Organizing
Mail
Welcome
to the addSpace advice section. Every week I answer new questions
submitted by readers on Organizing, Image and Fashion. Topics are
listed in the left column. If you do not see an answer to your question,
please email me us at advice@addSpaceToYourLife.com.
Your questions will be answered in the order received. Please be patient.
Once I have written a solution to your challenge you will receive
it via email and your article will be posted online. Thanks for visiting
addSpaceToYourLife.com!
E-mail your questions to advice@addspacetoyourlife.com
1.20.05
Don’t give up on resolutions
A Word About Your New Years Resolution – Don’t give up!
Do you have a master plan to accomplish your New Year’s resolution
this year? Many of our resolutions begin to falter in late January
because of poor planning.
Have you spelled out exactly what accomplishing your goal means to
you? Specifically, if your goal is to get into better shape, does
this mean the ability to run three miles, drop 10 pounds or to fit
into a size 32 slack?
Be very literal with what steps you need to perform to accomplish
your goal. For instance, if your goal is to run six miles in the Labor
Day Race, you can chart where you are now and know that if you increase
your distance 1/4 mile every week, you will succeed.
Breaking your goal into smaller steps will help you track each success
along the way, which in turn, reinforces your goal. Try it if you
haven’t already. With a little planning and a lot of clarity,
I guarantee you will be closer to manifesting your dreams!
Dear
Kathi,
I am trying to take your advice about de-cluttering my house this
month. I’ve been doing ok but my mail is a constant nuisance
that clutters my kitchen. I have a home based business so I tend to
get more mail than the average household. What can I do with my piles
of mail?
Kirsten, Cardiff
Kirsten,
To get mail under control: Do not pass go, in other words, don't bring
it into the house until you've done a first toss. This means sorting
mail over a trashcan before you enter your home and tossing the junk
immediately. A trashcan in the garage or by the back door is convenient
for this. Do your tossing when you're not distracted, after briefcase,
groceries, or kids are safely inside the house.
Sort your remaining mail into business/ personal stacks and save it
for review later. Give your remaining mail a "home." Put
each stack in a designated place keeping business separate from personal.
For business matters, use a vertical desk top file system. You could
use these sample categories; To File, To Pay, To Read, Waiting for
a Response, Data Entry, or what ever works best for your thought process.
For personal correspondence, you might use a basket. A basket will
contain your mail and keep it separate from your business materials.
It also provides portability, leaving you the option of paying bills
in the kitchen, den or terrace. You can also keep stamps, return labels
and envelopes tucked into this basket.
You now need a routine to deal with your mail. Set a consistant time
every week to handle bills, credit card statements, etc. You should
have two appointments set; one for business mail during the workweek
and one for personal mail sometime in the evening or weekend. Try
to separate these task times or you could get distracted with personal
issues during productive business hours. Setting a scheduled time
every week will help you remain in control of your paperwork and better
able to see the bank overdraft, important appointment notices or the
erroneous charge on your credit card.
Hopefully you have a file system that works well for you. If you need
any information on file systems, I’ll be happy to answer your
questions.
Kathi is a professional organizer, image consultant and event planner
based in San Diego California.
Please
submit your questions to:
advice@addspacetoyourlife.com
.
San Diego Professional Organizer
