Weight Loss Program for Your Mailbox

This is Part II in the series of “Weight Loss Program for Your Mailboxes”. Last time I spoke of de-cluttering your email box. Today I’m going to talk about how to lose a few pounds a year in your snail mail. My advice is very similar to the last blog with a few changes.

1. Assign A Time – Decide in advance when
   you are going to take in your mail and process your papers. Just like
   electronic mail you want to use the time wisely to finish the paper mail pile
   completely. Create “homes” for different types of mail. For example:
   1. Recycling Bin
   2. Shredding Area
   3. Bill Paying Center
   4. Catalog Container
   5. “To Be Filed”
2. TAF – You have three choices to make with your snail mail after you know what it is:
   1. Toss (Probably more a recycle or shred)
   2. Act
   3. File for Future Follow Up

If you can complete what’s in the envelope within two minutes than do so immediately rather than putting it off until later. If something is going to take longer than three minutes either pick up the phone to complete the action or decide when you are going to get to this and make a note in your planner to do so. Then move that piece of mail into a follow-up folder or a tickler system.

1. No Picking Cherries – By following the above tips, you shouldn’t be cherry picking through your mail opening only the envelopes you want to or are easiest to do.
2. Shred Till You’re Dead – I heard this from a colleague recently and kind of liked it. We all need to be ruthless about getting the amount of junk mail and unnecessary paperwork off our kitchen counters and desks but we also need to be very weary of identity theft.
3. Get Off Lists – Stop it from walking in your house in the first place by going to:

• www.the-DMA.org
• www.CatalogChoice.org