What to Do with the Mail Mess?
Hello, dear readers! As most (all?) of you know, as much as I’d love to have all the answers, pretty much nothing could be further from the truth. I struggle and learn (and repeatedly screw up) every day, from scheduling carpet cleanings on days that don’t actually exist to assuming that my Roosevelt was aware the screen door was in place. (Mental note: buy new screen door this weekend.)
Here is one of my most minor secret shames: there is mail all over my house. It covers the desk in the office, the table in the dining room, the bar in the kitchen, and, oh hell, pretty much every surface possible. There are Ikea catalogs on the ottoman and party invitations on the heater. I may reign it in pretty regularly, but I have never come up with a solid answer for incoming mail. Theories and strategems, yes. Workable, usable, real-life solutions? Not so much.
So today I ask for advice: How can I simplify incoming mail? What systems work? What sorting techniques? What tips and ideas can you suggest? Please dive into the comments and leave any and all feedback you may have. Your thoughts and ideas are much appreciated by myself and the entire community!
Photo courtesy of D Sharon Pruitt
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This post has 28 comments
August 27th, 2009
I put all my mail into a bag that I take to work. Then, I process the mail when a client fails to show up and I have down time.
This keeps all my mail organized in one place and it uses time that would otherwise be wasted.
August 27th, 2009
I read your other post about creating a mail center, and it sounds like you know what to do, but just can’t seem to do it. Part of it is that your system sounds too complicated. Seriously, I not only have to sort it, but I have to take all my mail out of its envelopes and shred the envelopes? No wonder you have mail everywhere–so would I!
Here’s what I do:
1) When I bring in the mail, I immediately put the bills in a basket I keep for that purpose.
2) Junk mail I don’t even want to open goes in the trash can I keep close to the bill basket.
3)Catalogs and magazines get tossed in a large basket by the couch where anyone can sit down and thumb through them. When the basket begins to overflow, I sort through and throw away all the old ones and start over. (We don’t get tons, so I only have to clean out once or twice a year.)
4)”Real” mail, i.e., letters, invitations, etc, get opened and either tacked on the bulletin board next to the calendar, or filed to keep (in a basket next to the bills, until that’s full, and then get re-sorted into the trash or a permanent folder), or thrown away, depending on their contents.
5)”Temporary” mail, such as grocery store fliers, gets to stay out on the table or island till I’ve had a chance to look through it, or get tossed immediately if I choose not to deal with it.
6)”Begging” letters get put in a separate compartment in the bill basket, to be looked at and decided on when I pay bills.
7)Letters with money in them–we are self-employed– go in a designated drawer until I make a trip to the bank.
8)I also have adult children living at home, and they have designated spots where I put their mail for them do deal with.
This system, for me, is very easy and fast. The initial sorting takes only minutes. The secondary sorting gets done every three or four months, and meanwhile, everything is safe and tidy in pretty baskets.
mom.huebert´s last blog ..DIY Makeover: Sunday Black
August 27th, 2009
Personally, I get the mail ONLY 3 times a week (I live in an apartment). I sift through the junk in the mail center and throw away anything that doesn’t have a potential for identity theft. When I get upstairs, I immediately separate “shred” “bills” & “other”.
Shred gets immediately shredded. Bills & other action items go into my purse to take care of at work during lunch, “other” gets filed in my expandable file (with all my receipts) by month (coupons in the front, wedding invites by month for quick reference, etc).
When my bills and other action items are finished at work, I bring them back home and throw them in the file also.
I noticed no matter what my mail system will be, I will always fail if I don’t do it immediately, which is why I do it less and don’t do anything else until it’s finished.
Best of luck!!
August 27th, 2009
I suffer with this problem IN MY OFFICE AT WORK! Mail comes in by the bundles. What I do is sort it right next to my inbox in the mail room, next to the trash can. What ends up in my office is only the items I need to work on, review, or study. All other mail is forwarded, delegated, or trashed.
Maybe you could put a trash can next to your mailbox!
Ron´s last blog ..A True Story About A Nightmare Contractor
August 27th, 2009
I find that the only way to get out of this mess is to first take a day and go through all your backlog – even if you’re just sorting it into piles for later review.
Second, and most important, is to do a quick sort of your mail every day when you receive it. Divide it into categories and have a place for them. If you don’t have time each day to actually go through it all, it really helps when you can quickly sort it right away.
You can eliminate the junk into the recycle. Place the urgent stuff (bills, lottery winnings, etc) in a pile that you will get to ASAP. Divide the rest up as you see fit. Then when you do get around to going through it half the battle is already won.
The quick sort is easy, takes like 5 extra minutes (depending on how much mail you get) and really simplifies life. Plus, every day you know what you are up against in your growing piles – no worrying that you overlooked something.
Hope that helps!
August 27th, 2009
Mail used to be the worst clutter problem for my husband and I. But, no longer!
Start at the source. Every time you get a piece of junk mail, call or email the company and ask to be removed from their mailing list. Sometimes it takes a while if they pre-print things months in advance, but you will start to see a big difference within a couple months. It is a bit annoying to do at first, but it IS worth the upfront time. You can also simplify it by creating a canned message in Gmail (which you can update as needed for the situation).
There are also some sites like CatalogChoice.org that help, but usually the quickest thing is just to look up a company’s email address and send them a canned email. However, there are a few major list companies — I forget their names, but you can Google them — and getting off of those and opting out of pre-screened credit cards will definitely help.
Also, a lot of companies you probably still want to deal with now have options where you can receive all communications via the internet. Look into that. Call the companies and ask about it if necessary.
And guard your mailing address! Do NOT give it out to just anyone. Do not enter contests with it. Do not give it to companies that don’t absolutely need it. Do not patronize companies that automatically sign you up for their mailing lists — or worse, sell them! Even charities often sell mailing lists, so do your homework. And don’t use coupons you get in the mail with bar codes (like Bed, Bath & Beyond) if you are trying to cancel the junk mail because they’ll just sign you right back up.
I know it seems like a lot, but doing all this my husband and I get only a few pieces of mail a week — and, except for a few stragglers, it’s mostly stuff we actually need/want to get. It has saved us A LOT of time sorting junk mail. Plus, we aren’t tempted by all those catalogs anymore!
August 27th, 2009
I second the trash can idea. When I bring my mail in I go straight to my trash can/recycling bin (they’re next to each other) and sort it there.
All the junk and catalogs go straight in the recycling bin.
Then I go straight to my shredder and shred anything that needs shredding (credit card convenience checks, credit card offers).
That usually leaves things like account statements, since I pay all my bills online and have discontinued paper statements on all accounts that have that option. I look at the statements, then shred them – I can get that information online if I need it, and I never have.
At this point I have pretty much nothing left, and it’s only taken about 10 minutes at most.
August 27th, 2009
@mom.huebert: You nailed it. The system worked for awhile, but it was just not a good long-term solution. At the end of the day, the results tell the story. All the suggestions so far are much appreciated!
August 27th, 2009
I drop it in a basket in the mudroom when I walk in the door so it is out of sight. On Sundays i look through it all at once and file, shred, pay bills, etc. i only tackle it when i know i have enough time to get through it all. I found that when i brought the stack all the way into the kitchen, i had half opened piles lying around. and if i tried to organize into piles when i walked in the door to separate out the bills, etc. some days i had time to do that and some days it stayed in 1 big pile. So far this has worked for me for about 6 months. I like my weekly routine. I make a cup of tea, sit on the deck, and tell DH and kids “i’m working through the mail I need to focus!”
August 27th, 2009
I try to get more of my mail online – bills, statements….makes my life so much better and I know how to access it later. I throw junk away and any other bills, important mail, I throw in a basket and then when it gets full or I have a little time I take the basket to my filing system and file it. Easy and works for me better than anything else ever has.
abi´s last blog ..Rock ‘n’ Red Fest
August 27th, 2009
I’m shuddering at the thought of all that non-identity junk mail in the trash – not the recycling bin! That said…
I have a place where all my mail goes promptly upon arrival in our house. Unless I notice that it’s urgent, I ignore it completely until Sunday night. Then I don’t have to run around the house to find it when I need it, which has happened in the past when I have opened mail as soon as I got home. Then it ends up in the bathroom, the bedroom, the office, and the living room. Impossible!
Sunday night is the night I do money stuff – write checks, pay bills, etc. At that point, after the kids are in bed, I sit on the couch with my laptop. I make my piles for shredding and filing, and the rest of the recycling just gets tossed on the floor because I really only have room for two piles next to me on the couch. When I’m done with my finances and putting all that stuff away, I deal with my mail piles as well.
I don’t get much mail, so this is perfect for me. I hope you find a solution that works for you!
Nicki´s last blog ..links for 2009-08-27
August 27th, 2009
I haven’t posted in awhile…but what I do with the mail is pile it up for the week and go through it on Saturday morning. Unless I see something important or a movie comes from Netflix…I deal with those ASAP.
Katie´s last blog ..Ted Kennedy
August 27th, 2009
I put it all in one pile until the weekend when I go through it all and dispense it to recycling, file or action items.
P.S. The headline made me think it was about the post office budget crisis. The actual article and comments were much more interesting than that!
Bucksome´s last blog ..Dave Ramsey Sale
August 28th, 2009
Once a week works for me, too. Nothing’s so important in the mail that it needs immediate attention every single day. I pile it on my desk until Saturday morning and it all gets sorted and dealt with at once…..and I’m not a slave to “opening the mail” each day during the week. Makes coming home from work much more pleassant!
August 28th, 2009
I have had a post office box for 15 years. I pick up the mail from the box on Saturdays. I used to open and handle all of it on Mondays but have gotten out of that habit. Woe to me. Now, sometimes I have two or even three weeks of mail to sort. It is more about ‘just do it’ than anything. For some reason, there is never any good news in the mail.
August 28th, 2009
We have a mail center on the kitchen counter. I bought one of those little personal office organizers. It has a little bin on the bottom to hold scissors, letter openers, it has a place to hold pens, it has a place to hold file folders, where I keep a folder for bills, a to do folder, and a folder for each of the kids school stuff, then it has a section in the front to hold out going mail, and things I want to keep easily at hand. It sits right across from the family calendar, so invitations can easily be written on the calendar and discarded. It has worked wonders for our organization. I learned about it from a friend who read about it in an organization book. So incoming mail goes directly to the front section until I am ready to sort it, no school papers or mail ever sit on any counter tops in our house.
August 28th, 2009
For anyone who throws their mail in the trash. Please, please, please RECYCLE!!
August 28th, 2009
Sara…mail, both email and physical, can take up not only a lot of time but have an impact on the environment too. The paper consumed and the transport and energy is absolutely monstrous. Yep, even the email and all the energy used.
So, if putting a system in place that saves you time (and clutter) does not motivate you, consider the multiplying effect you will have by reducing your junk and email. Sorry if any of that seemed preachy.
One more thing…use the touch it once rule and throw out anything that you really don’t need…be brutal. It works. Good luck.
I wrote an article not too long ago about stopping junk mail. Correspondence, bills and catalogs can all be viewed online. Start using the resources around you to be efficient and you will have the time to take care of it.
simply stephen´s last blog ..It’s Not Things, It’s The Things In Life That Are Important
August 28th, 2009
Before you even put the mail down, sort. Junk gets recycled. Bills, financial information, etc., go in the finances folder that gets checked on and updated a couple of times a month. On the rare occasion that you have something other than these, such as a birthday card, open it, enjoy it, maybe display it if its nice, and then either recycle it or store it in a memory box.
The key here is to have categories. It works for me!
Gabriel´s last blog ..Amateurs and Professionals
August 28th, 2009
STOP RECEIVING IT. A lot of the mail received is junk mail so see if you can be taken off the mailing lists. Many of your bills you can have sent to you by email so stop the paper statements. You can view many of your credit cards, bank statments, and investment accounts on line so eliminate the paper. As you receive a bill see if you can receive it electronically to eliminate the mail.
B Simple´s last blog ..2 Simple Tips to Simplify your Personal Finances
August 28th, 2009
I keep a shredder at the entrance underneath a small desk.
Then it is 3 simple steps
1. Reach home – retrieve mail from mailbox
2. Sort through mail while walking to apartment
3. ASA I enter, shred the stuff that is junk, the “not-junk” goes in a filing drawer (in the desk over shredder – sort through it when you have time)!
August 31st, 2009
The one thing I ALWAYS do is sort it the second I get it from the mailbox. Otherwise, piles begin….
CherryTreeLane´s last blog ..Sunday Supper
August 31st, 2009
The best way I have found to control the incoming mail is to reduce it to the bare minimum. I have opt-out of as much junk mail as possible. I have reduced my magazine subscriptions to only a few each month. Most of my bills are online which reduces the amount of mail coming in.
I listed on my blog post http://organizebythemonth.com/?p=245, the three main websites that have helped me reduce the junk mail. With less mail coming into the home it is a lot easier to keep it organized.
Janice´s last blog ..The Biggest Clutter Maker
September 1st, 2009
I wish I had a solution but I don’t :-/
My system is the following… I piked up one of those organizing bins at Staples (I should take a picture of it really)… I have a letter opener… I open my mail and stick things in certain bins. Once the bills are paid, papers are shredded and the bins are emptied only to be refilled again.
It’s totally not the sexiest system or the best solution but hey, it works ok I guess! Except for that one time that the letter opener when bust on me… That was annoying until I got a new one ;-D
Ricardo Bueno´s last blog ..Social Media Addiction Rap + 6 Social Media Productivity Tips
September 1st, 2009
My method: All incoming mail is placed in the same spot on the counter everyday. As I’m bringing it in, I look through to see if I can toss any junk mail right off the bat (even the cover of the netflix envelope). The next step is the most important for me: don’t open anything until I have time to act on it. Nothing. For some reason already opened mail is much less enticing to deal with than something that’s still a surprise, even if it’s just the total cost of our electricity that month. Then, I try to find some time before tomorrow’s mail has arrived to open, pay any bills immediately, and place in outgoing mail stack. The “read me” stuff I place in another pile and try to be ruthless in throwing it out if it doesn’t get read within the week. Easier said than done though. I think the real key is dealing with it everyday rather than letting a pile build that becomes more daunting.
September 3rd, 2009
Hey you all –
you might want to check out our new site
http://www.unjunkmail.com
It has a free junk mail filter – so you can start getting rid of junk mail and still keep getting the deals and coupons you actually want.
(It also has a blog and live feed of conversations happening about junk mail.)
Unjunk you life:
)
It’s better for the environment and better for your house! (maybe that’s our new tagline
September 6th, 2009
I forget where I heard this tip, but it’s the best: Keep a folder/basket/whatever near the door and in it put ONLY invitations, tickets, and other things that you will need to use or take with you. Eliminates so much searching.
September 21st, 2009
It seems like a lot of people just do it weekly. I like to deal with it first thing when I get home from work everyday. I grab the mail, any junk gets recycled, My fiance has his mail put on his desk, any statements are immediately opened, glanced over, and thrown in the front of my filing cabinet. When the front gets full I file everything at once. There’s not enough room for it to pile up too much, so it works well. Bills and other actionable stuff goes on my desk. I take care of those the very next time I sit down at my desk, which usually only takes 5-15 minutes. Other than that, I get exactly one quarterly magazine which is usually devoured immediately upon receipt.
Slinky´s last blog ..Sneaky Loan Interest Savings
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