Steven Robbins here. Welcome to the Get It Done Guys quick and dirty tips to work less and do more.

Kim writes in. I hate storing paper. It might be better to scan financial documents and other records and keep them on the computer.

What are the pros and cons? What things do I have to keep on paper?

Great question, Kim. I hate storing paper, too, but remember, the more clutter you have,

the more filing cabinets you have to buy to store it, and thus, the more you're supporting

the economy. But if you truly want to know how to shirk this important civic duty, I can help. First of all,

feel free to scan everything. Anything that you're saving only for yourself can go straight into

your computer. Things like those old love notes, your teenage snuggle bunnies sent you,

or the bad poetry you wrote in response, can be taken out of physical form. In fact, you might be doing

the world a service. But, as you suggest in your message, there are some things you need

to keep around in paper. Any contracts or legal documents with original signatures, I'd keep around.

Stuff like your will, powers of attorney, mortgage documents, condo agreements, keep those in paper.

Though you can take a page from my obsessive compulsive practices, then scan a copy just for backup.

Also, keep anything you'll have to show someone as proof. Think identification stuff,

driver's licenses, passports, insurance cards, birth certificates, and that letter signed by the

president giving you special wartime powers. Those are all worth keeping. One clue is whether a document

is printed on special paper or has some kind of seal of authenticity. Hold it up to the light. Is there a

watermark? If so, look closer. If the watermark is actually the map to long-buried pirate treasure,

handed down from your great-aunt Ethel, then by all means keep the original. In fact,

send it to me for a safekeeping. Anything with a hologram is probably also worth keeping,

especially if it's a hologram of a public figure in an embarrassing position. You never know when you may need leverage.

I checked with the IRS, and their publication 583, page 15, is a gold mine.

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