Comments on: Off-beat solutions for organizing your mail

By: Sooz

Sooz — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 05:07:35 +0000

I’m with Lola on this – since we got our Fujitsu ScanSnap, it’s: open bill, pay it online, scan it, shred original bill.

We are now moving to get as many bills sent electronically as we can arrange. That will lead to (hopefully): open e-bill, pay it online, save as PDF, delete original bill.

By: RoaringSilence

RoaringSilence — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:53:23 +0000

The corporate mail carts are fantastic. I don’t get so much mail that I’d use them for that, but I have one for foods in the kitchen (it’s stored underneath a countertop and can be pulled out), and one for craft supplies (it’s stored underneath a desk)

By: AG

AG — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:59:17 +0000

To control paper clutter, I use the (1) paper shredder (2) online banking and (3) file cabinet (for all others) religiously.

Also, here is a crazy thought. If I ain’t got 3 and 1/2 minutes to pay a bill online, then I probably ain’t got time to run up the charges on said bill either.

Hmmmm.

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:39:15 +0000

The over door hanging style looks really good. I just wish I had a door like that to hang it on…

By: Haley J.

Haley J. — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:36:26 +0000

These are great! My husband offices out of our home when he is not traveling for work (he travels about 75-80% of the time). He get a lot of mail, and I have a wire basket near our entrance to dump it all in. These solutions are much more attractive, though. I really like the old-fashioned organizer with the key hooks.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:37:34 +0000

Before you toss your unwanted mail and/or junk mail make sure you ALWAYS tear your name/address off of the envelope or enclosed documents and shred it before you toss the rest in the recycling bin. I always worry about identity theft.

I have signed up for electronic billing whenever possible to try to minimize the amount of paper mail arriving. Junk mail – ugh. I wish there was a permanent, free and real solution to stop unwanted junk mail.

By: Lola

Lola — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:24:16 +0000

I hate mail almost as much as I hate phone solicitations. As soon as I pick it up from the mailbox, I deal with it straight away. Recycle, BillPay, ScanSnap It, then Shred.

http://www.junkbusters.com/declare.html

Life is so much more enjoyable without having that weekly load of mail to deal with — not to mention the peace of mind that comes from not having to look at or think about paper clutter.

By: Suze

Suze — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:10:35 +0000

I’m with Sara – I need to open and deal with it as soon as I get it. Junk is shredded and binned in recycling, bills are filed in my bill folder and dealt with each Friday on our payday, and anything else is filed away.

By: Sara

Sara — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:05:30 +0000

I’m shocked anyone gets enough mail that they can’t just go through it right away when it’s brought in. Maybe I’m just so obsessive I couldn’t stand not to look at it? At any rate that wooden organizer is gorgeous, I’m sure I could find another use for it!

By: na

na — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:27:44 +0000

no one should be getting much mail other than packages. its unnecessary. but u definitely shouldnt buy have another item to store it. the point is owning as little as possible. get as many places to stop junk mail, everything else can be done on-line or faxed.

By: tammy

tammy — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:18:40 +0000

there is an important step between bringing in the mail and putting some of it in the recycling bin:

removing the postage paid envelope and cutting out the address label, and writing “remove from mailing list” on the label, then sending it back in the postage paid envelope.

reduce! it comes before recycle.

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:46:13 +0000

The over-cabinet mail sorter would also be handy to hang on the front of a file cabinet or desk drawer. I have limited space on my desk, and it might be a way to get rid of my “Out” box on my desk (without having to commit to something permanent).

By: Michele

Michele — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:34:37 +0000

I deal with my mail daily. However, I don’t pay bills daily; I let them accumulate for a couple of weeks, until I’m too close to the oldest bill’s due date for putting off the task any longer. To keep on top of that due date, I process all my mail daily by opening the bills, discarding the inserts, and setting the bills half in the envelope, with their due dates prominently showing. Then I stack the bills in a drawer right on top of my checkbook.

I get about a dozen bills monthly (utilities, credit cards, mortgage, and miscellaneous health bills), so I receive new bills frequently enough that I can always stay on top of the most urgent due dates.

I like putting the bills away in a drawer for two reasons: privacy (the content and amount of a bill is none of my guests’ business) and neatness.

By: Kris

Kris — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:33:23 +0000

Another simple option for holding mail is to put it in a canvas tote bag until you’re ready to deal with it. (This is similar to what Jay and his wife do.)

You can just throw the mail in the tote unsorted or you can include some file folders for sorting. The folders can be labeled with the name of each person in your household, they can be labeled with the kind of mail (catalogs, magazines, etc.), or they can be labeled with the action required (recycle, trash, read, respond, pay, file).

As Jay points out, you can carry the bag to any part of the house when you’re ready to deal with the mail.

Also, if your mail box is by the road rather than by your door, you can carry the tote bag directly to the mail box.

L.L. Bean’s medium tote bag works well for this purpose. It’s sturdy, relatively inexpensive, and comes in 15 colors. (And for the record, my only relationship with L.L. Bean is as a customer.)

Another cheap but less sturdy option is to throw the mail into a shopping bag from your favorite department store.

By: Anita

Anita — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:06:55 +0000

I’m pretty good about going through my mail as soon as I get it. It helps that I don’t get a lot of mail, and junk gets recycled about 5 seconds after it comes out of the mailbox. Mail that does need attention usually ends up in a “stuff to deal with” pile on my desk, which I try to clear every week.

Doing my banking and paying most of my bills online has cut down my mail quite a bit. Now if only I could get VISA to send me electronic statements…