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Peter Walsh

Peter Walsh

Design professional and star of TLC's Clean Sweep

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Meryl Starr

Organizing expert, author and personal consultant

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Debbie Stanley

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Q&A

If you have questions about this change, you're in the right place. Our editors, experts, and community of change optimists have answers!

aliciak

Question:How do you organize mail?

Rarely do I forget to pay bills because they get lost in the shuffle, but I'm always scared of that. How do you organize your snail mail? Do you have different bins or places where mail that still needs to be dealt with goes?

Asked by aliciak on 9/30/08 4 Answers»
iowasuz

Answer:

I have a plastic shoe box bin in which I file all of the non-electronic bills when they are received. I also created a Excel spreadsheet listing all of the routine bills due during the year and when they are due and how they are normally paid (check, credit card, web). Then I have 12 columns for months, along with 2 colums for each month in which I write the date paid and how. One glance tells me where I am for the month, and which bills to look for. This keeps me on track, but if my husband has time to help, he can tell where we are.

Answered by: iowasuz on 1/12/09
aliciak

Answer:

Hehe, I use trapper keepers for recipes I've torn out of magazines. Haha!

Answered by: aliciak on 10/14/08
coleman

Answer:

Most of my bills are electronic so they appear in my e-mail inbox. I also keep a calendar that lets me know when stuff is due. On payday even if that bill is not due yet I subtract whatever bills are due from my check register until the next payday.

Answered by: coleman on 10/7/08
NicoO2000

Answer:

This is kind of embarrassing but you know those old-fashioned trapper keepers we used to use in elementary school? I have a couple of those that I use to organize my finances and other important documents. I even bought a bunch of old-school folders to use as files!

Answered by: NicoO2000 on 10/1/08
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