My new mail system

**AmyBoz** · 10-01-2004, 04:50 PM

First of all, I need to apologize. I've been a bad, bad moderator lately. Life got a bit hectic and I've neglected my little piece of the village here. I'm sorry.

On the bright side, the chaos in my life has forced me to take control of the things that can be taken control of. (Chaos...still no working kitchen in the new house...major mistakes and delays with the contractor and dh and I are LIVID)

Anyway, I found a pretty basket that we weren't using and set it by the front door. I've decided that nothing ever comes in the mail that must be opened immediately, so I neatly place the mail in the basket every day. On Saturday, when I have a second to breathe, I go trough all the mail at once, pay all the bills and do all the filing. It takes 15-20 minutes, tops, and it's nice and relaxing.

This is a change, because I used to open the mail every day, but didn't have a routine and stuff would wind up all over the house. This is more efficient for my lifestyle.

Do you guys have mail sorting/opening routines?

**Sara Noel** · 10-01-2004, 05:00 PM

This is a major problem with me. NO SYSTEM for mail. I stack it on the entryway counters. I immediately toss the junk, but bills and magazines and catalogs stay there stacked. I go through it all the time, but there is always a pile.

I should just get a tote or something. A wall mail sorter is too small for me. lol

I'm pretty neat and orderly, but that is a bigtime weak area for me.

**Goodwin17** · 10-01-2004, 05:05 PM

I'm terrible with my mail (and everything else in my house for that matter). I like your idea of the basket, and I think I'll go back to Michael's tonight, because they had their baskets 40% off. My mail always ends up all over the house!

**KKCondrey** · 10-01-2004, 05:10 PM

Nope, no system here either but we need one. Most of it ends up on the Kitchen table and the magazines usually end up on the end tables the sofa or in the bedroom

**PrairieRose** · 10-01-2004, 06:29 PM

No system here either. My desk always looks like a bomb has gone off......ugh.

**mom2matty** · 10-01-2004, 10:19 PM

No system here either and everything usually just gets dumped on one of my kitchen counters.....the one that nobody can see unless they are standing right in the kitchen........I tend to lose track of things and then run into trouble! A basket and a plan like yours would be a great help to me as well!!!!!

**homesteadmamma** · 10-01-2004, 10:29 PM

No system here either Amy, but your on to something. What a wonderful way to do the mail. Now I just need to find a basket to work mine the same way.

**forestdale** · 10-01-2004, 11:23 PM

I have a wonderful mail system too. I never open any mail unless it looks like a personal letter. I mean it, I never open mail with a window in it, or if it looks like a bank statement or anything business-like. DH thinks I'm nuts but I know he'll go through everything with a fine tooth comb - he's german, it's in the genes. He pays all the bills, does all our online banking, I haven't paid a bill in 20 years. I could do it if I had to but the excellent thing is, I never have to.

**mrscornbread** · 10-02-2004, 01:26 AM

I do open the mail everyday, I immediately tear up anything that I consider junk or unimportant at the time and throw it out, but I must admit that the bills end up all over the house and my room and then I can't find it when I need it. I think I will try the basket thing, besides that it will give me something to do thisa weekend, I think I will go thrift store-a-hunting for one...Thanks Amy!

**dz_blonde_girl** · 10-02-2004, 09:18 AM

What a great idea Amy! I have a binder that my bills go in, but all that stuff I want to look at later ends up in a huge pile.

**pita1213** · 10-03-2004, 11:03 AM

my system at the moment is i sort the mail: junk goes int eh trash, magazines go in respective person's computer chair and bills go in my bill paying notebook.

i have a couple of cardboard boxes that i got from work. they were teh display holders for some sachets. i'm in the middle of painting them. when i am done, one will be for incomming bills and the other for all out going mail.

**Michelle** · 10-03-2004, 11:11 AM

I do something similar, but I definitely open it every day. Here's an example of why. Yesterday I opened a letter from my mortgage company stating that we're short in escrow and owe $2K. If we pay the $2K now, our monthly mortgage payment goes up by $100 every month. If I don't pay any of it right now, it goes up by $175 every month. Now if I hadn't opened that right away, I wouldn't have known that I need to start scraping some money together and pretty quick!

**SHOPGIRL** · 02-22-2006, 09:36 PM

Incoming paper is definitely a problem. I try to open up mail immediately and toss out the envelopes, ads, cataloges, and anything that I don't need. My problem is I don't file the papers right away. I have signed up to receive a few bills via email, so that is less paper. I also put my bills in brightly colored file folders. I have the file folders in a wodden magazine rack. I keep them in the living room. Of course, if I was going to have people over, then I'd put that in the office. This way, I'm more apt to file the papers when I'm watching t.v or talking on the phone. This helps, but I'm continually swamped with paper it seems.

**leeleeaub** · 02-23-2006, 12:49 AM

I have had the same system for years. If it is a bill it goes in a container by my computer. If it is a magazine it goes in the top of the magazine rack. If it is junk mail it goes into the garbage. If it is a sample or something I have won it gets opened and goes in its proper place.
I never ever let mail build up.

**AmyBoz** · 02-23-2006, 09:04 AM

Well, thanks for bumping up my post, however, I don't use this mail system anymore!

Now, what I do is that when the mail comes in, I immediately go through it. I toss the trash, I put the stuff for the office in the office and the bills with the checkbook, and that's pretty much it! It's much easier to deal with it as it comes in and not have to worry about a big pile of it at the end of the week.