Keeping up with correspondence and other paper issues!

Or, paper is my nemesis! I find paperwork the single biggest cluttery mess of all time. Recently, cleaning out a box that had been sitting idle for 3, yes THREE years, I managed to reconnect with a schoolfriend, who'd written me a letter and included her email address. With the wonders of facebook we were soon chatting online, just as we used to in primary school :)

Which leads me to posting about what tips and tricks I have learnt about keeping up with paperwork and correspondence. Its absolutely a work in progress, as I'm still learning!

1. My first tip is to find somewhere to store all the 'outgoing' correspondence stuff. Thats the stamps, envelopes, notepaper and cards. I love cards, and like to keep cards for all occasions on hand. A large part of my difficulty with corresponding is the sheer volume of child-unfriendly stores I need to visit to successfully send anything! Here's a pic of my storage box for correspondence. You might prefer yours labelled.


2. Write seasonal birthday greetings. I started this a few years ago, and it has been my most successful method of sending greetings yet. Instead of writing a card the week before individual birthdays, because of my organisational challenges, I send 3 months of cards at one time. I still phone or email, or whatever is normal on their birthday but at least then they also get a bit of a bright card too, because its nice to receive letters in the post. Its much easier to sit down once to write to a few friends and family than to find the time every week. You might find it perfectly easy to do weekly, or perhaps once a month is a good time. For me, its every 3 months. I know I can fit it in 4 times a year. I use a recycled Elephant Poop Calendar to keep track on a perpetual calendar for all birthdays. You can get something similar, minus the poop here. Or you can make your own, using a funky free download from the lovely Avie Designs Stationery




3. Incoming mail. I always open the incoming mail and immediately sort it into a. rubbish; b. filing and c. to pay - I no longer have a 'to read' pile, as the one I started sat 6 months unread and growing. In the minimisation effort that is my house, as I open it, into the bin, filing cabinet or 'bills' pile it goes immediately. I have even taken to paying bills when I open them in order to have all paperwork immediately in the filing cabinet or bin!


4. information from schools, doctors etc is my current disaster when it comes to paperwork. Generally these things need keeping for reference. Many people find a decorated magazine holder for each type of information e.g. school, doctor. works for them. I am beginning to go paper free - I answer school notes immediately, just like opening bills, and I use my phone's calendar to immediately enter in any important appointments or dates and even reference information so that I no longer need the note from school in its physical form.

5. Birthday cards and mementos - I have a single box at the moment for each child as their memory box. At the moment its small and plain plastic because its a relatively new addition to my organising regime. After display on the birthday, the cards go into their box. Achievements at sport go into an album, as do school reports and other school related certificates. At the moment school certificates and awards for my daughter are in a simple binder from Officeworks.