90 Day Challenge – Day 2 – Examining Your Environment – Purge the Paper

Now that we have had the cell phone talk, it’s time to direct our focus to the office environment, whether you work from home or the office or both.  So for Day 2 of the challenge – let’s pledge to save some trees, go green, get organized… in other words  Purge the Paper!

Does the picture look familiar?  If it does, here are just a few facts and tools to help you along.

Did you know that according to Chapter 475 of the Florida Statues that the only file that should exist on any real estate transaction is the office file?  An agent may only keep a duplicate record.  So look around you at all of those filing cabinets and drawers and ask yourself – what is in those cabinets that shouldn’t be there?

Keep that file going until closing.  Once you have everything closed go to the Xerox machine that scans in your office.

Put the papers in the feeder just like you are going to copy them and press the email button.  A menu should appear that has a “TO” button- press that and enter your own email address.  Drop off the paper file at your MLS office to be put in storage with the office file.  When you get back to your desk – your file will now be in your email.  Save the file to your desk top and name it by address and client.  VIOLA – no more paper, and now what to put in all of those file drawers?

Now that we have your desk and file cabinets cleared up for the time being, here are a few more tools to help you go paperless.

1. Use ewm.com as a company rolodex.  No need for phone lists – just click this link and search by any part of the agent’s name.
2. When you print brochures for a property, only print what you need at the time.
3. Want a great little scanner for your desk at home?  Try a Scan Snap.  This one has a sheet feeder so you can scan more than one sheet of paper at a time.
4. Does your cell phone have a camera?  Take a picture of that receipt and email it to yourself.  Save in an expenses file on your computer.

5. 

   We hope to offer you efax numbers soon but in the meantime you can subscribe to an efax service.  What that means is that you offer a fax number and your faxes come to your email instead of to a fax machine.  Great for contracts and the email can be forwarded.  A recommdation from Vickie Arcuri in the Las Olas office – http://www.packetel.com
   $23.70 for 6 months
   Enter this promo code when joining to get 1 free month:  “zvwrk36193”
   They give you a local phone number.  When people fax to that number, the fax automatically gets sent to an e-mail address of your choice as a PDF attachment.

6. 

   Are you still using a notepad?  Try Jott.com.  Simply call Jott and tell us where you want your message to go. We capture your voice, turn it into text, and send it to the destination you chose.  I use this one all the time.  I keep the 800 number in my cell phone and call in my thoughts while driving around.  This one is really cool and there are Blackberry and iPhone apps to make it even easier!  I use the free version – works just fine.

Did you miss Day 1?  Read more.

Have a great paper saving idea?  Please share.