How paperless I am?

Last year around this time when I was doing a year-end computer backup and paper shred, I thought it would be interesting to find out just how much paper comes into my life in a year.  So, I decided that instead of shredding it throughout the year, I'd save it in an expandable file this year to see just how big the pile would be after a year. 

The results are below:

 

After 12 months, I ended up with a 3-inch pile of paper.  It includes everything I wasn't able to "avoid" -- receipts, insurance forms and policies, tax packages, a few things from clients, and credit-card offers.   Except for the credit-card junk, I scanned everything as I received it, so as soon as I do my year-end computer back up, I'll shred the pile.

So, what did I learn from this?  Well, I think I've reached the point where I'm as "paperless" as possible right now.  I've checked with several of my "paper sources" to see if I they can turn off the stream, but the answer, for now, is no.  For example, probably half is comprised of insurance policies and statements of benefits, but my insurance companies say that state law requires them to provide this stuff on paper.  On the plus side, with the economy tanking, the flow of credit card offers ought to be slowing down soon...