I found a way to further improve our pretty mail organization. When I shared our mud room transformation a while back, I followed up with some details on how I made mail sorting and storage more attractive. The reality is, it hasn’t stayed pretty. Good organization requires establishing a good system and then it takes a lot of upkeep. We are lacking a little bit in the good system area, which I think has had a devastating impact on our ability to keep everything organized and pretty. It doesn’t look like this anymore…
We haven’t been using the hanging files consistently and mail has gotten piled on top of the faux book box and to the side of it. Plus the book box is full. It is almost as if having the box there, which was supposed to conceal mail, only makes the counter even more cluttered with mail piling on top of and around it. Tha hanging files were great for the first couple mail sorts, but then they filled up and did not get emptied or moved to permanent filing often enough ever.
Thankfully one of my new blogging friends, Shauna, has a way to help me. On her blog, Satori Design for Living, she shares awesome content both in her posts and for her email subscribers. When I signed up for the email subscription I got her free guide called “Conquering the Paper Trail”. Oh, how it opened my eyes to the downfalls of my system.
The good news is, I am not that far off. I am so excited that I was on the right track with an inbox and a designated place to sort mail, but I was definitely missing a few key elements. Shauna filled in the blanks for me on how to not just sort the mail, but also how to get rid of it (either recycling, shredding, filing). That was where we had a break down and ended up with mail piled on the counter. I am looking forward to implementing Shauna’s tips to improve my mail organization in 2012! I will share more as I get all in place.
P.S. As always I share what works for me and what I love. Shauna is a reader and a blogger I admire, and who will probably be surprised I am posting about her today :)
Mail organization is definitly and ongoing process, I have just rescently revamped our system. So far, so good, but I always like reading/seeing how other people keep theirs up.
Thank you so much Jackie for sharing this with your readers. I am very passionate about setting up systems in the home, which makes things a whole lot easier and keeps clutter at bay. Now I just need to figure out solutions for some of the other problems we have!
I have it on my schedule to tackle this same issue in my house. We have paper piles every where. Although I know what is in each, if someone messes with the piles my “system” becomes out of whack. Thanks for the tips. Hopefully it will help me in tackling my issues here at our home.