help with mail organization?

Jellybean902 · January 2012

Our mail has gotten out of control. I need a system to make it easy to organize the mail, especially since we have a lot of bills to tend to after a recent miscarriage and my DH getting into a car accident. (Lovely, huh?) Right now, they just get scattered about -- whether it be junk mail, bills, personal mail, etc etc.... there's no organization to it and it's driving me crazy. I don't want to just get a bin for them either because that will eventually pile up too. Any tips or advice?

whitsy · January 2012

Do you prefer to keep a hard copy?

If not, do you have a scanner available? We scan all of our bills and I organize them into folders on the computer, like home bills, medical bills, school bills, etc.

If you want a hard copy still, what about picking up an accordion folder?

Carra · January 2012

I use a vertical napkin holder to organize bills and event reminders by date. Everything else goes in my filing cabinet.

Jena503 · January 2012

I like having a bin/mail holder. Sometimes it piles up, but at least it's all in one place. Having a trash can and recycling bin close by are what helps me most so I can ditch about half the mail before it even hits the bin.

When I have an event going on - a lot of mail over an insurance claim or rsvps or whatever, I get a plastic folder and toss it all in the folder so it won't get lost.

Very little gets filed, almost everything we get ends up in the recycling or shred pile pretty quick.

macaroni23 · January 2012

I have also been searching for ways to organize our mail lately, but mostly becuase H doesn't open his mail and it just sits on the kitchen counter driving me nuts! Junk mail I throw out immediately, and I receive most of my bills electronically. I get paid bi-weekly, and have a schedule of which bills I will pay each time I get paid, so I don't end up missing any payments. I think that works better for me than having the actual bills lying around.

Jellybean902 · January 2012

macaroni23:
I have also been searching for ways to organize our mail lately, but mostly becuase H doesn't open his mail and it just sits on the kitchen counter driving me nuts! Junk mail I throw out immediately, and I receive most of my bills electronically. I get paid bi-weekly, and have a schedule of which bills I will pay each time I get paid, so I don't end up missing any payments. I think that works better for me than having the actual bills lying around.

HAHA this is my problem with my DH exactly. But I think the idea of a filing cabinet with maybe hanging folders in it is a good one. I'm going to run to Target in the next few days, pick that stuff up, and try it. Thanks ladies!

is_it_over_yet? · January 2012

I open all mail immediately and toss/recycle the junk.

I have as many bills as possible set for automatic payment from our checking account so that if something slips through the cracks (or, more likely, it fails to show up in the mail), it gets paid. I also have as many services as possible set to send me an email reminder when a bill is due.

I have a daily calendar similar to this that sits in a prominent place. I don't write in it but I put all bills or other date-sensitive mail in it 7-10 days before they are due so that everything is organized and scheduled to be paid on time. As I flip the page each day, I see what needs to be done.

pennysuedog · January 2012

Get a couple of bins

Label them-

Urgent

bills

coupons

other

sort accordingly

UsedToBeGoldie · January 2012

DH brings the mail in and puts it on the diningroom table.

by the end of the night I go through it and throw out all junk mail- and put all bills, etc, into a folder I have... and when it's time to pay bills- it's all in one place.

they always say not to handle junk more than once... by tossing it out... no sense keeping it sitting around making a mess - get rid of the junk mail once you bring it inside... and have a spot to put bills.

Mego04 · January 2012

pennysuedog:

Get a couple of bins

Label them-

Urgent

bills

coupons

other

sort accordingly

I have a tray with 3 tiers. I label mine bills, magazines/other, and to be filed. Thing to be shredded get done immediatley and junk mail goes in the recycle immediately. Pick up your mail only about 2 times a week so you don't have to go through it everyday. Cancel junk mail if you wish. There are websites to help you with that part.

DC2London · January 2012

I have one of those desktop organizers that I labelled with my label maker. I bring the mail in through the garage so I can immediately put junk mail, outer envelopes and other unnecessary stuff in the recycle bin. Then it gets sorted into my desktop organizer: to pay (or to otherwise deal with e.g. RSVP or make a phone call about), to file, and coupons. Every Thursday I go through the "to pay" file and do whatever I need to do, then all of that stuff and all of the "to file" stuff is filed in an accordian file. I keep one for monthly utility/credit card bills, and one for other important things like life insurance, 401k, car and house info, etc.

help with mail organization?

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