In fact, the IRS has not required a taxpayer to keep the actual, original, paper, “hard copy” version of a receipt or other tax-related paper documentation item since 1997.  As a result, you can store images of receipts and other paper documentation in electronic form instead of in paper form.  If you’re so inclined to read all the details, IRS Bulletin No. 1997-13, dated March 31, 1997, outlines the requirements of electronic storage systems starting on page 9:  http://ftp.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb97-13.pdf

In 1872, Thomas Hardy wrote in Under the Greenwood Tree, “waste not, want not.”  This is not just another idiom destined to gather dust in grandma’s closet, but a concept in our modern era that is being embraced by private and public sectors alike. 

In 1987, the UN World Commission on Environment and Development, under Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Bruntland, provided the first definition of the term “sustainable development,” as that which “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”  Waste not, want not, and your kids and your kids’ kids won’t have to go without.

While your home or office may have been built or retrofitted to “green” standards, just how “green” is your actual office?  While recycling soda pop cans is an important and easy way to begin the “greening” process, it’s not the only thing you can do to make your workspace sustainable.

If you’re reading this website, you are likely to already have access to the technologies that will enable you to implement a SUSTAINABLE office space, one that works today, but won’t adversely impact tomorrow.  It’s a process, and the first step is to decide to act.

Paper is out; e-storage is in.  Save paper, save time, save space, save money.  Now who doesn’t want to save money?  Green is the new black.