How to Deal with Incoming Mail

Dealing with incoming mail (or NOT dealing with it as the case may be) can leave you with a mountain of paper that threatens to bury you in an avalanche. To get a handle on the mail monster, we have to look at a few different things.

When do you check the mail?

Do you check it in the morning before breakfast?

In the afternoon when you get home from work?

As soon as the mail truck drives away? (After all, your new magazine might be in there!)

Whenever you remember that it might have been a while since you checked it. 

Just often enough so the neighbors don't call the police to report you as missing.

Whenever you check the mail, make sure it is at a time when you have at least 5 minutes to deal with it. If the time you are checking it now doesn't work, then pick a different time of day.

Open it by the recycle bin or garbage and the shredder.

When you open the mail you are going to end up with 2 piles: KEEP and TOSS.

SHRED AND TOSS THE TRASH/RECYCLING IMMEDIATELY!!

Do NOT make a pile of "to be shredded". It's just clutter, and if you don't have time to shred it now, when will you make time to do it later? Put the shredder by the recycle bin or trash bin so you can shred it as it comes in. It is important to shred anything that has personal information on it to reduce your chances of identity theft.

If you have to buy a shredder, buy one. If you have to move your shredder, then do so. If you need to get a trash can to put by your shredder, do it. You will be much happier.

Think carefully before you keep something. Do you really need all of your utility bills? Most of them are available online. Consider signing up for e-bills to cut down on paper clutter in your home.

Are you really going to order from that catalog? Or read that magazine? If not, then recycle it or donate it to the library or doctor's office. If you will truly read it in the next month before you get the next one, then find a place dedicated to magazines and catalogs. I nice magazine rack or basket will be decorative but keep them all in one spot. (Not scattered all over the coffee table.)

Do you really need to keep the birthday card from Aunt Louise? Sure, it was a very thoughtful gesture, and it served its purpose by making you smile and feel loved--but will she really know if you threw it away? Does she expect you to keep every card she has ever sent you in a dusty shoe box on a forgotten shelf? Either smile and toss it, or keep it just long enough to remind you to send a thank you card or make a phone call. 

Stop Junk Mail

If you want to decrease the amount of unsolicited mail that you receive, check out this report on MSNBC.com. Also, try searching "stop junk mail" on Google. There are many different pages out there with advice.

Now that you have rid your pile of unwanted mail, it is time to take action with the rest.

We will be setting up a mail command center with files to keep you organized. 

For now, get in the habit of opening your mail over the trash/recycling bin and shredder.

Happy organizing!