.

What I do keep are personal letters and papers. My family has personal correspondence that has been saved for decades. I am in the process of transcribing the letters written back to the family in the mid 1800s from a brother who ran away from home to Australia and New Zealand. Those kinds of records are of so much interest I think they should be preserved in the original format.

Even with all that effort I still have lots of paper. The older I get the harder I work at reducing it, but it seems to multiply worse than coat hangers.

[Tsiyu]

16. Congrats on your 1,000th

I enjoy most of what you write. You get a donut.

:donut: :party:

Have no help to offer with the paperwork...relentless purging, regular bonfires are making a dent for me, but only a dent.

[Mojeoux]

17. Big Pat on the Back! 1000 right on Army Vet!

I like paper. I remember when I was little and I loved to draw so much, my Mom would open up old envelopes for me to color.

I would like all paper to be recycled paper, at least until they decriminalize hemp.

[pipi_k]

19. No. Paper is my friend...

Without paper, there's no books. I love to read, so not having paper for books would suck.


Also...I don't remember stuff so good these days. I have at least a dozen notes all over the house reminding me to do things. Without notes, my life would be chaos.


Hooray for paper! :party:

[JNelson6563]

20. I disagree

What else could've been used on the same scale as paper? If not for paper, made into books, I suspect literacy would've developed thorughout the world even more slowly.

and minus points for tacking on the vanity post part about your post count on a GD thread. I don't understand why people hate the lounge so much they come up with "clever" ways to sneak lounge stuff into GD posts.

Julie