One of the hardest things for me to stay organized with and
on top of is mail. I am not referring to incoming mail. That is easy for me; I
handle it when it comes in the house. It is my outgoing mail that I have such a
hard time with. I know this does not make a whole lot of
sense, but it is just the way I am. Responding to mail, writing letters,
sending forms; all of which usually gets pushed to the last possible day for me
to complete it. Over the years, I have found a few things to help with this
perpetual procrastination of sending mail.
2. Use a stamp for return addresses. You can find cheap custom stamps that will make addressing so much easier. Another benefit to this is that I am obsessed with office supplies, so I enjoy using the stamp.
3. Use a wall calendar with pockets (I get mine free from the power company every year). At the beginning of the year, or every few months) find all the birthdays, anniversaries, and other mail that is known about ahead of time together. Fill all of them out, address, and even stamp everything. Put them in the pocket for the month they belong to. The first of every month, grab that group and mail. This works wonders for me. As the months go by, you can also stick things that you receive/ receipts/ etc. in the pockets.
4. Make it as fun as possible. Create a mail station or cute little “mail box” for keeping all mail supplies in. If it is pretty, we want to use it! I keep all my things that I need to get ready to be mailed in my planner along with stamps (when I remember) and address labels. This is my “secondary” mail station. I can handle my mail while waiting at appointments, waiting in the car for whatever reason, or even waiting on hold.
5. The easiest tip I can give you is to keep stamps on hand. I am horrible at making sure I have stamps, which only adds to my procrastination problem. I also keep the orange envelopes from the mail carrier so that if I need to purchase stamps, mail a larger package, or buy a money order, I can do it from home without going to the post office (who enjoys that anyway?)!
I hope my five tips for handling mail help. I am not completely rehabilitated with the sending mail process, but I am headed there. I would love to hear your tips for keeping mail under control (I’m always looking for new tips)
