How I Decluttered My Giant Stack of Notebooks, Once & for All

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I began my journey to declutter the volumes of paper I’d amassed like I do most daunting tasks: with equal parts trepidation and determination. After spending months sorting through, organizing, and recycling my excessive paper belongings, I knew I never wanted to (nor could I mentally and physically) commit to such an undertaking ever again. The primary culprits? Copies of old manuscripts, drafts of books in various stages of progress, and dozens of notebooks where I’d written out the stories before I typed them.

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I put myself on a moratorium, committing to use or gift the paper products I had before purchasing more. I became more mindful of my habits, waiting to print almost-final drafts for review instead of first or far-from-finished versions. But it wasn’t enough. Notebooks and journals continued to find their way into my house—just at a slower pace. My stack of completed manuscripts and works-in-progress was thinner, but it was still a stack and one that would only continue to grow taller over time if I kept using paper.

I just couldn’t imagine giving up paper!

I loved the feel as my pen glided across the page. When I’d read my printed drafts and manuscripts, I discovered errors that I hadn’t seen while editing onscreen. And what could replace the joy of writing in a new notebook or journal? Younger friends often laughed at my antiquated methods, claiming that not only was I wasting paper, but I was also wasting an even more precious resource: time.

As a ’70s baby, I didn’t grow up with a computer or the Internet, so I viewed tech advancements with equal parts awe and suspicion. It’s taken years for me to stop saving files on a thumb drive and desktop (just in case!), so the idea of 1) writing my books on something besides paper, and 2) saving files to something called “the cloud” didn’t sound appealing. When I got an iPad Mini, I constantly struggled with writing on the slick screen. After searching for paperless writing solutions, I came across Paperlike, a screen protector with a texture that feels like paper (hence the name). It’s been a game changer.

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The Paperlike comes in eight different sizes for your iPad. The whole application process took less than five minutes; if you’ve ever put a screen protector on your phone, it’s intuitive, but I still watched a video online to avoid any air bubbles. Then it was time to write. Much to my surprise, the matte finish mimicked the feel of paper. Even better, when my Apple pencil glided across the screen, it felt like I was actually writing on paper!

Each Paperlike set costs about $40 and comes with two screen protectors, but after several months of regular use, I haven’t had to use my replacement. This might be different for artists or other creatives who use their devices beyond writing, but for me, the few visible handwritten scratches are just fine and don’t affect continued use.

I use GoodNotes and Notability and haven’t had to adjust how I write with Paperlike. In GoodNotes, I can create as many digital notebooks as I want (bonus: I can also select the style of paper I need from lined to grids to dotted!). Notability is great to scan in already-printed pages, and for taking notes and organizing projects. Both apps can convert your handwriting into text. And with the screen protector, I truly feel like I have the best of both the written and digital worlds.

I’ve recommended Paperlike to several writers and artists, all of whom love how the screen protector has made their work feel a bit more traditional while cutting down on actual paper. I mean, if it feels like paper, it must be, right?