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How to Set up a Mail System for your Home
by Elizabeth Dargis - bethd@encouragingcoach.com

Do have a daily system for sorting mail? Or are you more likely to have a pile on the dining room table, one in the kitchen, another in the office... If you sort mail for just 10 minutes a day, you won't have to worry about that pile of mail once a week or once a month that seems to take you hours to pile throught. And you rarely see the end.

First, set up your action file. It can either be a rolling file cart, file folders in your file drawer, baskets or my preferred method, a vertical file stand on your desk.

Label the folders for what you need most often: bills, family members, to file, data entry for those things you want to type into your computer.

Now let's go through some mail. I'l just went to my mail box and this is what I found.

Ads - if you are going to use them put them on your bulletin board, if not chuck them into the garbage.

A reminder to vote in the school board election - write the time and place on your calendar and throw out the reminder.

Blockbuster rewards coupons - in purse next to rewards card

An invite - if you need to discuss it with someone put it in their folder, if you are going write a quick RSVP and write the info in your calendar. If you use an electric calendar like Outlook, you can type up the directions and everything right in the note area.

Board of Public Works bill - put in bill folder

An issue I need to call about - write on your to do list call the company and list the number. Then write @ calls or @ pending next to it, depending on which folder you put it in.

Credit card offers - shred

A new address from a friend - depending on how much info, either type it into your address book now or slip it into your data entry folder

A few more ideas that will be helpful to you:

• Don't put anything in your pending folder without writing it in your calendar or to do list first.
• If it can be done in under two minutes, do it now.
• Throw out junk mail and bill inserts immediately.
• Instead of a pending folder you can have a tickler file with a place for every day of the month.
• You can have a few hot project folders with your action files. For instance I have Vacation Bible School, habits ecourse and self-care seminar folders with my action since these are the major projects at the moment.
• Put sort mail on your evening routine so it is done before you go to bed every day.

Sorting mail doesn't have to be so hard. I think we make it more complicated than it has to be. We just need to look at the piece of mail, decide what action needs to be taken, then put it in the appropriate folder. Now start on today's mail!

Beth Dargis works with overwhelmed women to help them gain control over their lives. Sign up for the Free New Habits Course to start changing your life one habit at a time.