Week #17 Organized Home Challenge
Create A Home Mail Organizer Center
This week's challenge is to create a home mail organizer center, which will help you keep track of incoming and outgoing mail, plus to develop certain routines and habits to keep on track with mail organization.
Keeping track of your mail, and dealing with the papers you receive on a daily basis is really about setting up a workable system, and then building up habits and routines to deal with it, on a daily basis.
Once your system is set up, dealing with your mail daily need only take you 5-10 minutes, per day, maybe less. In addition, you'll need to set aside some time weekly to deal with paperwork.
This Challenge Is The Beginning Of A Several Week Process To Conquer Paper Clutter
Paper clutter takes up a lot of our time and energy in our home, so I've devoted several weeks in the challenges to dealing with it, since you can't have an organized home full of stacks of paper.
Are you new here? The Create a Home Mail Organizer Center Challenge is part of the 52 Weeks To An Organized Home Challenge. (Click the link to learn how to join us for free for future and past challenges if you aren't already a regular reader).
Because there is so much paper in the typical home, and so many types of it though, it would be impossible to tackle all the paper explosions in our house in one week. Therefore, this week's challenge is really just laying the foundation for the next couple of weeks by starting to gain control of the influx of paper we receive on a daily basis.
However, the little bit of time investment we spend this week creating a home mail organizer center will set up the main part of your system for dealing with incoming mail, and will reap huge dividends for you in savings of time and anxiety over the long term.
Some of the benefits you'll see once you begin dealing with your mail and other incoming papers in a more organized manner are the following:
- No countertops and flat surfaces covered with stacks of paper
- No wasted money on late fees and finance charges from paying bills late
- No anxiety and worry that you're forgetting something, such as an event or due date
- You'll save time not searching for lost or misplaced documents
So, are you ready to begin a several week process of conquering your paper clutter? If so, here are the steps to take this week, as part of the Create a Home Mail Organizer Center Challenge.
Please note, I've also created a Paper Organization Series here on the site as well, which runs in tandem with the next several weeks of challenges. It provides even more general resources to help you get this area of your home and life under control!
Click Here For Paper Organization SeriesStep 1: Choose A Central Location In Your Home To Gather And Process Mail
The first step in the Create a Home Mail Organizer Center Challenge is to choose a central location in your home where you'll gather and process your mail each day.
There is no right or wrong place to do this in your home, but I will tell you some useful criteria to keep in mind while you're brainstorming where it could be:
- Near a central location in your home where your family already dumps papers and mail that comes into the house daily, such as the kitchen counter, dining room table, by the door, etc.
- Near a clear flat work surface
- Close to your file storage area (which could be file cabinets, or portable or rolling file box, or in your home office for example)
- Space for a small amount of home office supplies (see list below for more details about what to stock here)
Homes are all laid out in different ways, and everyone's needs are different so the place you choose may not be ideal, but you've got to choose a designated place to create your home mail organizer center. Doing this haphazardly will just invite piles of paper all over the house, which is a recipe for disorganization.
Don't forget, when choosing a spot, to involve anyone else in your home who also picks up the mail, such as your spouse or kids. They need to agree to the system and follow it too, otherwise you'll have chaos, and the easiest way to get them to comply is to let them help make the decisions for where the center will be located.
Step 2: Gather The Right Equipment And Supplies In Your Home Mail Center
The next step in this challenge is to gather all the right supplies together for your home mail organizer center.
Every organized home needs a shredder forpaper clutter [Click to purchase on Amazon]
The most important of these supplies is the trash can, recycling bin, and/or shredder (such as the one to the right).
I've found one of the most important things to do each day is just throw away all the junk you don't need, right away, so it doesn't stay in your home a second longer than needed. This could be part of your home recycling center in your kitchen or mud room, or in your home office, for example.
In addition, here are the other supplies that you should have close to your home mail organizer center:
- Tickler file, and/or inbox or basket for bills, other pending paperwork that needs to be dealt with during your weekly paperwork session (see steps 3-4 for more details)
- Pens
- Stationary and cards
- Stamps
- Stapler
- Post it notes
- Scissors
- Tape
- Paper clips and bigger binder clips
- Small calculator
- Address book and other contact information
- Family calendar
- Telephone (optional)
- Computer (optional)
Some people like to have their mail and keys together, such as on a wall mounted mail organizer, even though you can't have many home office supplies in a set up like this.
Others like something that keeps their mail and other supplies together, such as on a counter in the kitchen. Here's an example of a mail organizer available.
Click to purchase on AmazonStep 3: Create A Habit Of Sorting And Purging Your Mail Daily, Including Using The Two Minute Rule
Once you've got your home mail organizer center in place somewhere in your home, you've got to use it, daily.
On a daily basis you should gather your mail, and other incoming papers that you've received that day (including kids school papers, papers from work, etc.) and take a couple of minutes to deal with them.
"Dealing with them" does not necessarily involve taking every step necessary to complete every action that piece of paper might require you to take. Instead, dealing with it involves examining every piece of mail and incoming paper and making a decision of where it will go in your home mail organizer center.
I've written an entire article on how to create a daily routine for organizing paperwork that you should read, which provides four choices for each piece of paper or mail, plus examples of the ways readers sort this daily paperwork as part of this daily process.
If you don't plan to shred items daily, as you realize things are junk and need to go, then you also need to create a shredding area in your home to temporarily store the paper you're planning to shred. But then, you've also got to shred papers regularly, so your shredding paper doesn't become too huge. The linked article gives tips on that!
Step 4: Designate A Weekly Appointment For Dealing With Paperwork
During next week's challenge, about paying bills, we'll go more in depth into the weekly paperwork appointment time (although if you want a sneak peak here's the article on how to make a weekly paperwork session for organizing paper).
Suffice it to say, right now, you just need to understand that you'll be dealing with all this paperwork again later, and begin considering when in your weekly schedule you can designate time to work on household paperwork on a consistent weekly basis.
Step 5: Go Throughout The House And Gather Up Any Mail In Piles And Put It Into Your Home Mail Organizer Center
Finally, to the extent you've got paperwork, bills, and mail all over your home, your purse, your briefcase, etc. take the time this week to gather it all up.
If the paperwork is less than a month old, go ahead and process and sort it now, making a decision about each piece as suggsted above in step 3. (Hint, a lot of it can be decluttered.)
However, if it is over one month old put it in a pile to be dealt with slowly, over the course of the next couple of weeks of this challenge, where we'll be tossing, sorting, filing, etc.
When you get around to all these older papers many of them will just be paper clutter, and can get tossed. Here's the article on how to declutter your piles of paper.
The reason I've made this time period cut off of one month is because your mail is typically dealing with time sensitive items. You can't undo what was done in the past, but you can start fresh now and deal with those things that come in as they come.
If you've got lots of old papers lying around trying to deal with everything right now will quickly overwhelm you, and you'll be in danger of quitting. Therefore, this week just worry about the most recent papers.
You can get more ideas for what types of paper clutter to get rid of here.
Bonus Step: Stop Junk Mail From Coming Into Your Mailbox
Everyone gets mail, on an almost daily basis. But what if you could get less of the mail you automatically pitch in the garbage can, recycling bin or shredder each day?
It would save you a lot of time, plus it would be better for the environment since less trees would be needed to create mailings you don't even want or need.
That's why I've written an article all about how to stop junk mail from even coming into your mailbox to begin with. There are several online resources you can use to eliminate, if not all the junk mail you receive, at least a big portion of it.
If you're feeling particularly ambitious during this week's Challenge I encourage you to take this additional step to stop postal junk mail from coming to your home.
Listen To Taylor's Video Tips For This Week's Organized Home Challenge & Declutter 365 Missions
Do you want more in-depth tips and instructions for how to do this week's missions and challenge all about organizing your mail, as well as the daily paperwork routine? If so, I've got recorded video tips from me, Taylor, from the video archives in the Declutter 365 Premium group, all about this week's challenge and missions.
These video tips are available on demand in the archives, once you're a member of the group.
In Week #17's video I discussed the following topics, among others:
- What paper clutter to shred, versus throw away or recycle
- Daily routine for dealing with paper as it comes into your home
- Tips for organizing mail
- Declutter 365 missions for week
I suggest watching the video archive for the week, perhaps while you're doing some decluttering or cleaning around your home, before starting the week's missions and Challenge, and then you'll be able to breeze through this week's worth of decluttering missions, as well as organize what's necessary for the 52 Week Organized Home Challenge, based on the advice and instructions within those videos.
It really is like having me, Taylor, available, 24-7, as your decluttering and organizing coach, for every area of your home!
Plus, once you're a member of Declutter 365 Premium you get access to not only this video, but all the videos for the 52 weeks of the year, for 6 years (that's over 270 videos available in the archives!)
Get This Paper & Filing Decluttering Checklist + 32 Other Decluttering Checklists For Your Home
Right now you're decluttering your papers and files, and there's a lot of types and varieties of these around your home.
I've done the hard work of breaking down these tasks into smaller more manageable steps for you, so you don't get overwhelmed or worry you're forgetting a task, and you can go at the pace you want, whether that's fast or slow.
In addition, you can tackle these decluttering tasks in whatever order you want when you use these checklists!
Tell Me How The Create A Home Mail Organizer Center Challenge Is Going For You
I would love to know how this week's Create a Home Mail Organizer Center Challenge is going. You can tell me your progress or give me more ideas for how you've organized your mail in the comments.
I also love before and after pictures of your mail organization system, and would love to see some of yours. Submit your pictures (up to four per submission) and get featured in the Creative Storage Solutions Hall of Fame. You've worked hard to get organized, so now here's your chance to show off!
Here's the Hall of Fame I've compiled already for this week to give you some inspiration.
Sneak Peek For Next Week's Challenge
We're working on our homes slowly, one area at a time, so don't get too distracted from the Create a Home Mail Organizer Center Challenge this week. However, I want you to know that this week's challenge is a launching pad for the next couple of week's challenges, which will deal with where to put various types of mail and other papers that come into your home during the course of your daily life.
For example, next week we'll deal with organizing and paying bills that are due at a regular time and/or come in the mail each month.
Make Sure You Make The Most Of These 52 Organizing Challenges
Get your copy of the printable one page 52 Week Organized Home Challenge schedule for the year here, so you can see all the challenges we're working on.
Further, if you'd like to join a community of others who are all commmitted to these organizing challenges and corresponding decluttering missions, and want more interaction with me, Taylor, video archives of Taylor providing more tips for each of these challenges and missions, as well as live monthly group coaching sessions focusing on the skills and habits necessary to maintain your home from now on, I'd urge you to join the private and exclusive Declutter 365 Premium Facebook group (you can learn more about it at the link).
In addition, have you gotten your Declutter 365 Products yet, to make sure you can get even more assistance with decluttering and organizing your home this year? There are both free products (like the Declutter 365 calendar, a $20 value), as well as add-ons, such as daily text messages, planner stickers, and a Premium Facebook group, as well as a pack of printabe decluttering checklists.
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