Paperless with Evernote?

For the past few months I have exploring the best way to go paperless. Currently, the biggest source of paper that is not recycled within a short period of time after receiving it is bills. I have always paid my bills and them file them away. Rarely, do I go back and reference these pieces of paper but I always like to have that option available. That is why I can not justify investing any significant amount of money in a paperless system. I already own a scanner and storage devices so I would like to use what I have.

The other obstacle I have come up against is the need to share information with my wife. She is competent on her computer skills but does not care to experiment with technology like I do. As most married men would say, my goal is to keep her happy without spending a lot of money. A task few men will probably ever master.

After reading a number of blog entries the Fujitsu ScanSnap is very well received by those that have ventured into the paperless world. It looks like a great product but I see no reason to purchase an additional scanner to fulfill my paperless desires.

I also came across software called 42 tags that seeks to assist those seeking a paperless world. One of the great features I like about this software is that the files are stored in a non-propriety format. I have seen many organizations reluctant to try new software due to legacy data issues. Therefore, I knew this was a must have feature in my paperless system. After trying this software I found that without an Optical Character Reader (OCR) and the inability to view pdfs within the software 42 tags just would not work for me.

I had seen Evernote mentioned on Lifehacker as a note-taking tool but not as a paperless solution. After viewing the Evernote informational video I knew this was something I need to try. The OCR feature is what first sold me. The ability to input and retrieve data via various devices are also great features. I also like the ability 'clip' information from web pages. In fact I have quit bookmarking pages and instead clip them to Evernote. I have found it much easier to find a page that I was looking for.

At this time, I have not taken the leap to move all my paper into Evernote. Security is my greatest concern. The premium version of Evernote provides security via SSL so I will have to give that a try. As I stated earlier, my journey into the paperless world is one that I am not taking alone. Therefore, the ability to easily share secure data will also be a concern.

I will post more as my travels into a paperless world continues.

Tags: 42 tags, EverNote, ScanSnap