With the world's obsession with apps and smartphones, it's easy to forget how a simple handwritten note is sometimes the easiest way to jot down your thoughts. Luckily, you can still get the benefits of a searchable, fully-synced database using handwritten notes and get the best of both worlds.

iOS (Android coming soon): Whether you're saving receipts or snapping a shot of the whiteboard in class, Scanbot takes high-quality snapshots with your phone's camera. Then, the app saves them to your preferred web service, including Google Drive, Evernote and Dropbox.

Remember when flatbed scanners took up heaps of desk space and had to be connected to a computer? Not anymore: The Doxie Flip is a portable scanner that's just right for photos, receipts and written notes you'd like to digitise. Best of all, you don't need to connect it to a computer.

Dear Lifehacker, I'd like to get all of my papers, bills and receipts under control, but hate the idea of having a big scanner on my desk. I've been looking at duplex document scanners (the bar- shaped sort), but I can't really find much information, or a scanner within a reasonable price range ($300 is too much in my opinion). Any suggestions? Thanks, Paperless Dream

Not every scanner is equal if you're thinking about going paperless. You need a model that will handle all the documents, receipts and oddly-shaped papers you need to digitise, and preferably one with great software support to help you keep all that stuff organised. Here's a look at five of the best, based on your nominations.

When you look at the piles of paper you've stored for years, going paperless feels daunting. Not only do you have to scan everything, but you have to catalogue it too. While you can't escape the task itself, a Doxie portable scanner -- combined with Evernote -- can make the process a whole lot easier.

Doxie has been around for a while, but the latest iteration of these portable scanners offer one of the easiest ways to digitise your life. They take up about as much room as two staplers, operate from anywhere (even without power), and even transfer your scans over Wi-Fi automatically.

If digitising a historic collection of books is important to you, you can purchase a ridiculously expensive commercial scanner. Or you can make a prototype version from Google Books using a vacuum cleaner, a scanner and other components for a lot less.

Android doesn't have a ton of apps that can turn images into text documents, but of the ones available, Google Goggles is free and does everything it promises to do: copy text from an image and let you paste it anywhere.

There are quite a few choices on iTunes for apps that can turn images of documents, book pages, business cards and more into digital, editable text. Our favourite is TextGrabber for its ease of use, accuracy and reasonable price.

Back in May we ran a post discussing tactics for making self-service checkouts work better, which stirred up a fair bit of debate. Gizmodo has a similarly-themed guest post from a Woolworths staffer, offering tips on how to make your self-service journey speedier.

With the constant stream of receipts, forms, contracts, and other paper we have to - but probably don't want to - keep, the desire to digitise our lives is growing stronger. If you're looking for a document scanner that's easy to take with you and great for creating PDFs out of your paper documents, we like the ScanSnap S1100.

Self-service checkouts are increasingly common in supermarkets and chain stores, not to mention at airports. Lifehacker reader and frequent commenter 66biscuits offers a useful tip for ensuring your groceries (or tickets) are recognised quickly.

Windows/Linux/iOS: Ever wish you could scan QR codes and other barcodes from your computer, without pulling out your phone? (Maybe you miss your old CueCat?) ZBar is a simple cross-platform tool that scans barcodes from images and webcams.

Windows/Mac: ScanDrop, a scan-and-send solution previously available on Windows only, directly connects your Mac and scanner to Evernote, Google Docs, or its own service for quick filing. If you need to de-clutter, grab it now, while it's free through this link.

Windows only: Your scanner probably came with OCR software. Chances are, though, it's both awkward and space-hogging. FreeOCR is an slim, efficient app that has just four main buttons and performs well at converting scanned images and PDFs into edit-ready text.

Lots of us have scanners in our home nowadays, but if you don't have one yourself (or if it's having one of its uncooperative days), you can easily throw your camera on a projector arm and take high-quality snapshots of your documents.

Dear Lifehacker, I recently bought a $69 HP Deskjet F4480 in an effort to go paperless (it was cheaper to get a scanner/printer combo) and was wondering if there are any programs that let me scan from paper -> PDF? The device came with HP software, but I’d rather not install it (I want something that doesn’t take over my system).

Working with text on your computer offers a range of possibilities in searching and editing that simply aren't available with hard copy text. Check out these five text recognition tools to get your printed text into your computer.