The Paper Diet: My Quest to Be Paper Thin

Recently I have been thinking about what it means to "go paperless." At Manilla, it's a topic that is on everyone's mind. The whole team at Manilla was attracted to the company for its promise to help people get rid of the clutter and disorganization of bills, statements, and paper mail while helping to save trees and the planet. That's a big promise.

We can't deliver on the promise today, and we can't do it alone. But we can help and so can you. From greeniacs to productivity nerds, it seems like everyone is trying to follow on the trend to "go paperless." #paperless is even a trending topic on Twitter. But, what does paperless really mean? Even though we're reading books on our Kindles, taking notes on our iPads, and paying bills on our smartphones, in 2011, is paperless possible?

I don't think so. I am not ready to give up birthday cards or gossip magazines, and I think Kleenex are more my style than handkerchiefs. But, I am more than ready to part with paper bills, statements, offers, files, folders, coupons, business cards, notepads, calendars, napkins, and printed copies of basically anything that can stay digital. So instead of setting an unattainable goal for myself of going completely paperless, I am embarking a paper diet. While paperless may not be possible, less paper certainly is.

Here are the guardrails of my paper diet:

Who can follow a diet without allowing a few cheats? Paper "cheats" allowed: tissues, toilet paper, paper cards and invitations addressed to me, magazines, books purchased pre-Kindle era.

I hope my paper diet will inspire you to start getting rid of unnecessary and wasteful clutter where you can. Plus, I could use the support of fellow dieters.

Wish me luck!