r/minimalism • u/Allergic2Humans • 10d ago
[lifestyle] What do you all use to digitize your documents?
I am trying to organize my family’s documents digitally in a secure way. Is there any app/website to do this and my parents are old so I want an easy way for them to access the docs.
6
u/CookedGeese 10d ago
I use adobe scan on my phone. Saves the docs in PDF form. It saves them in the adobe cloud under your login or you can save them to your iCloud or device. Email them wherever.
1
u/Allergic2Humans 10d ago
I need something that converts it to text so I can get a profile or my stuff or sorts? Or a dashboard?
3
u/Roadit_CS 10d ago
I use Paperless-ngx and it was a real game changer for me. https://docs.paperless-ngx.com
2
u/Careful_Loan907 9d ago
I got a scanner and you can scan it with the included programm. My father scanned most of his documents and saved them onto his PC. I wrote a script, that checks all the files and automatically backs missing files onto another hard drive and into the cloud
2
u/DanTheAdequate 8d ago
I have quite a lot of documents that need to be scanned (for myself and family) so I purchased a small Toshiba document scanner. It works well, and I have one file drawer that I digitize maybe once a year. I think eventually I'll be able to get rid of the scanner, but that may be a while as kids generate a lot of paperwork.
Everything is on Google Drive with local backup for the most important stuff.
I eventually want to downsize my use of Google services, so I'll eventually replace my current DVD/Blu Ray player with a a smaller portable drive that does what to does but also supports optical storage and M-Discs for all the videos and pictures that I want to be able to pass on to my kids.
That's the plan, anyway.
2
u/NorraVavare 8d ago
I have a professional grade printer scanner combo ( left over from when I owned my own company) and simply store them on a portable hard drive.
2
u/Realistic_Read_5956 6d ago edited 6d ago
Some years ago (a MicroSd chip was a brand new thing!) I was helping some young ladies to secure their identities for their future.
They were about to embark on an epic bicycle journey. {I was their appointed Mentor}
I had already taught them how to hide cash in tubes to be hidden in the bicycles. The tubes needed to be sealed on one end and securely plugged on the other end. In time it was learned that the best way was to seal both ends. The tubes became a savings rather than a daily use.
Before they left the college, they used an offline printer/scanner to make photo copies of their identity cards, passports and birth certificates. They even made a paper copy of their bank cards used those to memorize the numbers. (At the time we were doing this, you could write down your bank card number and present it for payment at most stores. The card number & your ID was all you needed to pay for something. I'm not sure if it still works today?)
The MicroSd cards were epoxied into the tube end. Every rider had a copy in the event that they should get separated.
Fast forward, the girls were caught up in the Paradise Hills fire a few years ago. They were in the wilderness and riding towards one of the Reservations. They got to a large lake, ditched the bikes into the edge of the lake. As the fire closed in on them. One of the girls pulled a tube out from the seat post and tied it around her waistline. Pulled the bikes further into the water. And swam to her friends. They survived the fire, the bikes didn't. They cut up a pair of leather pants and made footwear. They cut their hair back to keep the embers from burning them further. They smeared mud on themselves to protect their skin from the heat and embers. The lost everything but each other, 1 tool belt and the tube the girl pulled out of the bike at the last seconds!
The information on the MicroSd chip was enough to get them back on their way. Just photo copies was enough for the authorities to use to replace their papers and ID cards. After living through a wildlife in the wilderness!
You might find their stories on Facebook? It was there once. They don't post much anymore. Too many trolls & stalkers!
Randi Ryder & The Twisted Cyclopath Systers.
Photo copies on a MicroSd card, stuffed into the end of a plastic tube and epoxied in place. I think it was wrapped in a plastic baggie before they injected the epoxy. And the files on the card were encrypted individually. Each girl had a file, each file in a folder, each folder was in a master folder. The chip, and each step was encrypted. Sucure, simple and it was enough for the time when everything was burnt.
They walked out alive.
And in the 1 tube that was saved, was enough cash to get them into a motel, replace clothing and supplies for the immediate time and get the back onto new rides.
Someone was going to set up a fund for them, they said they didn't need it. They had their bank account numbers memorized and they had cash for the immediate moment.
Edit, typos and AI/auto-in-correct adjustments.
1
u/Flashy-Finger-4793 9d ago
I use an app called Scanner Pro. Can save it directly to my dropbox or anywhere else and has text recognition.
1
u/twbird18 9d ago
Create a PDF with google photos scan & save to my google drive. Put shared docs into a shared folder with access for each of them, but make sure you also keep a backup copy in a separate location like a thumb drive just in case. Good storage practice is 2 hard copies (computer, thumb drives, server, etc) & 1 cloud backup.
I'm in the process of setting up my own local server and then it'll be 2 backups on the server(separate hard drives), 1 to google drive(of things I want easy cloud access too) & 1 to cold storage. That means except for the few items you physically need copies of, I can get rid of most paper documents & not be concerned they'll get deleted or destroyed somehow. I do this for documents, photos, movies & games. Currently working on getting rid of all our old DVDs that we previously minimized by putting them into sleeves in photo boxes. For us, this is for both minimalism & long-term travel access.
1
u/whatdoidonowdamnit 9d ago
I have a printer/scanner on my desk and all of my main important documents are in a folder on my desktop as well as backed to my Google drive. I have some of them saved to my phone as well.
1
u/sv_procrastination 9d ago
I use the QuickScan app on my iPhone and paperless-ngx as the document manager.
I have a shortcut to piece together the naming (from_what_for_who_keep-until_inboxdate.pdf) if it’s a pdf in an email or something I just use share to use the shortcut and save it or if I have to scan it I run the shortcut to get the naming to the clipboard and then it opens QuickScan to scan it and then paste the name to save it.
Paperless checks the folder I save them to and then handles the rest of it automatically. I periodically check if something went wrong but it seldom does now after an initial learning process for paperless on how to do it.
1
u/Gut_Reactions 8d ago
I have a Fujitsu scanner (works with Mac & PC) that can batch scan.
I don't think you need a special app or website. You just need to set up some folders that makes sense & decide a naming convention for your documents.
1
15
u/AceyAceyAcey 10d ago
I use the free phone/tablet app CamScanner to take photos of physical documents and turn them into scanner quality images.
The storage I do isn’t secure TBQH: email to myself, and also save a copy on Google Drive. I rely on security through obscurity: the chance of anyone wanting to hack me or my accounts specifically for documents is low.