Since downsizing I’ve been asked more than once to share how we handle all the mail, bills, school communication and other paperwork that comes into our home. In all honesty, it takes daily effort and diligence to avoid paper miscellaneous from piling up. But! We have an efficient system in place that makes the task feel less daunting, and it only requires a few minutes of our attention each day. I think the easiest way to share what we do is to document the paper trail to and through our home. Spoiler alert: IKEA is one of my favorite sources for small organizational items. Let’s get started!

It all starts with filtering what makes it into our mailbox. When we first moved to the city we live in now, we were bombarded with junk mail: catalogs, flyers, coupon mailers, pre-approved credit offers, phone books, etc. Since then, I’ve become adept at noting unwanted mail that shows up in our mailbox then quickly going online and opting out of receiving it again. In the beginning, I was opting out of stuff quite often, but now that it’s under control I maybe opt out of mailings just a few times a year.

A few sites I’ve used to opt out of the majority of junk mail are:

www.optoutprescreen.com To stop receiving pre-approved financial offers. You can opt out for five years or permanently. FYI – If there is more than one adult living under your roof, each adult will need to opt out individually.

dmachoice.thedma.org To stop receiving unsolicited commercial mail from many national brands for a five year period. I’m all for coupons, but I only want coupons for items I would buy regardless of coupon savings. I find that most of the brands and chain restaurants represented in commercial mail aren’t places we normally frequent. Instead of receiving gobs of useless coupons by mail, we usually opt for frequent visitor cards, online coupons and savings apps for stores we normally visit.

www.valpak.com/coupons/show/mailinglistsuppression and www.redplum.com To stop receiving bulk coupon mailers from smaller brokers not registered with the DMA. Mailings from smaller brokers tend to vary depending on your location. These are two of the more popular ones in my area. If you continue to receive coupon offers long after you’ve opted out via the DMA, go straight to the source by googling the broker’s name on your mailings to opt out.

www.yellowpagesoptout.com To opt out of telephone directories in your area. (I can’t believe these still exist!)

Opting out of just these five mass mailers reduces our junk mail by probably 60%-70%. Beyond these, I’ve contacted specific companies directly to opt out of unwanted catalogs. Many catalogs can be viewed online nowadays. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a visual person and I enjoy the tactile process of flipping through a great catalog in hand and gathering tear sheets, but I reserve that guilty pleasure only for my top two or three favorite catalogs. I browse all others online which saves me quite a bit of time and money. No more reading through catalogs like it’s my homework and being tempted to buy stuff I don’t really need or have the space for.

We pay most of our regular monthly bills online automatically via our checking account which deems many physical bills unnecessary. I treat my donation to NPR as a monthly “bill” and have them automatically bill my credit card. As a result, I only receive an annual renewal reminder from them as opposed to several donation requests throughout the year. I’ve called local businesses and churches and kindly asked them to remove my address from their mailing lists. We don’t subscribe to any newspapers, opting to get our news from the radio and online sources instead. Steve and I only subscribe to a few favorite magazines each. I have a hard time reading more than two or three a month before the next issues are out.

I recently added the KVISSLE magazine rack on a sliver of wall in the mudroom to corral unread magazines, catalogs and stray library books. Before, they kind of traveled all over the house and got lost in the mix. Now, if I have a few minutes to spare or if we’re headed out the door for a long car ride (and Steve is driving, of course) or to an appointment where we might have a wait time, I can quickly grab a glossy and go. No more rummaging around the house trying to find a magazine (I know it’s here somewhere!). No more magazines cluttering horizontal surfaces. Placing the wall rack just below our key hooks makes for a seamless grab-and-go!

On top of filtering what makes it into our mailbox, I’m also adamant about immediately purging unwanted mail between our mailbox and the back door. On the walk back from the mailbox each day, I make a quick stop at the recycling bin and toss in superfluous junk after noting where it came from so I can opt out of it in the future.

Essentially, by the time any mail reaches our door, it has already been “screened” twice (via opting out and physical sorting) and there’s no need to sort it once inside. I know it reads like an ordeal, but once you get the bulk junk mailings out of the way and take a few seconds to flip through mail just retrieved from the mailbox while still outside, it really runs like clockwork requiring very little time at all.

Once inside, I have a strict “no mail on the dining table” rule. One cabinet of the fauxdenza in our mudroom is designated to incoming mail.

A letter tray on the top shelf holds mail in limbo until it is dealt with at a later time. This usually includes utility and medical bills or cards for the kids. I already mentioned that catalogs and magazines end up in the wall rack. I recently added and labeled several KUGGIS boxes to house coupons and tech accessories and keep them separate from mail. The coupons are simply waiting to be taken out to a folder in the car where I’m more likely to remember to use them. The KUGGIS series is functional and eco-friendly featuring variously sized boxes made from recycled plastic bottles that can be stacked on top of each other to organize paperwork, games, out of season clothing, art supplies, small media, memorabilia, etc.

Before I brought in the KUGGIS boxes, this cabinet was one big tangled mess of mail and wires. I love that the boxes have lids to keep wiry things like chargers, earbuds and headphones under wraps. I find that the kids have an easier time finding and putting things away when bins and labels are involved.

Bills and correspondence that require further attention eventually make their way to the kitchen desk where they’re dealt with appropriately. A recycling pull-out is located at the opposite end of the kitchen near the fridge, and that’s where we discard most paper items.

A KVISSLE letter tray holds paperwork that we may need to access within the next month or so: forms to be filled out, receipts, recently paid bills, school calendars, school lunch menus, school pictures to be handed out, kids’ progress reports, fundraising information, etc. They’re mostly things we don’t need to see every day, but they do need to be easily and quickly retrieved when required. Each family member has his/her own tray. (Mabrey’s currently holds two letters to Santa. Ha!) I go through the trays maybe every other month and discard papers that are no longer needed. Again with the labels. I have a passionate but healthy love for my label maker.

A pair of KVISSLE magazine files holds essential oils and favorite recipes. A KVISSLE desk organizer keeps scissors, tape, my planner (#oldschool) and pens within easy reach. If you can’t tell, I fell hard for the KVISSLE series. I’ve had these pieces for more than two years. The steel + cork designs have held up superbly. They’re like brand new. I like displaying tiny photo magnets on the magazine files.

Fortunately, we have plenty of overhead cabinetry that allows us to store important documents for longer periods of time. These are things that we need to keep on hand for a year or more: my pharmacist C.E.s, tax-related paperwork, receipts for tax deductions, vaccination records, etc. The most important legal documents (i.e., Social Security cards, passports, birth certificates, wills, marriage license, insurance policies, etc.) are kept in a fireproof safe elsewhere.

I bought the gray KVARNVIK boxes years ago and still love them. Steve is a bit of a paper hoarder when it comes to saving receipts and paid bills, so I always make sure to have a few boxes on hand for him. He sorts through them eventually. As our family grows, I’m finding that we need less decorative, more functional items in the glass-fronted cabinets. I recently purged a few candleholders I hadn’t used in years to make room for several FJÄLLA boxes. (They’re super easy to assemble, not like the IKEA photo boxes from several years back that were crazy labor intensive.) They’re mostly empty except for a few greeting cards, stamps, markers and vitamins. I like having room to grow. The BEKVÄM step stool gets a lot of action at our house. See how I customized it with paint and stain here.

The kids’ school communication is handled much like mail. I opt to receive school newsletters and announcements via email. Layne’s school sends home correspondence once a week on Tuesdays which I LOVE. One shot and I’m done for the week! Everett’s teacher utilizes a classroom text messaging app just for parent-teacher communication regarding class parties, field trips, fundraisers, special events, volunteering, etc. What does end up coming home is sorted and dealt with as soon as possible. I have no tray or bin in place for daily school communication or homework. It’s either in a backpack or being tackled. The boys have the routine down. They hang up their backpacks and immediately get out any homework and their school communication folders. They tend to their homework and eat a snack while I sort and deal with school notices.

We have one catchall basket in the laundry nook for stashing random items that don’t really have a place elsewhere or were left in pockets of dirty clothes. Right now its contents include origami stars, paper airplanes, paper poppers, several pairs of sunglasses, a baggie of loose coins and a tennis ball I caught from an Andy Murray service fault earlier this summer. (!) Yep, Andy Murray’s DNA is in that basket. I originally stuck a smaller bowl in this spot, but it didn’t take much for it to overflow. I grabbed the larger, taller FLÅDIS basket on my last trip to IKEA so now I can catch all the tennis balls! Haha.

I hope that gives you a little more insight into how we tackle the paper trail in our home. A few key takeaways:

*Opt out of superfluous mail.

*If possible, sort delivered mail before bringing it inside.

*Create a drop zone that isn’t the dining table (or kitchen countertop) to avoid misplacing important mail.

*Use open filing systems for documents needed on a short-term basis. Try a wall rack for unread magazines and catalogs.

*Use lidded boxes or bins for documents needed for longer periods of time. Store important legal documents in a fireproof safe.

*Label trays, bins and boxes to make organization foolproof for the whole family. (I have a Brother P-Touch label maker and love it!)

*Treat school communication like mail. Check with your child’s school to see if they offer an online newsletter or other non-paper communication.

*Tweak the system as your family’s needs change. Keep empty bins on hand and devote one basket to random stuff.

*RECYCLE!

Do you have any tips to share for tackling and organizing the inevitable paper trail?

I am a brand ambassadör for IKEA. This post sponsored in part by IKEA. I received product and payment for this collaboration. IKEA is a registered trademark of Inter IKEA Systems B.V. and is used with permission. The views, ideas and opinions expressed here are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support this blog!

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

FYI – This photo was taken in 2011 shortly after we bought our current home and discovered we were unexpectedly expecting a third child. We had just started a gut renovation and were living in an interim, two-bedroom apartment. It was the beginning of our downsizing journey. The boys look so little!

Our decision to downsize was heavily fueled by our desire to become mortgage-free by age 40. We’ve always been conscientious about money. Steve is the person whom creates and studies spreadsheets whenever making a big financial decision. I’m the person whom must have her checkbook balanced to the penny. When I was working full-time before we had kids, half of my paycheck was allotted to savings and investments. (To this day, we haven’t touched that money. We pretend it doesn’t exist.) We also worked diligently to pay off school and auto loans. Even with scholarships and employment during college, we graduated with >$50,000 of school debt between the two of us. (That probably sounds like a lot to some and not much to others.) We buy and drive used vehicles. To this day, Steve drives the same pickup truck he drove in college. #dangerranger

Five years ago, we bought the worst house on the street in a modest but respectable neighborhood. Our plan was to use the equity from the sale of our previous home to fund a gut renovation then plug away at the mortgage. It helped that we purposefully bought below our means. The dilapidated house cost way less than what the bank/realtor/society said we could “afford.” We were able to pay for the renovation in cash, and we’ve been hacking away at the principal ever since. Earlier this month, we made our final payment. The act itself felt both momentous and completely run-of-the-mill, but it’s official…

We’re mortgage-free! (For the record, we’re 37. We beat our goal by three years. We celebrated by making a list of things to sell on Craigslist.)

We feel equal parts grateful, proud and free. We’re grateful for good educational opportunities, job stability and our health – all of which were necessary to see our goal come to fruition and none of which we take for granted. We’re proud of ourselves for hatching a long-term plan and seeing it through even when obstacles blocked our path. We’re free. Without a mortgage looming overhead, not only do we feel as if a weight has been lifted, but it’s exciting to think about where we go from here, financially speaking. The possibilities are various: more saving, more donating, more vacationing, more investing, more traveling, more renovating (in a different house), more chilling out, more stuff we’ve never done, etc. Our initial thoughts run the gamut.

Even though we consider ourselves financially stable and responsible, we’re interested in trying out a more efficient way to track and budget our money in order to set and achieve new goals. You Need a Budget (YNAB) is a web-based app that simplifies budgeting by syncing with bank accounts and credit cards to keep you up-to-date on your expenditures. If you’re a visual person like me, it’s helpful to see where the money goes.

YNAB combines easy-to-use software with four essential budgeting rules: 1) Give every dollar a job. Before any money comes in, you already know what it is going to be spent on or saved for. 2) Embrace your true expenses. Paying for stuff – from essential things like groceries, shelter, transportation, utilities, doctor visits and medications to less crucial things like date nights, new windows, killer jeans, gifts or that dreamy leather sofa you’ve had your eye on – is part of being an adult. Being honest with yourself and prioritizing your needs and wants allows you to treat larger, less frequent expenses like monthly expenses. 3) Roll with the punches. You’re human. You make mistakes. You change your mind. Life throws you unexpected curveballs. Your budget should be flexible enough to change with you. 4) Age your money. Your spending should be based on money you’ve already made or saved, not money you’re expecting to make in the future. That’s how you stop the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and get out of debt.

Without really knowing, we’ve been following these rules on our own. Last year, rule #3 was especially important. We had to move money around to cover unforeseen expenses related to Everett’s accident. What was already a traumatic and stressful experience could have been compounded by unpayable bills. Having a flexible budget allowed us to focus on what mattered most – promoting Everett’s full recovery and getting back to “normal.” We’re still working on it. Some days are more difficult than others, but I can’t imagine the added stress of unpaid bills.

If you’re interested in giving YNAB a try to achieve whatever financial goals you may have, you can get three months free by clicking here. YNAB is free to all students!

For fun, here are several ideas we’ve been tossing around now that we’re mortgage-free…

*Finally install those shade sails we first mentioned here.

*Buy a vintage camper, fix it up and road trip with the kids while they still think we’re cool.

*Fly out west to see the redwoods and hit up this sweet guest house in Portland while we’re at it. (Those backsplash windows!)

*Buy a fixer upper and flip it. (Spoiler alert: We’ve been looking at distressed properties for months.)

*Buy a forever home in one of our dream neighborhoods and make it ours over time. Or just build one from scratch. (Spoiler alert: I’ve been looking for years.)

*Open an online shop.

*Visit New Zealand and live the ultimate indoor-outdoor life.

*Invest in a new garage door.

We would be completely happy bringing one or two of those ideas to fruition within the next year. Although we aren’t opposed to taking on another big project if the right house came along, in all likelihood, we’ll probably sit tight and savor our just right house for now. I think we have some braces to save for anyway. Whatever happens, I’ll continue to share our journey and the things that inspire us. I hope you’ll stick around to see what happens next.

Have you set or reached any financial goals recently? Do you have any tips for budgeting, saving or becoming mortgage-free? Talking about money can be so personal, but it’s important. Steve and I have witnessed our families stress over finances for decades, and we vowed early on in our marriage to minimize that stress in our relationship as much as possible. We aren’t perfect, but we do believe that consistently living within (or even below) our means has set us up for financial (maybe even marital!) success. For us, it’s all about prioritizing what matters most then making a plan and executing it with room for course correction along the way.

*This post sponsored in part by You Need a Budget (YNAB). Don’t forget to sign up for a free three-month trial here. Thank you for supporting the brands that support this blog and our financial endeavors!

images: 1-3) Dana Miller for House*Tweaking 4-7) Airbnb