TOYS

Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor dark of night....

It seems that nothing can stop the constant influx of mail, not the weather, a vacation, or even illness.  The mail simply keeps coming.

This relentless onslaught of paper can be overwhelming for even the most organized households.  The good news is that there are ways to help control the amount you receive, corral what comes in, and contain the rest so you can find important papers when you need them.

Control the Amount of Mail

Because the mail never stops, it's important to get some control over it.

The first way is to sign up on sites that will remove your name from junk mail lists. Even after you sign up, this process may take three to four months, so it's important to take this step now.  Here are some of the most popular sites:

• www.OptOutPreScreen.com (This site is run by the four major credit rating companies - Experian, Equifax, Innovis and TransUnion)
• www.DoNotMail.org (go to the Opt Out tool)
• www.PrivacyCouncil.org (click on the blue Remove Me From All Lists button)
• www.GreenDimes.com (click on he red Sign Up Now button)
• www.ecofuture.org (scroll down to Get Rid of Junk Mail, Telemarketers, and Spam).
  

This process can take some time, so there are even companies that will do all the work for you for a fee.  (Please note: This is not an endorsement.  It is simply another way to approach the problem.)  Here are a few of them:

• www.opt-out.cdt.org ($19.95)
• www.StopTheJunkMail.com ($19.95)

The post office has a form that will stop sexually explicit mailings. Ask for Form 1500 or download instructions and the form online (www.usps.com).

You can also place your name for free on the following opt out lists maintained by the Direct Marketing Association (go to InsideIDTheft.info)

1. "Do Not Mail" list (also known as the Mail Preference Service or MPS)
2. The National Do Not Call Registry (www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx)
3. "Do Not Email" list (also known as the E-Mail Preference Service or E-MPS).

The "Do Not Mail" and "Do Not Call" lists keep your name on the "opt-out" list for five years, after which you'll need to resubmit your name:  Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 643, Carmel, New York, 10512.

Corral What Comes In

Now it's time to keep the remainder from spewing all over the house.

Begin by thinking about how you come into your house.  Do you enter through the garage? the front door? a side door?  Wherever you normally enter your home, there should be a container for the mail on the first convenient surface.  Ideally, it would be near the recycle bin.

Two things should happen from here.  If you get to enter a quiet home and are able to deal with the mail first, stand over the recycle bin and go through the mail, immediately tossing anything you don't need into recycle or shred.  If you arrive home as an energetic family or tasks waiting, place the mail in a container that you will return to later that day  to go through.

This container can be as simple as a shoebox lid or a shallow piece of Tupperware.  In fact, until you know how much mail you receive in the span of a couple days, use something from around the house to put it in.

If you are using a shoebox lid or similar, use a post-it note and Sharpie to write MAIL on all 4 sides. You can get fancy and wrap it in a decorative paper if you wish, but it should scream that the mail goes here.  That way no one has the lazy brain excuse of putting the mail somewhere else.

Later you can purchase a more decorative (but still functional) container.  Don't buy a pretty container first, wait unil you know where your mail container will 'live' and what your system may be.  These are important criteria that you will rely on for when you do decide to purchase a mail container.  And finally, when you do buy something, don't buy one that holds more than two days of mail.  You want that container to remind you to go through the mail no later than the second day.

Be cautious with some mail.  Credit card applications, for example, should be shredded or at least torn into thirds.   Note to self, if you're shredding credit card applications, maybe you should  seriously consider the referenced websites.

A couple of other thoughts:

• Mail is like the laundry; it does not go away.  If you take care of it in small snippets of time, it is a lot easier than dealing with it at the end of the week.
• Even though the local department store is having a one-day sale, you are not responsible for using the coupon that arrived in the mail.  If you are not in the market to purchase anything, don't spend money just because you have a coupon.  Trust me - there will be more coupons and more sales.  If, however, they are having a sale on winter coats and you need a coat, then the sale meets your needs.  Just be sure they are meeting your needs and not the other way around.
• One way to greatly reduce the number of bills you have is to use automatic withdrawal.  Budget plans are also a great idea and most utility companies offer them. A budget plan also eliminates unpleasant surprises in particularly hot or cold months.
• Online banking can also ease some of the clutter.  You don't have to write checks or spend money on envelopes and stamps.  Plus you can more precisely determine what day your payment will be posted to their account. There are many good systems; just choose one that works for you.

Contain the important mail

You will need to keep some of the mail you receive.  Some will be needed for tax preparation.  Some items - cards from children and grandchildren, for example - may be mementos you want to keep.

There are a thousand systems out there; well, maybe not a thousand, but there are a lot of systems out there.  And believe it or not, they ALL work.  But only a few or maybe just one fits you.  Your job is to find the one system that works for you.  You have to find the system that allows you to put forth the least amount of physical energy to get the job done.

'Try it before you Buy it' applies here just like it did for your incoming mail.  For items that need action and those you want to keep, the container should be shallow. Again, something like a shoebox lid.  You don't want bills stacking up just as you didn't want mail stacking up.

If you are not accustomed to using a system, first use your planner.  (Those who know me, know I believe everyone should have a planner.)  Make a reminder note in your planner or PDA on the days that you will pay bills or file papers.  You don't have to write a dissertation in your planner.  The symbol ($) will do. The only reason you are writing it down, is because it is not a habit yet.  When it becomes a habit, you no longer need the reminder.

For future bills, a tickler file works well.  You just have to remember to check it each day to see what needs to be dealt with.  For more information on how a TICKLER FILE works, register for February's Teleclass; Mountains of Mail.

Next month, we will delve more into what to do with all that other paper.  It should be a timely topic since tax day is fast approaching and you will actually need all those papers and bills.

If you set up systems like this, it won't stop the flow of mail, but it will give you a safety net.  When you are overwhelmed or out of your routine for a while, you have a system to fall back on.  If you are not organized, you wind up in a black hole, falling deeper and deeper behind.  Just remember, you can always become the organized one with the system.