Did you know that an average of 5 pieces of mail land in your box on a daily basis? Leaving the mail unattended for a week or so will create quite a bit of paper clutter around the house. Check out these suggestions on how to establish a new mail center and system:
Start by clearing out the current clutter. Gather all mail piles from counters or catchall areas. Turn each stack upside down and purge all useless or outdated papers.
Establish your mail center. Find an accessible place to open mail. Set a wastebasket here to make disposal easy. Use a legal size tray or basket for an “in” box. Inform your family members of the mail center location and let them know that all incoming papers should be placed there.
Keep a paper shredder handy. Use it to immediately destroy credit card applications or junk mail with your personal info on it.
Create a bill file. Use a file folder or envelope to store all of your bills. As soon as the bills arrive in the mail, file them safely in the folder until “bill paying day”.
Stop the junk mail. To stop junk mail deliveries, register with the Direct Marketing Association at www.dmachoice.org/consumerassistance.php.
Stock the center with supplies. Note cards, stamps, return address labels, pens, pencils and a letter opener will make any mail task easier.
Now that you have a functional mail center, pour some tea and sit down to write a special note to a friend!
xoxo Paula
Do you have a system for sorting or purging your daily mail?
Thought I might make one small addition. Next to the paper shredder we keep an empty box for the other recyclable paper coming in the mail. Then that paper is touched once and gone, ready to be carried to the curb on recycling day.
I find it very helpful to keep a calendar in the area of the mail center. This makes for a good visual reference for important dates, including bill due dates, expected due dates, birthdays, activities calling for special notes, etc. I can do nothing without my calendar. Maybe this is because my husband works a rotating shift and it’s the only way I can keep track of where he will be. Anyway, I’d be lost without a calendar.
I found the information in this post provided useful tools in tackling the stress of paper clutter.
Thanks Paula.
That is a great idea Laurie! I am lost without my calendar too! I have a long hallway area that probably was designed for linens but I use it to “run the house”. My mail center and calendar are right there so I can make sure things are done on time. Thanks again for the recycle box suggestion and glad the post was able to help!
Wow, these are very helpful tips! About the only ones I follow right now are dealing with each day’s mail that day and immediately recycling or filing in the “right” place. The shredder close by seems key – I have a huge amount of “to be shredded” stuff.
I really try to take care of mail daily because if I don’t – I am in big trouble! If there is no room for a shredder, there are shredding scissors to use for small jobs. They are a little tricky to use but they do the job! Have a good day Heather!
Oh this is great! Our mail ends up on our counter and stays there until I yell at my hubby to go through his pile. Love your tips!
Thanks Tina! That is a real time saver for you to have hubby taking care of that task!
Oh my hubby is all over the mail. He works from home so he uses the trip to the mailbox as his morning break
A while back you wrote a post about establishing a wrapping “bin” (I can’t remember what you called it), but anyway I kept on thinking about it and really thinking about how much easier it would make my life. So I totally went ahead and did it over the weekend! I couldn’t be happier – thanks for the tip!
Yay! A gift center convert!
It does make things a lot easier when everything is in one place. Glad it helped!
Great tips!!! I’m always under a mountain of mail. I’m going to start doing this to get it under control! Thanks!
Lots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma What’s For Dinner
http://www.mawhats4dinner.com
So glad it was helpful Alex!
This is brilliant. I’m staring at a giant stack of mail–I always am behind on it. Hopefully these tips will help me out.
Thanks for sharing them!
Great Mama! Happy to help!
[...] an “in” box for your mail. Make a habit of depositing incoming mail in the box instead of on the kitchen table or counter. [...]