Hellobee Boards

As much as I'd like to sort the mail as soon as I pick it up, we end up piling them up for a later time as well.

I sort right away - throw out junk mail and try to file others or pay bills as needed.

@mrbee: hah! I think the mail breeds at our house too! I am the worst at managing paper clutter. I try to go through the mail when it comes but some days it doesn't happen and then before I know it I'm overrun!

How do you opt out of catalogs?!? Our snail mail system is easy, it's 99% junk, so it goes right into the recycle bin. The few bill ones get set aside for me to scan and then tossed out.

I go through the mail immediately every day. Recycle the junk, toss what we don't need and bills go immediately in to my purse or planner for me to deal with at work. It annoys DH for some reason that I do this first thing in the door. But if I didn't, it would quickly become a big pile like you mentioned. The only things that stack up are the bills/expenses that need to be filed for taxes...

I hate how the mail piles up on the counter or kitchen table! So we have two systems:

1) Put mail in a mail sorter on the counter. (It seems less messy when the mail is standing upright than flat on the counter)
2) When we eventually go through the mail, we have a document tray (3 shelves) and sort into a) things to file, b) things to deal with within the next week, and c) "I don't know" pile

I open everything daily and 95% gets tossed out as it's either catalogs, credit card related stuff or junk mail. I have a large basket that is on the book shelf near out desk that all the "important" stuff gets tossed in after I pay things that need paid (sometimes I will file right away). We honestly clean it out and do filing about 1x a year (tax time). It keeps things tidy, but obviously not perfect!

All of our bills are on autopay. So usually I just pick out whatever looks important/fun/interesting, everything else accumulates in a basket (mostly catalogues and bills) and I sort when it starts to overflow every 2 months or so. Not the best system. I need to stop getting catalogues.

It goes on the counter until one of us goes through it once a week. Bills will go in a mail sorter on that counter with a due date written on the outside of the envelope. Whoever gets to them first (which is usually me) will pay them.