I Hate Mail.

When I was a pre-teen I loved getting the mail. I would get home from school, bring in the mail, take out a letter or two from pen pals, and leave the rest for someone else (my mom) to deal with. Now the mail pile is getting back at me. I still love getting the mail, and the fun things that are in it. I still walk into the house and leave "the rest" for another time. The problem is, I don't always leave it in the same place and it contains important things that I will eventually need.

Over the past five years I have tried numerous systems for the mail. There was a flaw in each one, as I have left piles of mail just about everywhere except the designated location. I leave mail in the car, on the kitchen table, on my scrapbook space, in the diaper bag, on the bed, stacked a mile high on the desk, and, when everywhere else is full, on the floor. Every month I spend several hours searching for the bills I need to pay, coupons I want to use, and checks that should have been cashed.

This weekend I assembled my latest system. Just at the top of the stairs, I put two magazine files and a three-tiered tray. There is a magazine file for each of our incoming magazine and catalogs. The top tray is for incoming mail. The other trays are for the important mail each of us needs to look at again later. On the floor I put a bin for paper recycling. Maybe in the future we will remove the old filing cabinet and get a nice table with shelves to house paper recycling, trash and shredding.

Hope this one works...