Staying on top of your snail mail

(myorganizedbiz.com) – Yesterday we talked about setting up a mail center so you can process your mail. If you have everything at hand, you’ll be able to get through your mail quicker. As noted, you’ll need the following:

• A letter opener
• A trash can
• A pen
• Stamps
• Envelopes
• Checkbook
• A place to put pending bills or outgoing mail

Ideally, you should go through your mail every day, immediately tossing any ads, flyers, and other junkmail that you don’t need. So many of us are busy, though, and daily may not work. Shoot for at least a minimum of twice a week. But if your business generates a lot of paper and you’re constantly getting orders, invoices, and payments, then you need to look at your mail at often as possible.

Go through your mail and immediately decide whether something should be kept or tossed. Do it near your trash can or recycle bin.

If you have time, you should go ahead and open everything so you can see what action you need to take next. Stack things together in groups of what you need to do next. Is it a receipt that just needs to be filed? A bill or invoice that needs to be paid? Something that needs a response? By putting these items together, you can save time when you’re ready to take care of them.

Keep all of your bills together. Note the payment due date if needed. And when it’s time to sit down and pay your bills, you’ll have envelopes, stamps, pens, and your checkbook handy. No need to run around, gathering things together.

There are lots of ways to arrange your items. You could use stackable trays, an upright file sorter, or even a file attached to the wall. The important thing is to make it easily accessible and then use it. If it’s not easy to use, you’ll avoid it.

How do you stay on top of your mail?

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