Information Retrieval in a "Green Economy"--Paper or Digital Data or Both?

I'm still working on taxes and, as usual, am finding more success looking for information I have stored on my computer than paper files that I have stored in containers.  Some paper is missing and I went online to the providers of the paper, only to find that the Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) versions of the missing files are not available online.  Instead they are mailing me paper copies.  Because their computer gave me some initial information, I was able to go to my own data files (a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet) and confirm the data I needed.

For many years I have found it easier to find and retrieve essential information stored digitally on the computer--with supporting external hard drives--than dealing with paper.  Google Desktop, a free program from Google, has made my life much easier by indexing all of my drives and external hard drives.  I can institute a Google Search of that Desktop Index and it displays the location of the files and, sometimes, a temporary copy of the file.  If I have rearranged or deleted the file in the mean time, it cannot help me.

While I realize that it is sometimes important to retain paper copies of things (tax returns for example), I also know that I can retrieve and share information much more effectively and quickly working with digital data files.

TurboTax, by Intuit, prints a .pdf version of my tax return that I keep on my computer.  It also keeps a version in TurboTax and allows me to submit my tax returns by e-filing directly to the state and federal government.