Do you ever feel like it’s all too much? Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.

PROJECT OF THE WEEK

Do You Have a System to Manage Your Mail?

Incoming mail is one of the most common sources of overwhelm in the homes of clients I work with.

Mail feels as if it never stops, easily piles up (it does!), and most people just don’t want to look at it or deal with it.

Getting Started

Below is the system I setup with clients:

Decide what day(s)you are going to check your mail.
- If you live in a house, this may have to be daily.
- However, if you live in an apartment building with a mailroom, I would recommend picking one or two days a week to get the mail.
Open all the mail before you "bring it into your home".
- This step is critical. Do not get the mail if you do not have enough time to do this step. For many clients, this only takes 5 minutes; however, if you get a lot of mail, it may take 15 minutes.
- If you live in an apartment building, with a mailroom, I recommend opening your mail in the mailroom. There should be a recycling bin in the mailroom.
- If you live in a home, I recommend having a set place you go to immediately to open the mail.
  - Places to open the mail:
    - Mailroom
    - Front Entrance Table
    - Kitchen Island
    - Kitchen Table
    - Home Office
    - Dinning Room Table
  - The place you choose to open your mail, should be conveniently located near your paper recycling bin, your shredder and your "Inbox", where you keep mail that needs "To Be Reviewed".
When opening your mail, you should create three piles.
- It is important to have a set of rules for what mail you are going to review and what you are comfortable immediately recycling or shredding. This step is the key to reducing the feeling of overwhelm, when picking up the mail.
- For Example:
  - Shred without opening: All pieces of mail that are clearly junk mail.
  - Recycle: Specific catalogs, promotional mail from your alma mater, donation requests and all envelopes.
- If you have any hesitation about deciding if something should be recycled or shredded, just shred it.
- It's fine to shred items, without opening them, if you are 100% confident you don't need to look at them. If you have any hesitation, go ahead and open it first.
- All items in your "To Be Reviewed Pile" should be opened and ready to be reviewed.
Recycle all items in your "Recycle" pile.
Shred all items in your "Shred" pile.
- I do recommend you buy a shredder. They are not expensive and you can find small ones that don't take up much space.
Place all items from your "To Be Reviewed" pile in your "Inbox".
- You may need to buy a box or basket, to create a home for your "Inbox". The box or basket should be at least 9 inches by 12 inches and should be open on the top. Many clients have preferred a box that was a bit larger, such as 10 inches by 14 inches.
- Your "Inbox" should live in the space where you will process the tasks that the "To Be Reviewed" pile includes.
Schedule a time on your calendar to process your "Inbox" once a week.
- I would start with 20 minutes a week, so that it feels less overwhelming.
- After a few months, you may want to adjust this to a time that is more realistic, based on how many items are in your "Inbox".
- It's important to review your "Inbox" on a weekly basis. However, It may work best for you to process different items at different times. For example, you may decide to only process your bills on the third week of the month.

Additional Resources

I highly recommend the blog by Dawn George Organizing, “How to Opt-Out of Mail, E-Mail & Phone Calls.”

Happy Spaces’ Tips & Tricks

It's common that many of the items that end up in your "Inbox" would not have been added to the your To-Do List, if they hadn't come in the mail. I give you permission to let these go.

For example: Catalogs, Donation Solicitations, Alumni Magazines
Letting these items go physically, doesn't mean they never happen. It does mean it's more intentional.
- For example: Catalogs - Create a list of you favorite places to shop. When you need something, reference that list to see where to go online.
- For example: Donation Solicitations - Create a list of charities you want to support. Decide how much you want to give each month and make donations a part of your process for managing your monthly bills. Many charities have a recurring giving option on their website and will charge a credit card each month in a specified amount.
- For example: Alumni Magazine - I recommend having some rules around how long you are allowed to keep this, without reading it. If a new Alumni Magazine arrives before you have read the last Alumni Magazine, which is living in your "Inbox", you must recycle the old Alumni Magazine, before adding the new one to your "Inbox". If you find that 6 months have gone by and you haven't read the Alumni Magazine, you might want to set a rule to recycle it right away.

I recommend taking some time to reduce your incoming mail.
- Are you still receiving statements for bills that are on AutoPay?
  - In most cases, it would be beneficial to switch these statements to email delivery.
  - If you need the statement for your taxes, you may want to continue getting it in the mail.
  - If you rarely look at your email, it may also be beneficial to continue getting the statement in the mail. Once you have reviewed it, you can shred it.
- For Reducing Junk Mail -
  - I recommend PaperKarma. It is a paid service that will eliminate the majority of junk mail you receive. It may take between 90 days and 6 months to go into full effect, depending on how far in advance the materials were printed and addressed.
  - You can also call each individual company and request to be removed from their mailing list and to not have your info sold. This is very effective, but also very time consuming.

Feeling Overwhelmed?

We understand how challenging and scary it can be to start something new. If you feel excited about implementing this strategy, but worry that it’s just too much to start on your own, the It’s All in the Planning Started Pak was designed for you!

get started

A Note from Happy Spaces

The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:

Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.

We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.

Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®

Sincerely,

Sarah Weingarten

Meet Sarah

Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.

Do You Have a System to Manage Your Mail?