Because we don't get enough mail on a daily basis to warrant going down the driveway to the mailbox, I (have a teenager) get the mail once a week. That way I only have to do the "sort" once a week.
Asha - when I first read the headline I thought it said "....confronting my fear of the MALL." And I nodded in agreement because being a parent of older kids meant that I, too, had to confront my fear of the mall.
Mail is also scary, but I'm just sayin', the mall is scarier!
Since we moved to Australia, we get almost no mail. Bills and statements come in email. We have a "no junk mail" sign on our mailbox so we don't get the big bundle of garbage every week. Any mail we do get is usually easy to deal with -- a recall notice for the car, an appointment confirmation from the hospital. I've learned since moving to the other side of the world that all those papers are pretty much shreddable. You don't need to file bills and statements because you can get them online, usually. We have one file drawer for important papers, including one file for current tax stuff. Everything else can go.
After a college kid had to get a new W2 when he couldn't locate the first, I realized that my kids need to know what mail gets kept and what gets tossed. I've gotten them each accordion files and asked them to put anything important in it- glasses prescription, lease, W2! I'm hoping they'll start to sort it out from there.
OMG I too have mail fear lol, and I too have piles of mail to go through. Glad I am not alone, and yes I too need to confront my piles soon. During the Pandemic it piled up even more and now I have couple of years worth of un opened mail to go through. Thank god most of my bills are online , but the fear is there. Thanks for sharing your story because it encouraging me to do something now haha :)
I'm finally confronting my fear of the mail
I like to have a special holiday toward the end of the year to rotate all the previous year bills to filing, and clear out the two-year-old junk.
As a ritual, you can even burn the old paper in the BBQ or fire pit.
Because we don't get enough mail on a daily basis to warrant going down the driveway to the mailbox, I (have a teenager) get the mail once a week. That way I only have to do the "sort" once a week.
Asha - when I first read the headline I thought it said "....confronting my fear of the MALL." And I nodded in agreement because being a parent of older kids meant that I, too, had to confront my fear of the mall.
Mail is also scary, but I'm just sayin', the mall is scarier!
Since we moved to Australia, we get almost no mail. Bills and statements come in email. We have a "no junk mail" sign on our mailbox so we don't get the big bundle of garbage every week. Any mail we do get is usually easy to deal with -- a recall notice for the car, an appointment confirmation from the hospital. I've learned since moving to the other side of the world that all those papers are pretty much shreddable. You don't need to file bills and statements because you can get them online, usually. We have one file drawer for important papers, including one file for current tax stuff. Everything else can go.
After a college kid had to get a new W2 when he couldn't locate the first, I realized that my kids need to know what mail gets kept and what gets tossed. I've gotten them each accordion files and asked them to put anything important in it- glasses prescription, lease, W2! I'm hoping they'll start to sort it out from there.
OMG I too have mail fear lol, and I too have piles of mail to go through. Glad I am not alone, and yes I too need to confront my piles soon. During the Pandemic it piled up even more and now I have couple of years worth of un opened mail to go through. Thank god most of my bills are online , but the fear is there. Thanks for sharing your story because it encouraging me to do something now haha :)
Uggh !! ...total mail dread. And resentment cause husband thinks it’s my job. Totally unfair. It sucks. (I didn’t know other people felt this way!)
Thanks Asha