It's 2018, you have reams of paper in your home office, a file cabinet with documents at work, and your kid just handed you a new excursion form you have to, for some reason, fax to their teacher. If this doesn't sound like the paperless future you were promised, you're right.

Luckily, you don't need much to get a handle on all those PDFs you have (or are about to create). A scanner, a smartphone and some cloud storage services are all you need to convert the stack of papers on your desk into a paperless wonderland.

iOS: iOS 11's new built-in document scanning feature is both a time-saver and a convenient way to capture information. It makes it easy to attach real-world documents to your digital musings without leaving one app for another. It won't replace any dedicated document scanning apps, but it's a great alternative to buying a document scanning app if all you want is a signature-ready document you can export anywhere.

iOS/Android: While the day of full digitisation seems to draw ever closer, sometimes there are still papers that need that pesky real signature. And though document scanning apps mean you don't have to own a scanner or make a late-night run to Officeworks, the options out there are far from perfect, and it's high time you started utilising your tiny pocket computer instead.

Android/iOS: Using your phone to scan documents isn't anything new. With apps such as Scanner Pro and Turbo Scan out there, if you own a smartphone there's pretty much no reason you need to break out the ol' flatbed scanner to digitise anything any more. Heck, even just snapping a photo of a document sans app could probably get the job done in most cases. Even if you've already found a favourite scanning app, Adobe's new app, aptly named Abobe Scan, is one you're definitely going to want to try.

Android/iOS: Google has introduced PhotoScan, a new app that makes scanning and uploading old photos a heck of a lot easier.

Android: Microsoft's OneDrive doesn't always get the credit it deserves, but it's a pretty solid competitor to apps like Google Drive and Dropbox. Now, it's catching up more with a new scan feature.

Scanner Pro's latest update allows for editing documents, automatic scan creation from your existing photos and a host of other new features.

We're constantly told we live in a digital universe, but many of our workplace processes are still dependent on paper and not designed for maximum efficiency. Follow these tips to take full advantage of digital technology.

iOS/Android: Document and note scanning is nothing new. However, Microsoft has decided to enter the game with an advantage only it can offer: excellent Office integration.

Why keep a filing cabinet full of paperwork when you can scan everything and store it online? Follow these steps to make it happen.

Chrome: If you're a regular Google Keep user, you might have missed a (relatively) new feature in the app. If you paste an image into a note, Google lets you convert the image into editable text.

Scanning receipts while you travel, notes on a whiteboard, or sketches on an envelope can be easy with the right tools. The best apps for the job take a snapshot, offer text recognition, and save your scan to the cloud for future reference on other devices. This week, we're looking at five of the best smartphone apps that get the job done.

Hi Lifehacker, I am scanning hundreds of family photos on a flatbed scanner and there are often six on the flatbed at once. Is there any software which will save each photo as a separate file during the scan, rather than having to rotate, crop and save each photo manually?

iOS: Taking a picture of a document or a business card is easy with the Camera app. However, it takes time to focus, and it is tedious to photograph a whole bunch of documents. Evernote's new Scannable quickly takes pictures of anything it sees and lets you use the results anywhere on your iPhone -- not just Evernote.

Android: Today, Evernote added the slick business card scanning feature from the iOS version to Android. Simply take a picture of a business card and Evernote will parse the data and create a new contact for you.

Australian's museums, galleries and other cultural institutions must adopt more of a digital strategy with their collections if they are to remain relevant with audiences. Only about a quarter of the collections held by the sector have been digitised so far and a study out this week says more needs to be done to protect and preserve the material, and make it available to people online.

Hi Lifehacker, How long I should keep my bank statements for? I don't work and have been on a disability pension for six years due to cancer. So I decided I should have a big bonfire and burn the lot! Can I do that?

Android: In the future, paper (much like running) will only exist for recreation, for fun. In the meantime, we still have to deal with annoying contracts, memos and receipts. All of which can be scanned instantly and uploaded directly to Dropbox, Evernote and more with Scanbot, previously available for iOS but now on Android as well.

Whether you're scanning old photos yourself, or sending them off to a scanning service, it's always better to use the negatives if you can find them.