Inbox Zero? How about postal Zero?

No, you don't need paper versions of anything.

One of the signs of transitioning from child to adult is when the post doesn't feel like a fun novelty any more. When I go through stressful patches, or depressed patches, or... anything really, I will spend time receiving post but not opening it. As long as it's in the envelope, it doesn't affect me, right?

Obviously not, right. But what's really silly about past me's logic is that most of the post I get is a duplicate of something I've already got in my email. Health notifications, terms and conditions notices, appeals from charities that I signed up to many years ago... with the only exception of paperwork for elections, they are all things I've already received. And, let's be serious, so have you.

There is also the question about what we do with the papers, and why we might need them in future (I can hear some of my family members' voices at this point!). What if you need them?

You don't need them. You're going to store them, never look at them, end up with heavy folders full of pointless copies of stale information that your descendants will throw out while rolling their eyes, and have to keep them securely until that time. Our paper copies with our addresses, account numbers, policy numbers, health information, even just our addresses, are all an identity theft risk.

But what if I actually need them?

Some professions and organisations will have very specific, very clear exceptions, but us regular pedestrians? You don't need them. About two years ago, I signed up for something and needed to prove my identity, which I couldn't do with any of the items I received by paper anyway - it was download and print statement time, in colour, multiple copies. I printed just what I needed, and just for this purpose, meaning that there weren't any items to lose and put my details at risk either.

We have these exceptions, but we know what to do with them - treat them as the ad hoc exceptions they are. Repeat after me - you don't need them.

So, my five minute task for you today is that the next time you sign up to something, make sure to go paperless, and the next time you receive a letter from an organisation or utility, use that as a reminder to switch to paperless! In a couple of months, the paper mountains will be gone. Shredding is also unexpectedly therapeutic, and if you don't have one at home, you can borrow one from organisations such as The Library of Things, or (within reason) use one in your workplace.