Organizing The Mail – Mission: Office

Check out My Mail System

My mail generally comes around 10:15 am.  I don’t always rush right out to get it, but at some point during a break in my day… I’ll head out.

Isn’t it kind of fun to open that box and see what you’ve gotten for the day? Usually it is just junk mail or bills, but every once in awhile you get that surprise letter or check that just makes your day

With the newly fallen snow (and more to come) I just thought this was fun… out to the box.. in to track in my house (not really…shoes off)

I sort out what is my husbands and what is mine.  He likes getting mail too… so I don’t open his.. even though he wouldn’t care if I did (unless its a bill…then I take it)

This is our command center by the front door. Below this area are the cubbys that the kids use. My hubby just moved his office down to the basement (his man cave) and we started using this mail slot that has previously gone unused for his mail.

It seems to work alright if he picks it up. But he tends to let it build up… which drives me a bit crazy to have to see when you first walk in the door.  I tried to talk him into a plastic slot that could go on the wall on the way down the basement steps, but he felt that people would hit it. So for now.. this will work.

My mail goes into my “in” box sitting on my desk.  I usually try to take care of it right when I get it, but if I am too busy or I’m not home, then it goes into this clear tray.

Now.. when I am home, what I normally do is to sort it right then.

The junk mail that has information that could be harmful to us.. ..goes into the shredder.

Then the envelops or any other junk mail goes into my trash can by my chair. I will then take it out to the recycle bin when it’s full.

Then the bills and any other pertinent mail that I have to deal with, will go into my “bill box”

Which is a new section of my Ikea wall unit (that you will be seeing before long when you see my office make over.

I tab them with the date they are due and put them where I can work on them once they are due.

This system works for me.  I love the daily reminder bill files, but I don’t have the space for one with the new office set up I did. That is fine for me… I like this system.

I was inspired to do this post because of Toni’s A Bowl Full of Lemon’s 21 day challenge. I haven’t been participating in the actual daily challenge, but I’ve added a few links but sure love looking through them.

If you have a blog post on your mail system, I’d love for you to link it to my Organizing Mission Monday link party.  This link party will be left open for a month to go with the Mission – Office that I am working on with my link party.

I would love it if you could vote for me! You can vote up to once per day!

I’m linking this post to:

Email

Email Inbox – Does it Stress You Out?

Our E-mail can be as scary if not scarier than all the papers coming into our houses. We get junk mail, we get offers, we get pictures and letters, then more junk mail.
But sorting through it can be difficult.
I have to admit (as I did on my momtv show last night) that I am not an expert in this form of organizing. I think that might be because I am not techie at all and I am sure there are easier ways to do things on here that I am just not aware of.
Last night I had a great group of people who were teaching me a lot about different things that can help. You can see it if you go to this link on Mom TV
I have tried to still use the basic methods of sorting paper.
1) File
2) Action
3) Trash

To file you need files. So you need to make folders to put things in. I have learned to use the filter option for my inbox. So that things that I don’t necessarily have to read that day, newsletters etc. go directly into that folder. Then I try to look at it everyday and sort through it, but it is ok if I don’t get to it until 2 or even 3 days later. But then I clean it out as I go.

Several people have several e-mail addresses to sort their mail. I have 3 e-mails but it isn’t to sort my mail it is to keep business and personal separate. The 3rd is an old one that I have surveys and a couple point saving things I signed up for in.

I also may be the geek here in that I print out my important information. I have a notebook that I keep for my blogging and it just keeps my head clear of what I have to get done. I think this is because I am still old school at heart and I don’t have my head completely wrapped around keeping everything in my computer folders. I hope to get to a point where I do not feel I need my notebook to feel like I have everything in control.
Thanks to my viewers last night in teaching me some new things!

Here are a couple other posts that might interest you about E-mail Inbox organizing:
Guest blogger Beth from Plus Size Mommy