Taming the Mail Beast

Based on the conversations I've had with co-workers, I'm not the only one with a mail issue.  The issue being the everyone will bring it in but I'm the only one to deal with it.  Of course, I don't deal with it every day so it turns into a beast.  Kind of like the sock monster that used to lurk in my laundry room.

Just like the sock monster, banishing the mail beast has been on my radar for quite a while.  Unfortunately it's been lower on the list so I haven't done anything about it, until now.

This is what our mail beast looked like.  Confession, I might have tidied it up before taking the picture.

On a typical day you could find junk mail, magazines, coupons, bills that needed to be paid (we do most of our bill paying electronically but there is always the stray bill that needs a check), bank statements, etc.

A couple of weeks ago, when my husband was working all weekend, I spent a Saturday doing nothing but organization.  I decided to go to Wal-Mart and browse for solutions to some of my problems.  In the office section I found a neat solution to the mail beast.  It wasn't quite the solution that I was imaging, in my head I had a full command center with a white board and calendar but after thinking about it this was a good start.

Here is what I ended up purchasing.

I hung this organizer on the inside of our pantry door using Command Hooks.  The brushed nickel Command Hooks match our door handles as well as the hooks on the organizer.  Aesthetically pleasing organizing tools make me happy!

Now when the family brings the mail in it goes right into the top pocket.  I go through the mail a few times a week, discard the junk and decide what to do with the rest.  Anything that needs action will go in the front pockets.  Right now one of the pockets is holding our expired passports (reminding us to get them renewed) and a check that needs to be deposited.  There's also a key holder that my son is using for his car keys.

I wish I could say this was the perfect solution or that I eliminated the need for a solution by going through and dealing the mail every day but that isn't the case.  This option does allow our kitchen counter to remain neat and tidy while giving us a convenient place to hold mail until I can sort through it.  I will be keeping my eye open for additional tools (like a calendar to hang from two of those hooks) to kick it up a notch but it's at least better than it was.

What do you do with your mail?

I'll be linking this up over at I'm an Organizing Junkie, Organizing with Sandy and A Bowl Full of Lemons

You might also enjoy:

Organizing the Spices
Laundry Habits
Bathroom Organization