how to deal with mountains of mail and incoming paper work

[aprilflowers]

I seem to have tried every thing but always end up with boxes or piles or drawers of mail - bank statements, letters, bills, etc
Every so often I clear the lot but it just keeps building up and driving me nuts - Help

I have a basket, everything goes in there and once a week I set aside some time to sort it out, pay bills and file bank statemnts, did it this morning and took me an hour. Junk mail gets put automatically in recycling.

Shredder attached to the letterbox

Seriously, we all have an inbox. When it's full you have to deal with it. It's a very shallow inbox. It does not cope with more than an inch of stuff.

Shredder is also a very good idea.

Start by getting as many of your bills online as you can. Then for every bit of junk mail you get for a couple of weeks, ring the number on the letter and ask them to take you off their mailing list. This will stop not only that particular company contacting you, but several others too!

I did this about 6 months ago and when I was away for 2 weeks recently, I came back to 4 letters!!

If you can reduce the amount coming into the house to start with, it won't pile up so quickly!

I need a system too!

I wrote - 'go away, I am dead' on a load of junk mail and returned to sender and they did remove me from their mailing lists!

Sign up for the mailing preference association lists to get off these lists as well.

Very subtle! I love it!

Most of our bills are DD's we only pay BT (which is changing soon) and the water bill by cheque.

Phone up & tell them you're signed up for mailing preference. They crap themselves apologising & deleting you.

If any post-paid envelopes, stuff all that week's junk mail into them & RTS. Write on envelope: 'Mailing Preference - remove me from list with immediate effect' & your name, house number & post code. (I've got stickers printed with this on - in my defence I print lots of stickers for work so it's not that Mrs Angry...)

If you ever sign up for anything, give a false extra initial. You will then know when the lying bastards ignore the 'No, don't sell my details on to all & bloody sundry' box you've ticked.

Get gerbils & a compost heap?

Open everything that comes the day it arrives, sitting there beside the bin. Decide immediately what to do with it. RavenAK what a great suggestion

Thank you for all the suggestions - spent a whole afternoon sorting through my box.
I will work through the suggestions so hopefully I will be a bit more disciplined