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

[Deleted User]

I was skimming through Alvin Hall`s book last night and he has a good way with receipts

He stores them in a glass vase so he gets an idea of when he is spending too much and he then slows the spending down. I thought it was a good idea as I am not incredibly organised and they usually go from my purse to little piles on a desk. I am going to dig a vase out of my cupboard

nads

Thanks for the idea kittie, I'm goign to try this one. at least I'll know where they all are and then I go through all once a week.

Not posh enough to have a vase so I'll use a jar

Eels100

Following from the freakish (well, it sure scared me!) success of THAT airing cupboard thread, where I picked up some useful hints but was also left slightly concerned at my poor standards of house- and airing cupboard-keeping, I wondered how all you domestic gods/goddesses organised your filing.

I am about to move into my very first own house, and want to start afresh with my organising. Currently, we have a large table in our living room, on which the PC and all our incoming mail lives. In theory, there are two trays on the table - one for Mr Eels and one for me. In reality, there's a huge pile of random bits of paper (some of which are suprisingly vital, it seems) under cover of which two small trays live. I have tried (and, evidently, failed) various systems in the past - a large ring binder, a large plastic filing folder, in/out trays, etc.

The only time I was ever truly organised was as a student, when I pinned absolutely every vital document to the wall above my desk. This seems inappropriate now that I'm a grown-up. Now I think of it, that might be a real solution to my own airing cupboard dilemma though ...

Now, for the first time, we're going to have a spare room which will be an office space and second bedroom. I intend to become organised. How do I do it?! I await your pearls/soapnuts of wisdom ... :beer:

K9cuddles

Everying of mine is in ring binders! I have 3 (I'm mortgage less) 1 for Statements, 1 for saving and investments and 1 for the car and other odd ball stuff!!

As so a bill comes in, I open it and file it same day and make a note in my diary if I need to do something ie respond or be aware of charges etc. Seems to work for me... infact my bf and mother have copied!!! All that rolled in with my spreadsheet = me organised!!

SnowyOwl_2

I use an amalgamation of the Eels method and the K9cuddles method. Currently I have to my left a pile of paperwork which includesbills, payslips, pension plan statement, recipes from here, credit card statements and so on...it's about 18 inches high. Ahem! Behind me is a bookcase with many ring binders...one for electricity/water/heating oil, another for phone, one per credit card, one for current account statements, one for savings (v.slim one that). I also have a big old envelope to chuck receipts into and later compare against my bank statements (who am I kidding!?). I lack K9cuddles' discipline but when I take the time to go through the pile I can get rid of it quite quickly. I'm able to find all sorts of things in seconds, though the more recent things take a bit longer. The only flaw with this system (other than being a lard !!!!!! and not getting on with it more often) is that I end up keeping too much. I am a bit reticient about shredding statements and old bills and what have you as you never know when something will come back and bite you on the bum.

linzibean

Well my bank statements and CC statements all go in a beige box, in folders separating each account. Then I have an expandable folder with things like warranties, passports, any importand paperwork like instruction manuals and things. Then all my reipts for each week go in a big brown envelope, and all these are stored in a big black box

Lucie_2

Oh no, I'm going to sound really @nal......................
I have a filing cabinet with suspension files - and they're all labelled correctly.
Separate ones for each bank account, car, credit card statements, guarantees, bills, mortgage, pay slips etc.
At the end of the year I staple the entire year's credit card statements (for example) together & write the year across the front in big letters.
This sounds far more organised than it actually is; in reality most paperwork gets dumped on top of the filing cabinet & I get around to filing it about every 3 months. Then about once a year I have a big sort out, throw out everything irrelevant & get a bit more organised. Usually a Sunday in January when there's nothing on telly & the only alternative is a pile of ironing!

me_and_the_cat

As bills etc come in they go into a drawer ( after having been opened of course !) - then every couple of weeks, I go through the drawer. Usually with a glass of wine in hand - makes the whole process much less painful.

Bills that need paying have cheque written and sent off, wageslips, etc etc - then get filed in an expanding file. Any other important things to remember - go onto a noticeboard I have in the kitchen.

When I can't close the file anymore - usually once a year (trying to be organised ) - a bit like Lucie - each 'bit', credit card, bank statements, insurance policy etc go into a brown envelope with the year written on it and into a big box which lives in my spare room.

Sounds much more organised than it is in reality - the boxes are falling apart and some of the envelopes the cat has chewed the corners off but you get the idea ....

Gingham_Ribbon

There was a thread on here a while ago about organising your post. Everyone who said they were organised was recommending a concertina file. Since I bought mine, my post no longer litters the piano, dining table and book shelves. It goes where it belongs and gets dealt with. Finally!

I'll work out what to do next when it starts getting full, as I'll have to move some of it out and store or shred it.

I got a sturdy one from Staples and it was already organised into catagories which suited me.

henhog

OMG -Lucie and Me and the cat - we are so similar!
I have a filing cabinet - i got it off the Internet (of course) and it is brill! I pile up the stuff on top of it and then when I feel brave, every few weeks I file it away - glass of wine in hand. The only problem is that at some time I will have to go through and get rid of all the out of date stuff. :rolleyes:
I've recommended a filing cabinet to all my friends and family - all those who now own one wouldn't go back to any thing else.