How do you organise your mail, bills, etc? Need help!

nads

I have this horrible habit of not keeping on top of my mail, bills, etx and they end up being dumped into a pil until I can be botehred to go throught them in one huge energy burst, seems to have about once a quarter! :rolleyes:

Don't get me wrong, I pay my bills, but I just haven't found the best way for me to organsie and store everything.

What do you guys suggest or find works best? and what do you store it in? Should I get myself one of those cases with binders in them?

My main bills are:
CC bill x2
Bank Statements (Occasional mainly online)
Mobile Phone bills x3
Car stuff (repairs, mot, sevricing and all that stuff)
random mailing (should I stick them in one pile?
Invoices for thigns I buy (grrr)

Sorry If i'm ramblign but im getting confused

moggins

I have a 2 stage method, a smallish basket on the side so I can deal with anything that needs urgent attention, then after a week or so it gets sorted into a concertina file that I bought from Asda that has all the sections already marked on it for bills, finance, car etc.

voodoozoe

I have a similar problem nads!!! But my worst habit is hoarding a pile at one end of the sofa until its out of control, then starting at the other end and ending up stuck in middle with laptop on knee!!! OH doesn't mind unless I start piling them in his Laz-y-boy chair...then there's trouble

Methinks we need one of these thingummies from Asda!!!!!!!!

lex

I just have lever arch files with 20 dividers for anything that I need. Sections for bank statements, car, credit cards, misc internet purchases, memberships etc

I have one file for each tax year, so each April, I make a new file, and put the other one away somewhere safe.

Most things sit on a pile on my desk until I deal with them. I try to do this on a daily basis, otherwise it piles up and looks daunting.

If something comes straight through the door that needs filing - do it right away - it takes seconds. If it needs a bit more time - leave it til later. Already your "backlog" will be half the size it used to be.

Hope you manage to find a solution

lex

bonnie_2

i must be very organised, i do it every day as soon as the mail comes in, i have a strict budget on a four weekly basis and all the bills for that week get paid and ticked of the list.
i tend to shred everything once a month, i only keep very personnel documents.

RachelD

I've found the most important thing in organising mail etc is to have a bin near where you open your letters and immediately put anything that you don't want in the bin. It's amazing how much of the mail ends up there and it avoids double handling. It would be ideal to do this where you have your files, shredder, computer etc. My office with all this is a floor up so it is easier to do it at the dining table as I'm having breakfast.

The rest of the mail goes into the following piles

* things needing urgent action like bills
* filing -bank statements and the like
* things I want to think about or leave til later - gardening catalogues

Most stuff fits these categories but there are always a few that don't. Hospital appointments go in a letter rack after noting my diary, flyers go on the notice board in the kitchen.

If I'm not running late for work, I'll pay the bills then and there - it's usually only one or two.. I put the filing in a plastic envelope to take upstairs to file later.
The 'thinking about pile' goes on a side table and I look at it evenings/weekends and try to decide whether I need it or not.


I have files for
Electricity
Council Tax
Water rates
Mortgage
Tax
Telephone
Payslips
Credit cards
Guarantees / instructions /invoices for equipmentReceipts
Invoices for small items ( I keep a folder for each month for ordinary receipts, shoes clothes food.)

That side of my life is sorted- she says smugly.. Is my office neat and tidy? No, it is overflowing with books on computers, genealogy files................

Rachel

springchicken

I also used to be really disorganised with bills etc. Now I open the bills as soon as I get them(hard ,I know) , put them in a small basket and deal with them as soon as pay day comes! Everything I have to keep Policies etc I put in one of them concertina files ,I wont put bills in there or Ill just forget them.
The trick is to sort them out as soon as you get them.

MATH

I have a concertina file for all current bank statements, cheque stubs, cc bills, utilities, insurances, mortgage, tax etc. Everything is filed as it comes in. I know it's [email="an@l"]an@l[/email] but it really is the best way. I then have a series of box files to store all of the above from the previous year and the bank account spreadsheets for those years on disc and a set of archive boxes to store the six years prior to that. Mortgage stuff I never throw out even after 7 years. I recently had to go back to 1986 to provide mortgage information to a company I was reacently dealing with so I would keep that forever. HTH

across

yep i too have all things organised in 3 decaflexs (boxes with hanging folders),i keep wishing i had time to think up some other way because it is the siliest thing to do really for security because a burgalar can just pinch the whole lot and have youre whole identity! so be careful if i was doing it again this is not the best way. my husband says he is going to scan everything and save it toa memory card this is more secure so he says!!!!!!!!!!! still waiting!!!Zzzzz!!!
good luck but try not to keep everything together being too organised is not always most secure!

Spendless

Several ring binder files and then use poly-pockets(so it is stronger than just paper) to put the latest bill to front. The files are labelled on the outside in such a way that only makes sense to me, so a burglar wouldn't make straight to my bank account details. i use ring binders, rather than concertina files cos this way I put the latest to the front instead of just dropping it in a section and wondering where it is later. :rolleyes:

The only way to keep on top I finds is to do it daily, open post, junk straight to recycling bin, anything personal to shredder,reply envelopes to junk mail, into my stash to send school dinner money etc up in, then either file it or act upon it (put in in tray to act upon if going straight out) and then file it. Unfortunately this doesn't always go to plan and though I know I had a good sort out the other week, my in-tray is bursting at seems but when I've queried it DH doesn't know where it's all come from :mad:

nearlyrich

I have a filing cabinet in my office but it's 2 flights up so I try to sort it and deal with it as it comes in, get rid of junk, then one pile for shredding ( anything with ID on) one pile for filing. The worst thing is when I go away for a few days and come back late at night and I can't be bothered to sort it out and just open the interesting looking mail.

We have Mail preference sevice so we don't get too much junk, all household bills are on SO or DD and credit cards are paid by DD too. I keep CC bills etc and have a yearly shredding session when the file gets too big.