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Question:
The
mail in our house is always messing things up. I tidy up a room, and then the mail comes, and boom, the room looks like a mini-disaster. How do I organize my mail? I hate
this problem!
Yes, the volume of mail that arrives in my mailbox everyday is amazing to me, too. Even though my correspondence is mostly electronic (thanks to email), there seems to
be a conspiracy to make my "snail mail" increase! It must have something to do with Murphy's Law and all those companies that sell through their catalogs! Anyway,
there are some ways you can manage this huge influx of paper.
Here are some ideas:
 | First of all, if you don't have a recycle bin and a successful way of disposing of unneeded paper, find a way now. As you become
consciously aware of managing your incoming mail, you will want an easy and ecologically sound way of disposing of it all. Many cities offer recycling as part of their
garbage pick-up (they do here in Tucson, AZ). Use this service, or find a local drop-off facility in your neighborhood. |
I personally have a plastic crate under my desk and that is where I throw all of the paper I recycle. I use it for unwanted solicitations, magazines, newspapers,
inserts from bills I receive, envelopes and scrap paper. When you faithfully throw all of your unneeded paper in one place, you will be astonished at the volume that
builds up in a very short time.
| Everyday, as you pick up your mail, go through it immediately. Separate it into the following piles: |
Junk mail
Financial documents (bills, checks, statements)
Magazines/newsletters and other items you'd like to read
Personal correspondence
Mail belonging to each of your family members
And any other category that applies to your life
| Now, for the important step ... TOUCH IT ONCE. Immediately throw the junk mail in the recycle bin. Place the financial documents
in a file marked "Financial Stuff to Handle". Put the magazines that you know you will read within 30 days next to your
reading chair, and throw the overflow into the recycle bin. Read and enjoy your personal correspondence if you are lucky enough to receive any (that is a rarity in my
mailbox anymore!) Place the mail belonging to other family members in their room, or personal space. When you are through processing the mail, your space should be
clear again! |
If you will note the words and phrases that I emphasized above, you will see that each of them relates to the same principal: TOUCH IT ONCE
and DO IT NOW. There is no substitute for minimizing the number of times an article is dealt with.
Maybe you dislike going through the mail so you just stack it up on the counter and try to ignore it. If this is the case, instead of putting it off because you
dislike it, try thinking instead, "I am going to do this now and get it over with". Then
JUST DO IT NOW and see how
much better you feel with an uncluttered and organized space. And the extra bonus ... if you put items in their proper space in the first place, you will always be able
to find them.
The "EffEx Tip" of the Month:
If you find it difficult placing your family's mail in a spot where they will find it, consider setting up an "In Box" for each of your family members.
Stacking trays would work great for this as they would take up a very small amount of space, and you would simply have to "distribute" mail instead of walking
it around to everyone's room. These trays should be placed close to the recycle bin, and in a high traffic, central location where everyone in your family will see their
in-box. And don't hesitate to be the Administrator within your own home. Set down the law that if a mailbox is not attended to in a reasonable period of time, then the mail
will be tossed in the recycle bin. It should only take one time of personal mail being thrown away for your family to understand that you mean business. And remember, you
will not only be teaching your kids and mate to be responsible for their own mail, but they will also learn to recycle!
Back to EffEx Tips! |
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