Super Simple Mail Organizer

The new year always brings out my desire to organize and diminish clutter. Almost the moment we arrive home from our Christmas vacation I am motivated to get rid of the old and bring on the new.

Our mail system, or well honestly our lack of a system had been bothering me for quite a while. We had a beautiful wooden two-level mail tray that we purchased from a thrift store a few years ago. While it was beautiful, it wasn't user friendly. All the mail and paper work just got thrown in and was a huge mess. I needed a system that was easy, organized and aesthetically pleasing.

This past weekend we headed to Target to spend a gift card that we received for Christmas. I perused the office supply section. This lovely metal magazine holder caught my eye. Sitting close by was a package of beautiful gold metallic file folders from Nate Berkus for Target. The folders fit into the magazine holder really well. The light bulb went off in my head and realized that this would be the perfect solution  to organizing my messy mail area.

Here is how I labeled my folders, 

1. Bills to Be Paid

2. Car Stuff

3. Coupons

4. Financial To Be Filed: Bank, Investment, and Tax Papers

5.  Health

6. Personal: Birthdays Cards and Letters

7. Project Life: A place to store everyday ephemera before I sit down to scrapbook.

8. To-Do: Where I keep items that I need to deal with at a later time.  For example, I have some life insurance information that needs to be changed because they spelled my name wrong. 

Placing the magazine holder on it's side makes the folders easier to take in and out. 

This system has been working well. Before I put the mail in the folders, I open the envelopes and throw out any items that we don't need. We have a trash can right below this table. When it comes time to pay bills, Michael will only have to pull out the bill folder instead of hunting through a huge stack of papers and wasting precious time. Sorting the mail takes no time at all! Now the table looks clean and organized. I have room to add a vase of flowers or possibly a picture in a frame. 

Using items in ways other than their intended purpose can be a lot of fun. In what ways have you used everyday items in creative ways?