On October 11th, I posted about the cost of disorganization. This is one step you can take to get organized.
If you do not already have a system for addressing your mail, here is a system that may help you organize your mail process. Mail is the largest source of paper that comes into the home and if not handled right away, things can get lost or misplaced. This system is great because you will always know where everything is. If you spend time looking for paperwork, looking for that invitation you received, looking for anything that came in the mail, then I have a great solution for you. You can also use this file for school papers that come home with your children that need some sort of action, and any other papers that come into the home. Years ago, while watching an organization TV show called “Neat” (a Canadian TV show that was on HGTV), I learned about the “Action File”.
How does the system work? When your mail comes in, you first get rid of all the junk mail (use a shredder to shred any junk mail that has personal information on it). After you have sorted through and know what mail you want to keep, you use the action file. Chances are that when you bring in the mail, you don’t have the time right then to take care of what needs taking care of in the mail. The action file is where everything goes right now. Once you set up the necessary folders, it literally takes 2 minutes or less to sort your mail and put it in the action file when it comes in.
Setup: You will use file folders and prepare labels with the following names (you can use a crate or any other container or filing cabinet to hold these folders – Target and Walmart sell portable file crates that work great for this that are fit for pendaflex folders that you put your file folders in):
- Read
- Reply
- Pay
- File
- Call
- Banking
- Statements
- Taxes
In addition to these folders, create labels for a folder for each month of the year. Put the current month in the front with all the other months filed behind it in order. When the month is over, the folder should be empty and put at the back of the files (behind the last month). Now the next month is in the front (the new current month). What goes in the monthly folder? Anything you need to handle that month. If you purchased birthday cards in advance you can put those in the appropriate monthly folder. When you receive invitations, those will go in the month of the event (or in the month you need to look at it). So when you are in the current month, that folder will be in the front, and everything you need to address will be in it for that month.
Put all bills in the “Pay” folder. Put invitations, events, etc. in the appropriate monthly folder. If some of the mail needs a response you put it in the “Reply” folder. If it needs to be read you put it in the “Read” file. Statements from banks or investment accounts should go into the “statements” file. Anything you receive that is related to your taxes will go in the “tax” folder.
Once a week you need to go through your action file to handle the folders. Go to the current month folder, and the other folders, i.e. “read” folder or the “reply” folder and take care of that mail. When you want to pay your bills, pull out the “pay” file and pay your bills. After you pay your bills – you put them in the “File” folder to be filed at a later time (once a week). The most important thing to understand about this system is that these files are temporary holding files. It is not a stationary file. It is called an Action File because you need to take some sort of action on everything.
Your Money: Time to Take Another Look 