Junk Mail...

I think most of us know that junk mail belongs in the trash. Yet most of us still have piles of mail to deal with even after culling through the junk. Remember the organizer's favorite rule of thumb, you should only touch it one time. Pull it out of the box and immediately deal with it then and there. If you are in your car, have a bag for trash and deposit it where it belongs. Anything you need to keep, put in your purse or a shopping bag that will come into the house when you get home. Only the most important should actually enter your home. When I have loads of money, I plan on paying the bills the minute I get them in the mail so I don't have to think about it again until the next bill. I love auto-draft, but I can't do that right now. One day...

I still have a couple piles that need my attention, but they're low on my priority list right now. The system I have works well though. I have a planner with a folder just for my monthly bills. As soon as I get that month's bills, I put them in my planner. That way I'm sure to budget and plan for them and pay them on time!

Anything that I need to file and keep for proof of purchase or other government paperwork goes into an expandable file folder. I can take that with me at anytime and I know that all my important stuff is in one place. How do you know it's something you should keep? Well tax-related issues should be kept. Any proof of income like check stubs and such. Keep your resume' up to date too. Keep a copy of that. Rebates, insurance, warranty... you get the drift. If your money is involved, you need some proof. One day I'll have a fire proof safe too.

A shredder is a very nice tool for every home. You can sit and shred as soon as you sit down. Then if you have a firepit or fireplace, you can just use the shreddings for firestarter.

You can limit your junk mail with websites and signing up for paperless billing. Just a special note: if you sign up for paperless billing, please take a moment to print out the necessary hard copy for insurance or book keeping. If you weren't able to print it when you have an emergency, you might be in a pinch.

How do you keep up with mail at your house?