Strategies to cope with paper mail

ss265 · June 2014

So even before we had DS, I was pretty bad about opening mail but since we have had him, it has gotten even worse. I just can never get myself to sort through it and before I know it, it builds up and I get completely overwhelmed at the task of going through it all. Between cooking and cleaning, sorting the mail is always the last item to do and it frequently falls off the priority list. It doesn't help that for some reason I get 85% of the mail so I can't even ask DH to take over this task. Do you guys have any strategies for going through your mail that might help? Thanks!

vvvvvfee · June 2014

try to go through it each day- it really only takes 5 minutes. don't even put the pile down as you walk in. put the junk into the recycling, put the stuff that needs to be shredded in a designated box, put bills in a spot to be paid, and file anything that needs to be kept in your file cabinet.

if you go to https://www.catalogchoice.org and https://www.dmachoice.org you can also opt out of catalogs and junk mail to cut down on the amount of stuff you have to sort through.

rockychryslerb2010 · June 2014

Switch to electronic statements and setup auto pay whenever possible. We rarely get mail, so our strategy is to file it during the week and go through it sunday evening. We throw out any junk mail or catalogs before we file it, so that cuts down on the volume as well. Since most of our stuff is electronic, we rarely get anything of importance in the mail!

ETA: and by file during the week I mean DH has a section and I have a section of an organizer. We only go through it once a week.

momofcatan · June 2014

Junk (that does not have our names/address) goes in the recycling before I even put the mail down on the table. Sometimes I just put the mail in my lunch bag so I can deal with it at work. My desk at work is so much less of a black hole than all my surfaces at home so I will take a couple minutes at lunch time to sort through the mail. I have a pretty large "to be filed" pile at home but that doesn't bother me much because I know that anything in that pile has been taken care of and just needs to be filed away.

welly01 · June 2014

I would also try to reduce the amount of mail you get. See if you can receive any of them electronically, like bills, health ins EOB, etc. Make a commitment to at least sort them every day and throw away what's not important. All of our bills are paid through auto-pay, so we never have to worry about missing a payment.

jlaOK · June 2014

I get the mail and it gets sorted into 3 piles: to pay, to file, to shred. Since I pay all the bills and balance the checkbook DH takes care of the filing and shredding. He probably does it once a week.

SunAndRain · June 2014

All our bills are electronic and most of our statements are too.

I only pick up mail twice per week. I immediately throw out the junk, sort between mine and dh. Typically it is a informational statement which gets looked at and then tossed. Everything that needs to get filed gets stuck in a basket and I file about every other month. Rarely does a piece of mail require action in our parts but if it does we take care of it within the week (ideally).

Dh and I each have an organizer in the kitchen so important items sit there until we deal with them. Helps avoid things getting lost in the shuffle.

ss265 · June 2014

Thank you for all the suggestions. I do auto pay everything and opt for electronic statements when I can. And when I bring in the mail (which is rare), I sort through the catalogs etc. but DH likes to just grab everything and dump it on the table.

I like some of the links on removing catalogs so I will look into those.

@K3am, how do you get your name removed from credit card offers?

jf198400 · June 2014

Agree with everyone else, do it daily. Most mail goes straight in the recycling bin. Even if the mail is mostly addressed to you, you could still delegate it to DH. I open all of DHs mail. If it's anything important I file it or give it to him if it requires some action.

ss265 · June 2014

@K3am, thanks!

ss265 · June 2014

tas1883 said:

This is a problem for us too. I finally had to tell DH to stop getting the mail because he would put it in random places and I wouldn't find until way later or when I was franticly looking for a bill. My fix was that I go and get the mail. We have a lock box and I use it as an excuse to walk around the block during nice weather. Then I sort it as soon as I get home, recycle, bill, shred, fun mail. I love the ideas of getting off the credit card and catalog lists that is 95% of my mail.

Lol, I thought I was the only one! I once ordered samples from Etsy and emailed the seller that I never got them, only to find them in a random pile of mail that DH had decided to just leave in a random place. I think me taking over mail responsibilities will help a lot as well (although I hate to take on another house task!)

emberlee3 · June 2014

My husband leaves the pile of mail in various places, along with everything else he owns. I seek it out and deal with it every night after I finish other chores.

ss265 · June 2014

SandAndsSea said:

I throw junk mail away immediately and make a pile for things to be sorted/filed/paid/etc. We also signed up for as many paperless/electronic things as possible and opted out of credit card offers etc. to reduce the amount of mail we got. And, I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but I have sometimes taken it into the bathroom with me to sort and toss to multitask.

Lol, ah the multi-tasking skills of a working mom.

Want a personalized experience?

Strategies to cope with paper mail

Re: Strategies to cope with paper mail

Choose Another Board

Search Boards