Manage Your Mail
Even in our largely digital world, mail remains a fact of life. And without a consistent plan for how to deal with it, mail can be a major source of clutter in the home. Even worse, important items can get lost or deadlines missed. Here are three easy tips for creating a mail zone that will keep things flowing smoothing.
1) Choose a mail zone space and location that is convenient for your family. Think of a place where the whole family will walk by on a daily basis – maybe that’s right when you walk in from your garage or other entry, or perhaps in the kitchen somewhere out of the way from spaces used for cooking.
2) Determine what mail categories suit your family, it might be one folder per family member or one for bills, one for things to act on immediately, and one for things to act on that are not urgent.
3) Create a sorting system and label it based on your mail categories. Desktop file sorters are great for keeping things contained but accessible. But stay away from inboxes or flat trays – they just invite piles and clutter.
Bonus Tip – Don’t even bring junk mail inside! Immediately after you retrieve your mail, do a quick sort and dump any junk mail, unwanted catalogs, etc. right into your exterior trash cans.
