STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Bastet · Kate Spade

Organizational help: drowning in junk mail!

littlebean · Kate Spade

Oooh, I hate junk mail! It is so wasteful of both my time and paper. I don't have a good solution for going through the mail, since that's a problem that I have, too. But Ideal Bite did a good article on cutting down on junk mail this summer. Following their suggestions, plus asking to be removed from a number of catalogs, has significantly helped.

Kelly · Hermes

I recently moved into my late aunt's house, and I still get mail for her. I started writing "recipient deceased- return to sender" on them and sticking them back in the mailbox with the flag up. It recently occurred to me that you really could do that with any junkmail (although I haven't tried it out yet to see how effective it is)

Cortney1982 · Chanel

When I get my mail I throw out the junk right away then put away the rest. It's better to spend a minute or two a day then to have a huge unsightly mess pile up which can cause stress to look at!

I use a letter sorter to put my bills, stamps, and address labels in:
Dr. Byte Glass Letter Sorter Staples Mission Faux Leather Desk Organizer
And you can use a letter tray to put magazines and catalogs in:
Dr. Byte Glass Front-Load Letter Tray Staples Mission Faux Leather Letter Tray

greendiamond · Marc Jacobs

Do you have room in the foyer for a nice trash/recycling can? You could sort it right over the can and then put the good mail in a nice basket or sorter, like Courtney posted.

Cricket · Gucci

I take mine straight to the kitchen and put it into 3 piles.

1. recycling (goes straight into the bin in the kitchen).
2. Items to be shredded (CC offers, anything with my name, address etc. on it)
3. Coupons, etc. I put in a folder until I can go through them.

Takes me about 2 minutes a day, if that. Sometimes I'll let the items to be shredded pile up a little in the office and do them all at once when I have a few minutes.

bloomie · Marc Jacobs

I used to have the same problem, but I joined flylady.net about a month ago and it is really helping me. Here is an email I got this morning that addresses your problem:

It doesn't take long to deal with a piece of paper when it comes into
your home. You have three choices.

1. It is trash and needs to be thrown away.

2. It is a bill and needs to be paid.

3. It is something that you want to read but you don't have time right
now.

Here is what happens when we get home, open up the mailbox and come
into the house. We usually come in with too many things in our hands
and the minute we walk in the door we dump it all in the most
convenient place we can find. If one hotspot is full we will put it
some place else and create a new hotspot. Eventually every flat
surface in your home is filled with this paper clutter. Hotspots are
paper clutter that has been dumped out of your arms because you don't
think you have time to deal with it right now.

Then how are we going to stop this ineffective habit from turning our
homes into huge hotspots?

I see the problem a being one of trying to do too many things at one
time. When you walk in the door you are thinking about fixing dinner,
homework, laundry and anything else that is pressing. The mail is not
a priority right then. So why do we put this on our plates at this
time. It is a habit we have done for years.

Then let's see how we could do this differently. If you are determined
to pick up the mail when you get home then you have to take each piece
right then and there and deal with it. I promise it will only take
about two minutes total. One member actually has her super shredder in
her garage. This way she can shred as she is getting out of the car.
The mail actually has to earn the right to come into the house. This
why her first sorting is quite simple; Trash or Keeper, then she takes
the mail in the house.

When we come into the house with our arms loaded all we want to do is
drop it right away. Let's quit trying to save steps by dealing with
the most important things first; children, pets and papers. Walk into
your home and start putting things away instead of dumping them on a
hotspot. Put your keys and purse in their spot. OH THEY DON'T HAVE A
SPOT YET! Now is the time to pick a spot and keep them there. This way
you can always find them. Put them in their place before you do
anything else. Develop a routine for coming in the door; Put keys and
purse where they go, set the children down, hang your coat up and deal
with the mail.

Open up the bills, throw away the chaff from inside the bills and put
them in your Office in a Bag. You don't have to sit down and write a
check now. You just have to put them where you keep your bills so they
don't get lost in your hotspot. If you received magazines that you
love to read, then put them where you love to read them; bathroom,
bathtub, your favorite chair or in your pamper tote. Do this same
thing with all the catalogs you receive. I put them in a recycle bag
immediately. If I want to look for something; I know that the catalog
is in that bag. We get so many I am about ready to start calling and
taking my name off their mailing list. That could be a fun 15 minute
project to do each week.

This has only taken about two minutes to come in the house and deal
with the mail. If you need to make a second trip to the car then go do
it now and process all the stuff you bring in immediately. This will
keep your hotspots from piling up and falling over.

You can do this! It is going to make a big difference in your home.
You will be putting things away before they become a pile!

Bastet · Kate Spade

Thanks bloomiefor that flylady post. I think maybe I need to establish a routine, because what was said in that post is exactly what I do. I'm carrying a work bag and a ton of mail and I just drop it all so I can put my coat away.

greendiamond, my foyer is too small for a trash can because it's got too many doors in it (front door, coat closet, and laundry room double doors) that take up all the wall space. But, I like your idea and I think I might get a short, squat box like the ones Cortney1982 suggested and keep it in the closet. Since I always put my coat away (it, unlike junkmail, deserves the respect of not being chucked on a table

) I can toss junk mail in the box at the same time.

Thanks everyone!

Suasoria · Chanel

Stopping the junk mail is the best way to simplify this issue, it seems. You must, must register with the Mail Preference service - this used to be free but now that it's online I see they'll bill your credit card a whole dollar (as a fraud prevention measure, they say). It's SO worth it.

Maybe there's space on the back of the coat closet door to put an organizer of some kind, or even just a hook to hang up a canvas shopping bag. Or two bags, one to go right to the recycling bin on trash day and one for things you might want to look at when you have time.

My foyer is tiny and the mail slot goes into the living room. I have a metal basket, actually a vintage carrier from the days of milkmen, under the slot. This is for newspapers, flyers people leave on the porch, and junk mail. It isn't unattractive (until it overflows) and it saves us a lot of walking.

I don't shred things usually, I tear them up into little pieces because the shredder is elsewhere. But sometimes when I get a business reply, postage-paid envelope in a solicitation for a credit card or telephone company, I use the envelope to mail THEM junk mail. I'll stick in some pizza coupons or whatever, and mail it back to them. If I'm feeling evil I put in a post-it that says "if you stop sending me junk mail, I'll stop sending it to you."

Sometimes I mail them the pitch letters from charity solicitations that come in on the same day. Maybe someone opening the envelope will be interested in the plight of wild sea turtles or alley cats. At least it's educational.

First I make sure there's no identifying information on the envelope itself, like a bar code, or anything I'm mailing to them. But I get untold glee from the notion that sending THEM junk mail costs them a few cents.