I'm not an organizational guru. I'm a mom who sometimes opens the mail while the spaghetti is boiling over and a two year old is hanging on my leg.
So in my counter organizer I have a slot labeled "action" and another labeled "file". When I open mail I put things that require a response from me, such as bills or party invitations, into the "action" file. Things that can simply be filed when I get a chance, such as bank statements, go in the "file" file.
It's simple, it's tidy, and it works for me.
Do you have a system for dealing with incoming mail?
[This is day 18 in a 31 day series called 31 Days to An Organized Home. Thanks for visiting!]
That's exactly what I do. I have a hanging folder that I made and it has action and file. I clear out the file slot every Friday (well I try). it works for me.
ReplyDeleteI just "found" your site yesterday!!! I am SOOO excited! I'm terrible at organization! I'm a wannabe organizer with no real plan and I seem to be a lot like you that when I want to re-organize something, it has to be the ENTIRE THING! Which, usually means a bigger mess than I started with. Thank you so much for this, I am starting TODAY!
ReplyDeleteI use a notebook to keep track of my bills, it has each bill listed so I never miss one. I pay bills twice a month, on the 1st and the 15th, and any bills I get in the mail go into a pocket in the notebook. Anything else that can be filed, I just file immediately. It usually just takes a second, the files are nicely organized, I have no trouble finding what goes where, I just slip the paper in and walk away. Anything else that's not a bill or to be filed, like event info, goes on a cork board hidden inside a kitchen cabinet.
ReplyDeleteThis is what My parents always did and what I'm going to go back to but I'm also going to start using a mail organizer like she showed above. I seem to lose track of my statements in the chaos. :S
DeleteI just came over to your site from sometimessweet.blogspot.com and I am so glad I did! I had my first baby 4 months ago and I am now needing to get out of my disorganized, adjusting stage into a nice clean state of being. Now that I know the way things are going to be working in our tiny apartment, now with our little daughter here, I am so excited to use the info you have been posting! I LOVE your ideas and how you have been able to get your house to be so peacefully organized. Thank you so much for posting all of this! Wish me luck! :D
ReplyDeleteGreat idea!
ReplyDeleteI do something similar, but I open my mail right over the recycling bin to reduce my paper right away. With anything that requires "action," I put it in a stand-up file like that, and I actually put 10 minutes slots on my calendar in order to get them done.
ReplyDeleteThat's a cute idea. I think everyone is on the same wave length right now because a lot of people are talking about getting organized. I guess things are getting pretty hectic for everybody right now.
ReplyDeleteI get overwhelmed with trying to make "systems" that work...I like that you kept it really basic...I have 4 kids, work a full time job outside the home, and have 2 part time Direct Sales jobs...the paper flow is endless! I used to just buy more and more containers and toss things in a pile and forget about them...I am on a mission to purge the gazillion pieces of papers that I already have in my house and to curb the flow of any in-coming items...Thanks for your tips--I am new to your blog but already love what I am seeing! :)
ReplyDeleteLove this blog! I'm reading it straight through since it's November now! I have Action Folders and Pay Folders and File Folders but they are overflowing because I rarely file. It just becomes a jumbled mess! I only have three kids and work part time but I have a hard time facing the endless paper trails....
ReplyDeleteI think I am officially in love with you...ehh your ideas :D
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing all your great tips!
I look through the mail(and go through the kids backpacks) near the recycling bin, then I never have 'stuff' I don't need sitting on my counter. Love the Action file idea because like you I do many things at once, and I don't have time to file bank statements pay bills right away.
ReplyDeleteMy apartment complex has a trash bin right outside the mail room but I think I'm going to suggest that they put in a recycling bin as well.
DeleteThanks for the great ideas!
ReplyDeleteWe're getting ready for a big move so its not really a great idea for me to be buying cute things like your file box so I cut apart a two pocket folder (like kids use in school) and I used hot glue and ribbon to make it into a hanging mail sorter. Very cute cheap way to do what your doing and I won't have to worry about it getting broken during the move! :) Thank you for the suggestion
ReplyDeleteI love your organizer. Any suggestions on where to find something like it? Everything I've found so far looks like it should be in a dorm room or on an executive's desk, not my little organizing nook in the corner of the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteI bought mine at Homesense. Which, as I understand it, is the Canadian version of HomeGoods. I hope you can find something that works for you :)
DeleteThanks for the tip, Kelly!
DeleteIf a paper bill enters my home it will inevitably get lost, so I set it up so that all my bills come in my email. Once I pay a bill I delete the email. That way I can easily tell what I have paid and what I still need to pay. Plus it's eco-friendly!
ReplyDeleteI just found you...THANK YOU... mine are not 2 yrs old...but still throwing papers and chasing my dog after he grabs papers from left out backpacks... can you visualize... I am always trying to get more organized... thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteA great tip! I have just come across your site, and it's so inspiring an fun to read. I will be visiting often!
ReplyDeleteI am loving your 31 days to organzed series! Something that has worked for me and our family as far as the mail and paper clutter is I get as many things paperless as possible. All of our bank statements and bills come through my email so I don't have to deal with the paper.
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog and can't stop reading the 31 days to an organized home. Very good ideas so far. I am drowning in papers. I like to rip out recipes, craft ideas for my daughter and I, and I keep piling up all those other papers from the mail, sports, or school. I am going to try your system for some of the papers....just need to find a good way to organize my recipes and craft ideas.
DeleteI'm really enjoying all ur tips. I admire your humility about how a mom deals with organizing and life.
ReplyDeleteI hate that cluttered space at the end of my kitchen counter where all the mail ends up. I may give it one last try with your system - it sounds simple and effective - but then I'm a lost cause whose given up on ever getting the paper clutter under control.
ReplyDeleteI have promised myself though that I will tackle it - one more time, so I don't get totally buried in paper by Christmas. I feel like I'm choking on paper.
I like your 3 tier wooden file organizer. Can you pls tell me where you bought it? thanks!
ReplyDelete