I used to be a fairly organized person, but I feel so overwhelmed when it comes to mail and paperwork...?
Question:Bills, junk mail, income tax papers, daughter's progress reports from school, things my daughter makes in school, flyers...What is the best method to get all of this stuff organized? Anyone got any ideas for how to sort, organize, file, etc., and what really needs to be thrown away? Is it really necessary to keep reciepts from the electric bill, water bill, etc.? If so, for how long? So much just gets piled on surfaces here and there. I just feel overwhelmed with all of it. Also, anyone have an idea why I can't seem to manage such a simple task as handling this on my own? I'm not lazy, the rest of my house is clean and organized.
Answers:
Ha! Join the club and its members are many! I used to even stick junk mail in a drawer! Why? Dumb. Now I stand by my trash can and automatically throw out junk mail. Bills go into a handy counter basket I mark on the envelope the date it needs to be mailed one week prior to due date. Pay the bill, shred the itemized billing. Throw all school papers into a box to be sorted later for keepsies. A file cabinet is a must for important papers like loans, titles, income tax, etc. We have all our paperwork recorded on our computer showing payments, etc. That helps a lot, too. Why do we hoard papers? Don't know..
Throw out the junk mail. If you have read through it and there is nothing that you are wishing to purchase, or look into, get rid of it.
Go and buy a cheap filing cabinet or consatina file to keep you bills, income tax papers, etc. Create files for each of th utilties, credit cards, bank accounts and your taxes. Keep an in-tray of bills that need to be paid, once paid file them away. If you require any utilities for tax purposes keep them. I normally keep my utilites for the year. It is only necessary to keep the receipts until the next bill comes - just in case your payment has not been processed. I would also only keep the progress reports for your daughter's schooling for the year. Then toss them. This should keep your paperwork tidy, organised and out of the way.
throw it all out, bills too, they're depressing.
You'll get a reminder when you have to pay, ie lights go out.
I have a few tips that have worked for me:
1. Cross-cut paper shredder. You kinda look forward to shredding a bill after you pay it, or sticking all that junk mail in there.
2. Desktop bill organizer that has a slot for every day of the month.
3. Expanding pocket folders for receipts, invoices, user manuals.
4. Pay bills online. Your bank probably has a service at low or no cost. Then the website has record of every bill you pay, when you paid it and in what amount.
Good luck!
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