RAM Question On MacBook Pro

I have a mid-2012 MacBook Pro with a 2.3 GHz with an i7 Intel processor and 8GB of RAM running OX 10.9.4.  I seem to be running up against the 8GB memory limit a lot of the time, despite making sure I don't have many applications opened (and checking using the Activities Monitor).  I am not running a lot of heavy video or photos or streaming or memory hogging applications that I know of.  More just basic stuff. The kernel task is by far the biggest user of memory.   I thought 8GB would be more than plenty for my needs/work, but I get 90%+ memory pressure readouts a lot more than one would think and I get the spinning color wheel a lot too.
I know I can technically upgrade my MacBook to 16GB.  I already upgraded from 4GB to 8GB.  Does it make sense for me to go to 16GB or is there something else that I'm doing or should look at to mitigate the memory consumption?  I am a fairly new Mac user.  All else is great with the device.
Thanks for any guidance.
Scott B.

Thanks CT.  Here's what EtreCheck came up with on my system.  Perhaps there is something unusual that should be removed that a newbie like me can't see.  Much appreciated.
EtreCheck version: 1.9.12 (48)
Report generated August 8, 2014 at 1:48:23 PM PDT
Hardware Information:
  MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012) (Verified)
  MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro9,1
  1 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4 cores
  8 GB RAM
Video Information:
  Intel HD Graphics 4000 - VRAM: (null)
  NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M - VRAM: 512 MB
  DELL 1908WFP 1440 x 900 @ 60 Hz
System Software:
  OS X 10.9.4 (13E28) - Uptime: 0 days 4:46:0
Disk Information:
  APPLE HDD HTS545050A7E362 disk0 : (500.11 GB)
  EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
  Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 499.25 GB (444.5 GB free)
  Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
  MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-8A8 
USB Information:
  Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
  Dell B1165nfw Mono MFP
  Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
  Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub
  Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
  Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
  Logitech USB Receiver
Thunderbolt Information:
  Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus
Gatekeeper:
  Anywhere
Kernel Extensions:
  [not loaded] com.Belcarra.iokit.USBLAN_netpart (3.1.1 - SDK 10.6) Support
  [not loaded] com.Belcarra.iokit.USBLAN_usbpart (3.1.1 - SDK 10.6) Support
  [not loaded] com.BlackBerry.driver.USBCDCNCM (1.0.6 - SDK 10.7) Support
  [loaded] com.Logitech.Control Center.HID Driver (3.9.1 - SDK 10.8) Support
  [loaded] com.Logitech.Unifying.HID Driver (1.3.0 - SDK 10.6) Support
  [not loaded] com.RemoteControl.USBLAN.usbpart (3.1.1 - SDK 10.7) Support
  [not loaded] com.motorola-mobility.driver.MotMobileMS (1.0.0 - SDK 10.5) Support
  [not loaded] com.motorola-mobility.driver.MotMobileMTP (1.2.2 - SDK 10.5) Support
  [not loaded] com.motorola-mobility.driver.MotMobileUSB (1.2.2 - SDK 10.5) Support
  [not loaded] com.motorola-mobility.driver.MotMobileUSBLAN (1.2.2 - SDK 10.5) Support
  [not loaded] com.motorola-mobility.driver.MotMobileUSBLANMerge (1.2.2 - SDK 10.5) Support
  [not loaded] com.motorola-mobility.driver.MotMobileUSBSwch (1.2.2 - SDK 10.5) Support
  [loaded] com.rim.driver.BlackBerryUSBDriverInt (2.2.7 - SDK 10.7) Support
  [loaded] com.rim.driver.BlackBerryVirtualPrivateNetwork (1.0.18 - SDK 10.8) Support
  [loaded] com.webroot.driver.WebrootSecureAnywhere (105 - SDK 10.9) Support
Launch Daemons:
  [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support
  [running] com.crashplan.engine.plist Support
  [running] com.dll.faxdb.plist Support
  [loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist Support
  [running] com.motorola-mobility.mmcfgd.plist Support
  [loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist Support
  [loaded] com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist Support
  [running] com.rim.BBDaemon.plist Support
  [not loaded] com.rim.nkehelper.plist Support
  [running] com.rim.tunmgr.plist Support
  [running] com.trusteer.rooks.rooksd.plist Support
  [running] com.webroot.security.mac.plist Support
  [running] com.webroot.webfilter.mac.plist Support
Launch Agents:
  [running] com.Logitech.Control Center.Daemon.plist Support
  [loaded] com.motorola.MDMUpdater.plist Support
  [running] com.motorola.motohelper.plist Support
  [loaded] com.motorola.motohelperUpdater.plist Support
  [loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist Support
  [running] com.rim.BBLaunchAgent.plist Support
  [running] com.rim.blackberrylink.BlackBerry-Link-Helper-Agent.plist Support
  [running] com.rim.PeerManager.plist Support
  [running] com.trusteer.rapport.rapportd.plist Support
  [running] com.webroot.WRMacApp.plist Support
User Launch Agents:
  [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist Support
  [loaded] com.citrixonline.GoToMeeting.G2MUpdate.plist Support
  [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support
  [running] com.microsoft.LaunchAgent.SyncServicesAgent.plist Support
User Login Items:
  iTunesHelper
  CrashPlan menu bar
  Dropbox
Internet Plug-ins:
  WidevineMediaOptimizer: Version: 6.0.0.12757 - SDK 10.7 Support
  FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support
  npwebroot: Version: 2.0.15 Support
  AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.07 - SDK 10.6 Support
  AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.07 - SDK 10.6 Support
  Flash Player: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support
  Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9
  QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
  SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.3 - SDK 10.6 Support
  JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 67 Check version
Safari Extensions:
  webfilter: Version: 1.0.1.40
  LastPass: Version: 3.1.51
Audio Plug-ins:
  BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9
  AirPlay: Version: 2.0 - SDK 10.9
  AppleAVBAudio: Version: 203.2 - SDK 10.9
  iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9
iTunes Plug-ins:
  Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.4 - SDK 10.9
User Internet Plug-ins:
  CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: Version: 1.0.105 Support
3rd Party Preference Panes:
  Flash Player  Support
  Java  Support
  Logitech Control Center  Support
  Trusteer Endpoint Protection  Support
Time Machine:
  Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU:
      10% WindowServer
      9% Microsoft Word
      2% Microsoft Outlook
      1% Safari
      1% LCCDaemon
Top Processes by Memory:
  270 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent
  270 MB Microsoft Outlook
  261 MB Safari
  229 MB Finder
  229 MB CrashPlanService
Virtual Memory Information:
  1.22 GB Free RAM
  3.93 GB Active RAM
  1.88 GB Inactive RAM
  985 MB Wired RAM
  1.21 GB Page-ins
  0 B Page-outs

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