Some of you may already be on the ‘receiving less paper mail’ bandwagon and if this is you, know that you have already begun to declutter mail issues. If you are still receiving a lot of mail, most of which ends up in your recycling bin, read on…

I cannot be any more clear when I say: IF YOU CAN RECEIVE IT ONLINE, DO IT!!! Bills, financial statements, whenever you can go paperless! Not only will you save a tree but you will be saving so much time wasted opening and then throwing out so many pieces of mail that could easily have been dealt with online. Realistically we should all be receiving very little paper mail at this point, so take some time to make the switch to paperless wherever you can.

If you do (and hey we all do) receive mail, try to deal with it as soon as it arrives. If that is not possible, then deal with it as soon as possible so that you do not end up with the pile up scenario. When I receive mail, I make a point of opening, surveying, and then trying to deal with the mail right away. For instance, when I receive a note that asks me to read my meters, I try and do this right away as I know that it is so easy to put these kind of ‘asks’ aside and then forget about them. Other bills that you may need to receive in the mail? Try and diarize them for payment right away, making a note in your phone or computer and then throw out the paper - paper is nothing more than a dust collector and everything can be noted and managed digitally. Sometimes I will even take a picture of the bill as well, so that I know I can reference the information later if need be. Flyers and the like, probably can be recycled after a quick perusal, but the goal is to NOT have stacks of papers lying around that are serving no purpose.

Once you start this process, you will have created a system for yourself and I promise you it starts to become a habit that is hard to break - a good habit!