The Birth of a New Pile

Decided to purge my dayplanner and get back to using it. It DOES work, when I use it : )

First step: purge all the papers in the front flap. I was happy to find some papers that were clearly trash, now (an old address or phone number without a name, etc) and promptly threw them away. The rest of the papers ended up in a pile.

Here's your invitation into one of my piles:
1) a cell phone number (from someone who told me to call her) but I never did
2) a business card from an acquaintance (for a product I never heard of, but now that I have the card ... maybe I should consider it). I've probably had this card for 1-2 years.
3) an expired teacher discount card to JoAnn's store (kept so that I can use it to get another one without having to go through all the rig-a-ma-roll by just handing this old one to them). This card expired Sept. 2009.
4) Five coupons for 20% off my next purchase of $10.00 0r more at Goodwill. I usually shop at Goodwill on their 50% off days, so I wouldn't use these anyway. But then again ... what if I DO happen to go to Goodwill when it's not a 50% off day...
5) the cell phone number for one of my daughter's friend's mom. Forgot I had it written down.
6) an invitation I got to the surprise birthday party for a friend. I kept it so that I could give it to her in case she wanted to use it to scrapbook this big event in her life. I keep forgetting to give it to her. She's had another birthday in the meantime.
7) an index card with the address and phone number of two JoAnn stores. One of them has already closed.
8) my daughter's address on a post it note. She moved into a new house 11 months ago. I haven't written her address in my address file.
9) the business card of one of my medical practitioners that I thought I had lost! It has her e-mail address that she told me was the fastest way for me to get ahold of her personally.
10) a receipt for an oil change on my van [so THAT'S when we had it done!] from April 2010.
11) a receipt for cash paid on our daughter's vehicle's repair (a car that she has since sold) which ended up being a big headache and a point of contention ...BIGGER than we ever bargained for .. but this receipt is proof that we have done SOMETHING to help her out as a single mom who's barely getting by

That's not even 1/4 of the pile. I can't bare to look at any more of the papers in this pile. I am mentally exhausted. I did a once through as I pulled them out of the flap. These are the ones that made it through the first sort.

I'll put them in a manilla envelope, label the outside ("from Dayplanner") and date it with today's date. Then ... oh! Of course! I'll put the envelope in my "incoming mail" slot : )

Takes One to Know One

I was talking to a fellow "Messie/Hoarder" gal ...we were commiserating...she admitted to me that she had an issue (which was a big step for her) to say it out loud to me ... when the subject of mail came up. I told her that I have bags of mail. I have a place to put the incoming mail addressed to me. When that location fills up, I pull out the mail, place it in a plastic bag, write the date on the outside of the bag and stick it somewhere.

That's the part of the conversation that my dad overheard. He looked at me and asked, "Really?! You have BAGS of mail? That's not ___ ."

I don't remember the last word he said. It could have been: right, good or appropriate [something to that effect].

I'm not sure if it was confusion, shock or fear I saw on his face. Maybe a little of each. Either way, I knew that he didn't understand. The gal I was talking to did. She said she put her mail in boxes. Yep. We understood each other. Is there a logical explanation? No. That's the point. Hoarders don't do what they do for logical reasons.

Mail has a lot of decisions to make. What to keep? What to toss? What's important? What's not? Should we/can we go ...(if an RSVP is needed) or not? Is this junk mail, or is it something I need to consider? If I don't need this...is there someone I know who could benefit from it?

To you it may be easy. To me, it's not.