Creating a Command Center: Mail Organization

I believe there should be some law or rule about not having to work on your birthday... I also believe there should be some law or rule that says it cannot snow on your birthday. Yes, today is my birthday and yes I did have to work and yes there is a lot of blowing and drifting snow outside. Alas, I am another year older and another year wiser. Thank you to everyone that has expressed warm birthday wishes and thank you especially for taking some time to read my blog. I truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. Now... on to the organizing!

About six months ago, I purchased a hanging organizer from Thirty-One. I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do with it, but I figured it'd help me stay organized. Unfortunately, without a specific plan in place, it has done just the opposite. I hung the organizer in our home office space off the dining room. At the time, there were random papers on the kitchen counter so I grabbed those and neatly tucked them into the hanging slots. While I successfully got the papers off the counter, there really

was no rhyme or reason to the hanging organizer. In fact, I recently went through the papers in the organizer and found that most of them were expired or no longer relevant - so ultimately my "organizer" was only encouraging me to hang on to clutter. This is a classic example of how organizing tools, when not used in a functional way, can actually encourage disorganization. So - time to get this organizer in order!

I have hmmed and hawed about whether or not to keep the organizer hung up and if so, whether to leave it where it is at. After contemplating this for a couple weeks, I decided that the organizer itself could be very useful and I feel it's hanging in the best possible spot for now. I took a random inventory of the piles on the kitchen counter to get an idea of what categories I might need storage for. I did this over the course of a couple weeks, since our paper flow fluctuates throughout the week and month. I finally decided on five categories, one for each slot of the organizer: 1.) Outgoing, 2.) To File, 3.) To Read, 4.) To Pay, and 5.) Coupons.

I knew that if I didn't label these slots, I'd forget which is what and things would end up stuck in random slots and again, not be helpful. So I used Microsoft Excel to design some simple labels.

I printed out each label on regular white printer paper and used some packaging tape to make them a bit more sturdy. I've really got to invest in a laminating machine! That'd be a great birthday present idea... ;)

As you probably noticed, the final labels look a bit different than the labels shown in Excel. When I printed a test label, I realized the labels would be too big for the slot, especially when paper would be stuffed into each one. I modified the size just a tad and they work perfectly now. 

I didn't want the label to be permanent in anyway because I want to use this system for awhile and be able to make adjustments if necessary. For that reason, I just used small binder clips we had in our office supplies to attach each label to it's own mail slot.

Next, I went through all the papers that had been in the organizer and all the papers that had accumulated on the counter and sorted them accordingly. Everything seemed to fit into a category relatively easily.

The organizer is a little more bright and cheery and, with its new labels, it appears to be a bit more functional as well. I'm excited to put this great tool to good use!

Do you have an organizing tool that is hurting more than helping? How about a general birthday rule you think should be in effect?