Organizing Mail

So, you're ready to fix dinner but the kitchen counter is covered in paper - newspaper, magazines, kids' schoolwork, and the mail! So you gather it up and move it to the table with all the other paper. But when it's time to eat...the papers get relocated again. Before you know it you've missed a credit card payment or an important event because the bill or invitation got lost. Sound familiar (no, I haven't been peeking in your window!)?

Organizing paper is an ongoing challenge for most people. The concept of a paperless society eludes many of us, as we continue to receive paper copies of banks and investment statements, utility bills, and loan payments. Add to that the plethora of credit card applications ("Congratulations! You've been approved!"), direct mail advertisements, and catalogs and it's easy to see how our homes have become overrun with paper. It's time to take control of your paper.

Below is an easy to follow system for keeping the mail under control. While the system itself is simple, there are a couple of rules.

1. You must do this every day; that's right, EVERY DAY! You wouldn't wait until the end of the week (or month) to brush your teeth or wash the dishes, would you? So don't wait to do the mail either. Make it a regular part of every day.
2. You must learn to make quick decisions. Failure to make decisions is the number one cause of clutter. Some even define clutter as postponed decisions.

Here's the system.

• Designate one place for mail. Think of where you regularly drop the mail now and put a container there (basket, shoe box, plastic tray... something to hold the mail temporarily).
• At some point every day (it doesn't have to be as soon as you get home) process the mail. Notice that I didn't say "Go through the mail". That's what most people do; they go through the mail, pull out the "good stuff" and toss the rest back on the table. In order to process the mail, you'll need a system. I recommend that you open and look at every piece of mail. Sort into four piles - Act, Shred, Recycle, and Trash.
• ACT: these are items that require action on your part; they need to be read, paid, filed, forwarded to someone else, etc.
• SHRED: these are items with personal information (account numbers, social security numbers, etc.); I put a little tear in these docs so they don't accidentally end up in recycle or trash.
• RECYCLE: items that can be recycled, such as envelopes, flyers, postcards, and communications that do not contain sensitive information (check with your city for details on what can and cannot be recycled)
• TRASH: anything that does not require action, does not need to be shredded and cannot be recycled. My trash pile is usually very small or nonexistent.
• Now, throw the trash in the trash can, the recycling in the recycle bin and shred the shred docs. I don't believe you will need a "To Be Shredded" box, as it only takes about one minute to shred mail each day, if you keep up with it.
• All that remains are the docs that need action. Watch for a future post on how to track action items. In the mean time, tackle right away the ones that you can do in less than two minutes. Place the rest in a location where you can locate them later when you're ready to finish processing them.

If you use this system, let me know how it works for you! You can find me on Twitter (@themarydonovan) or comment on this blog.