The Ultimate Guide: How to Organize Mail

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Find out how to organize mail and keep it off your kitchen counters!

Hello there, friends and welcome back to the Household Paper Organizing Series!

If you have trouble managing all the paper in your home, you are definitely in the right spot.

Whether you struggle with mail, incoming papers, or daily paperwork that you need to access frequently, you can bet that at least one of the posts in this series will help you in that specific area.

Decluttering the Paper Piles
Setting up an Efficient Home Filing System
Organizing Mail – that’s this post!
A Simple Solution for Incoming Paper
Organizing Frequently Accessed Paperwork

Today, we’re talking all about incoming mail!

You might have piles of mail on your kitchen counters or you might be the type of person who only checks your mail once every two weeks (that’s me!). Regardless, incoming mail is something that we all have to face eventually.

Before I got my home decluttered and organized, mail was taking over all of our flat surfaces.

I had purchased a mail organizer for our front door, but it filled up pretty quickly because organizers in and of themselves aren’t enough to solve the problem.

The best way to stay on top of mail is to create a system and a mail-processing routine. Otherwise, you will likely feel defeated by your mail for the rest of your life.

And I’m pretty sure that you don’t want to feel that way forever. So let’s get right into some actionable tips that will help you conquer the mail problem in your own home!

Take it a Step Further with a Free mini household binder!

Use this mini printable set to help you organize your important household information so you can save time, find what you need right when you need it, and begin to organize your household! 👇

Step #1 – Set Up a Mail Center

If you have trouble with mail clutter on your kitchen counters, a mail area is a crucial first step!

We have a desk in our kitchen right next to our back door, which is how we typically enter our home. So the desk has become our mail area.

It doesn’t need to be fancy, any dedicated spot will do.

Here are a few different suggestions for a mail area in your home:

– Desk

– Console Table

– Command Center on the Wall

– Paper Sorter on your Kitchen Counter

All that matters is that you have a DEDICATED SPOT for all of your mail.

This is a great way to make sure that your mail doesn’t end up where it doesn’t belong (ahem… in a pile on your dining room table 😉).

There are a few different options for supplies, but it really depends on where your mail area is located. For example, if you decide to create a mail area within your command center, you will need to have a hanging mail organizer. Otherwise, you will need a desk or file sorter that can stand on a flat surface.

Think about where you place your keys and your purse when you walk in the door? That is typically the best place for your mail center!

Step #2 – Find a Home for Magazines and Catalogs

If you receive a lot of catalogs or magazines, you definitely need a system for handling them!

You can create a slot in your mail organizer for incoming magazines, or you can use a simple basket.

I have a wicker basket on a shelf in our kitchen (again, this is near our main entrance, which makes the basket easy to use.)

If your kitchen is small, you can always use a wall organizer.

The point here is to find a dedicated place for magazines to keep them from ending up on your kitchen counter or your coffee table.

Step #3 – Commit to Sorting Your Mail Right When you Walk in the Door

In a perfect world, we want to aim to sort our mail right when we walk in the door. But I know that isn’t always realistic.

As a mom, there are many times when I’ve come home and were way too preoccupied to sort through my mail right away.

So I usually add my mail to an “inbox” and then come back to sort through it after my kids are settled.

If you have school-aged kids (or no kids at all), it will probably be much easier to develop a mail-sorting habit right when you come home.

It should only take you a few minutes to sort through each piece of mail and place it in the appropriate spot.

Each and every home will have its own set of mail categories. But here are a few common categories to give you some ideas:

– Inbox

– Take Action

– Bills

– Coupons

– To File

– To Shred

Alternatively, you could choose to sort your mail by name. If you receive a lot of different mail for other people in your home, it might be helpful to have a slot for you and a slot for everyone else.

Step #4 – Set Up a Mail Processing Routine

Having a specific time to deal with your mail will reduce decision fatigue and make your entire mail situation a lot easier to handle.

Having said that, you don’t necessarily have to process your mail every single day.

You can certainly sit down once a week to process everything in your mail organizer.

Use this time to open all of your mail, shred personal information, pay bills, and file necessary paperwork.

If you receive A LOT of incoming mail each day, you might want to have two (or more) days a week to process everything.

So here are a few suggestions to help you create a mail routine:

Be sure to process each piece of mail

During your mail processing routine, make a decision on every piece of mail that you have.

Every piece of mail that makes its way into your home will have one of four choices:

Trash, recycle or shred (anything you don’t need to keep)
Delegate (when you need to give it to someone else to deal with)
File (reference material that you may need to access eventually)
Take action (bills, invitations, school field trip forms, etc.)

Do it at the same time of day

Again, this will help make your new routine a habit.

Make it fun!

Processing mail and sorting through paper requires a lot of brainpower and decision making. If it’s something fun that you look forward to, you’ll be much more motivated to keep up with it.

Set an alarm to remind you to process your mail

If you have trouble remembering to process all of your mail, try setting an alarm on your phone to remind you. Choose a time when you won’t be distracted by dinner or TV.

DIY Mail Organizer Ideas

These creative mail organizers will give you some ideas for your own home. Be sure to click through each image to check out the blogger’s tutorial!

1.) DIY Wire Baskets

9 Clever Mail Organizers — A House Full of Sunshine

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Aren’t these wire baskets amazing?! The blogger has linked to some similar wire baskets if you want to create some for yourself.

2.) Personalized Mail Organizer

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I just love the look of this mail organizer! The blogger used a mail holder from Ikea and then created her own category labels.

3.) Desktop Mail Organizer

9 Clever Ways to Organize Your Mail — Productive and Pretty

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This is a great option for those who are DIY-challenged (like me!). With a couple of basic supplies, you can have a mail organizer set up within a few minutes!

I use something similar to this in my own home. What I love about it is that you can have a lot more categories, as opposed to other mail sorters that typically only have a few slots available.

4.) Ikea Kvissle Organizer

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You can add this type of mail organizer to your own home by grabbing an Ikea Kvissle Magazine Rack. Since this rack is meant for magazines, there are little holes in the bottom that mail could easily slip through. The best way to solve that issue is to use (decorative) file folders inside of each slot. And if you’re wanting to achieve some simple labels as this blogger did, you can do so with Avery clear labels.

5.) Wall-Mounted Mail Organizer from Scrap Wood

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This mail organizer is fabulous! It looks like something straight out of Hobby Lobby. Be sure to check out the full tutorial for how to make one of your own.

6.) Fabric Mail Organizer

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If you know how to sew, this would be an excellent option! I love how the blogger has the mail organizer mounted on wood canvas so it won’t sag.

7.) Ikea Hack Mail Organizer

Instructables.com

This is a perfect option if you’re needing to include a shelf by your main entrance. Having a shelf for your keys, phone, and wallet is a game-changer!

8.) Cardboard Mail Organizer

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If you’re a crafty type of person, check out this neat tutorial! This blogger created each of these mail slots out of cardboard boxes, which is about as budget-friendly as you can get!

9.) Fabric Mail Organizer

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This DIY mail organizer is beautiful! I love the colors and the bookplate labels give it a finishing touch.

Mail Organizers to Buy

Okay, now let’s go over a couple of mail organizers that you can purchase. If you’re not the DIY type, this is a simple solution for keeping the paper clutter from piling up all over your house!

Might I also recommend checking around at Hobby Lobby. They have a large selection of mail organizers for reasonable prices. Especially when they’re offering 50% off home decor!

10.) Mail Organizer with Key Hooks

A mail organizer with key hooks attached that comes in over 10 different colors! It’s $35 on Amazon.

11.) Woven Mail Organizer

I love this! As of the time of publishing this post, it’s currently on sale at Wayfair for $27.

12.) Metal Mail Organizer

This one comes with slots so you can add your own labels. You can click here to grab it from Wayfair for $45

13.) Decorative Mail Organizer

This decorative mail organizer is also from Wayfair for $27.

14.) Vintage Postcard Mail Sorter

Ohh, isn’t this gorgeous? This would work well for an inbox on your kitchen counter! If your hands are too full to sort through your mail right when you walk in the door, place your mail in here until you get a chance to sort through it. Click here to order one for $21.

15.) Mail “Inbox” with Key Hooks

Here’s another great option for an inbox. Since there is only one slot, it isn’t ideal for sorting multiple categories of mail. But it would be great for keeping your mail (and your keys) off your kitchen counters! Click here to order one from The Container Store for $16.

Your Turn

A few years ago, I was drowning in unopened mail. These are the exact steps I used to create a system for all of our incoming mail. My system isn’t perfect by any means, but the mail clutter is a lot less of a problem than it used to be!

Set up a mail center
Find a home for magazines and catalogs (if you receive a lot)
Make a point to sort through your mail right when you walk through the door
Create a daily or weekly mail processing routine

Remember, paper organizers won’t fix your mail clutter problem overnight.

If you only take away one piece of advice from this post, let it be to create a mail processing routine.

That is the key to preventing mail and bills from piling up.

You don’t have to sort and process your mail every single day! A weekly routine will work just as well. Sunday afternoons are typically a good day to open all of your mail from the past week, pay bills, shred personal info, and file any necessary paperwork.

So, find a mail organizer that you like and start setting up a mail center near your main entrance!

I sure hope the Household Paper Organizing Series is helping you get a handle on all of your paperwork! If you have any questions, let me know in the comment box below.

And be sure to check out Part 4: A Simple Solution for all that Incoming Paper