So. Much. Paper.

I had started my Financial Friday post midweek last week and then we had a Murphy hit Thursday evening which threw off my whole writing schedule for the night. So my weekend got started early and with a rough start. That being said, I was sitting down tonight to empty out my purse. It is a wonderful, spacious purse that carries my cloth envelope system and my cloth wallet (both from Etsy) as well as a few assorted things like my youngest child’s allergy medication in case of a reaction, change, a power cord for my phone, a travel package of Kleenex, lip balm. You get the idea. I like starting my week with things in order. This includes my purse and my budget spreadsheet.

As I was sorting through my purse’s contents, it really hit me that I had SO many receipts and paper bits in there! One kid’s Sunday School coloring page, the grocery list, receipts from ordering my new eye wear and a couple of grocery store stops as well as receipts from a fast food stop or two.

When I was putting my receipts for my eye wear in my filing system, I realized I had more stacks of paper that needed to be sorted and filed. I know I have mentioned my files and piles before and suggested a few ways to minimize in an earlier post but because I am experiencing paper creep again, it is a topic near and dear to my heart at the moment. I am not talking about paper creep of large documents either. I am referring to the small bits we accumulate from our small, daily purchases that seem to get wadded up in the bottoms of bags or – heaven forbid – shoved into pockets that are then run through the washing machine.

Funny side story: I use to procrastinate at bath time when I was younger and I would read. Well, my mom didn’t like me spending so much time lounging in the bathroom with a book. I would start to hide them. One time, I hide a favorite paperback in the dirty laundry basket. I forgot to get it back out and the book went through the wash. I spent a LOT of time picking out wads and chunks of my novel from inside the washing machine drum and then off the clothing before washing them all again. That was a fun life lesson to learn: pick better hiding places for my books.

Sorry, back on topic. Some of the places we go to will ask if you want a receipt. Do you truly need it? Is the receipt something you will use for taxes or perhaps to turn in for a business expense or reimbursement? Sometimes we do need those receipts – I always keep gas receipts in case I get a tank of bad gas – but sometimes they offer receipts electronically. Perhaps you could select this option for some of the places you frequent. You would still have access to a receipt but it would be electronic and thus no requiring paper unless you needed to print it for a later reason. I would suggest if you have a lot of places offering this in your area, perhaps set up an email account that is solely for electronic receipts. This way, they do not clutter up the inbox of your main email address.

Also, shred what you can. Our pharmacy offers a printout at the end of the calendar year if we want that shows how much we spent on prescriptions. This means I do not have to keep each little receipt from the store every time I have purchased a medication. Considering we have four family members, this could add up to a lot of scraps of paper. Then at the end of the year when we start to compile tax documents, if we feel we spent enough to justify itemizing medical expenses, we can reach out for a printout. This has happened twice in our lives and both times were when we had our boys. Every other year, it has not been a big enough expenditure to bother with.

I also end up with a lot of lists in my purse. Grocery lists, to-do lists, notes from conversations, etc. I truly never know what I might find in there. However, thanks to technology, I could reduce my paper usage and utilize apps on my phone for those things! Or order groceries for curbside pickup. With that service, I can use my computer to order my grocery needs and then they bring it to my car at a predetermined time. Saves me time and paper!

With technology, we can negate the use of several paper items in our lives. E-billing, electronic receipts, scheduling and reminder applications on our phones… start thinking of what paper scraps you are constantly digging out of the console of your car and how you might forgo bringing them into your life. You can always refuse a receipt from the drive through food place!

Go green, my fellow Texans, and think outside the paper box!