Handle it once only

How do you handle those mails (and junk mails) that flood your mailbox everyday? I used to let them get to me. No more. When I first decided to tame that paper tiger, I've been handling the incoming mail only once. That's it. It has eliminated so much paper clutter and guilt (articles that I saved to "read" later but never seemed to have the time to).

This is how I do it:

• Got the mail (the easy part)
• Dump all of the supermarket ads and any advertisement that are loose leaves (I have stopped hopping markets for deals about five years ago - another guilt lifter and eating better)
• Bills (unopened) go to my bill box.
• Other materials (magazines, voting booklets, Homeschool catalogs) go to their designated spots.
• If something I deem important to open at once - ie. Income tax refund, bank statement, Jury duty notice, etc. you get the picture, I would open and read those immediately - it only takes a minute, half if you are a fast reader. :) Then I will place them to their according spots.
• The credit card applications go directly to the shredder. Actually, anything I throw away I usually make sure that our private information is removed.

That's it. I like this system very much. It helps me to stay focus and discern with the task at hand.

Now, moving to the file system... Well, that's an entire different breed of tiger that needs a different post to deal with. :)