Yes, your mail box really did explode over the last few days. Yes, you really are getting tons more mail than you usually do. There is one simple way to avoid being overcome with the mail that comes during the holiday season:

OPEN YER MAIL!

I know you are tired when you come home from work. I know it’s mostly junk mail, or it’s bills you think are being paid online, or it’s those brokerage statement that you don’t really know how to read all the way through. But if you ignore it, you can be literally buried in your mail. I’ve seen it happen.

I don’t get much junk mail, and yet, this is what I got on just ONE DAY last week:

The kicker, of course, was the neighbor’s mail. If I hadn’t gone through the mail, I might never have found that.

Sorting the 1.5″ of junk mail from the 2 things I needed to take action on took only, oh, about 30 seconds.

And did you notice the other stack is JUST junk mail? That’s circulars and seasonal mailers, post cards from local businesses and such. It didn’t even include catalogs. No, THIS was my stack of catalogs, mostly delivered the day before, for some odd reason:

If I were getting 2″ of mail delivered five days a week for a year, and didn’t go through it, it would stack up 43 feet high, or I’d have five and a half stacks all the way to their ceiling in a standard room. I’ve seen this kind of build up! This is space that you are allowing other people to inhabit in your own home. I can think of better ways to spend my mortgage dollars!

OK, so before we all get too much mail this holiday season, let’s pinky promise each other to do one simple thing each day. Say it with me:

Open Yer Mail!

Here are more tips from me on dealing with that constant annoyance that lands on your front doorstep. And even more tips on organizing paper. I’ve even found that there is often a direct relationship between those who stay on top of their mail and those who are in good shape financially.

And if this is just a constant and persistent hassle for you, please contact me about getting started with the Freedom Filer system. It’s the best way I know of to never let paper land on your counter…and put it away right away. I’ll run a class in the spring, but you can get started at any time!