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Nov 4, 2011 10:56:06 GMT
Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2011 10:56:06 GMT
What do people do about opening post?
When I lived with my ex it wasn't so bad. Every couple of weeks he'd bring me a stack of unopened envelopes and three choices: 1) I open them all myself 2) We could sit down and open them together 3) He could open them for me.
The thing is, I never used to get much in the way of bills etc because they were all in his name. This was because I didn't like getting late payment charges and didn't like the stress of paying bills or setting up direct debits and he didn't like having interrupted utility supplies (which would have been an inevitability if I was left in charge of paying them). Every couple of months or whatever, I used to just give him some money towards bills.
Now however, not only are all these bills in my name but I have roughly 6 months of unopened post squirelled away in various parts of the flat (obviously I open anything that looks exciting or anything that I've ordered from the internet in a fit of impulse buying).
I wondered how other ADHDers dealt with post - do you have systems? Are you good at opening post? Or are you just like me?
Ideally, I would open this post at least weekly because now, the sheer volume of it would be enough even to put off a NT post-opener.
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Lame44
Member posts quite a bit
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Nov 4, 2011 11:41:52 GMT
Post by Lame44 on Nov 4, 2011 11:41:52 GMT
Hurm....I open my post when it comes now, if it's junk it goes straight in the bin, if it's a bill it gets piled, then if I have the money to pay them in the bank I go online to my bank and pay them when I remember to of course and write in massive letters on them paid on so and so date and how much I paid and even the time I paid it so I dont forget that I've already paid it. In the past I've missed payments because I wasn't sure if I had paid them or not.
On the other side of it, I have actaully paid large bills twice before which left me short on money but it was again because I wasn't sure if I'd paid the bill or not. Hence why I write on the bills in massive writing and I keep them on my mess of a desk. The older ones then go in the bin. When the next lot of bills come in and I pay them I'll write on them too and the previous one that was kept nearby goes in the bin then.
Some things I keep though if they seem important enough and I do need to get some more files because they are again scattered on my desk, in the kitchen drawes, in the draws in this room too, lol. But if you get some files you can put like gas and electric in one, water and tv in the other and other bills like catalogues or whatever elsewhere in another file. You can do the same for bank stuff or credit cards aswel, ahve a little file and when you pay a bill write on it paid etc.
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Nov 4, 2011 13:31:52 GMT
Post by twix on Nov 4, 2011 13:31:52 GMT
I always open the envelopes when they arrive but then I tend to just put it in piles. At least its opened though. Once a fortnight I try to remember to do my recycling bin the night before it goes out, and I tend to go through and get rid of the junk and envelopes at that point. I sometimes manage to separate the junk into a different pile on opening, must put a recycle bag next to the front door.
If you are struggling then break it down in to little tasks.
Task 1 set your watch or timer and have a race to get all the envelopes from around the place as fast as you can and put them in 1 pile.
You can stop once that's done if you want. Have a cuppa and a biccie and then task 2 open envelopes with a plastic bag next to you. Throw the envelopes into the plastic bag and if you want throw anything that is junk away too.
Make more tea (or whatever...) Task 3 make your pile into a few piles. Maybe 1 for bills, 1 for bank statements, 1 for important stuff like insurance papers and whatever other piles you need.
You can watch tv or listen to music while you do this.
Once you've done this you can move onto task 4 when you are ready which is pay bills and do stuff you need to from any of the letters. Maybe make a list so you can cross off things.
Good luck. Once you start it won't be so bad. It's getting started that's hard.
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Post by kakema on Nov 4, 2011 14:47:50 GMT
Post = nightmare.
Stacks of unopened amid other chaos on the dining room table.
Every so often (usually prompted by an emergency search for something) I go through it and sort it into 'file' and 'action' piles. Which I put on the dining room table (can you see where this is going...?)
I direct debit EVERYTHING I possibly can, and pay the fines/grovel for the rest.
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Nov 4, 2011 17:53:25 GMT
Post by seahorse on Nov 4, 2011 17:53:25 GMT
I direct debit everything too, and open my post as soon as I see it's arrived (unless I'm legging it out the door and don't have time). I open the boring stuff first, and save eBay items and handwritten letters til last.
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Nov 4, 2011 18:41:19 GMT
Post by Mouse on Nov 4, 2011 18:41:19 GMT
delegate responsibility, if you can!
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Nov 4, 2011 21:17:11 GMT
Post by seahorse on Nov 4, 2011 21:17:11 GMT
Lol, I delegated 1 bill to my ex, and we nearly ended up in court for non-payment of council tax! Should have started him off with the gas bill!
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Deleted
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Nov 4, 2011 21:26:01 GMT
Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2011 21:26:01 GMT
i direct debit everything and my husband goes mad because i put everything in "piles" then he puts all the "piles"into one big "pile" and puts it in the cupboard then i go mad because he has moved my stuff lol xx
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Deleted
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Nov 4, 2011 21:27:01 GMT
Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2011 21:27:01 GMT
sorry the question was about post ............................ i open it when it arrives and put it in "piles" xx
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Post by kakema on Nov 4, 2011 23:30:42 GMT
i direct debit everything and my husband goes mad because i put everything in "piles" then he puts all the "piles"into one big "pile" and puts it in the cupboard then i go mad because he has moved my stuff lol xx YES!! Mine does that too! Do NOT interfere with my piles!!
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Nov 5, 2011 1:19:13 GMT
Post by dizzydumpling on Nov 5, 2011 1:19:13 GMT
i direct debit everything and my husband goes mad because i put everything in "piles" then he puts all the "piles"into one big "pile" and puts it in the cupboard then i go mad because he has moved my stuff lol xx YES!! Mine does that too! Do NOT interfere with my piles!! Snap! Audrey, If delegation's not possible could you recruit a good friend to help you sort through it - just to keep you on track. I think if I had this much mail backed up, I'd really appreciate some help, otherwise there'd be a huge risk of going off-track or starting and not finishing it and an afternoon's work taking a week...a month....a year......! Good luck!
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Nov 5, 2011 9:03:08 GMT
Post by seahorse on Nov 5, 2011 9:03:08 GMT
Also I have an expanding file with sections marked for mortgage, council tax, electric, gas, etc. Doesn't always get filed right away, but if I'm tidying and find a bill, it can go in there. Then if I need to refer to an old bill for any reason, there's a fairly good chance I can find what I need.
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Deleted
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Nov 5, 2011 9:45:06 GMT
Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2011 9:45:06 GMT
I have everything on Direct Debit too.
I get hardly any post, so do not have an issue with it, I bin almost all of it as soon as it arrives, and the post that needs to be kept gets put on the side arm of the sofa and it mysteriously disappears and gets filed (thanks Deb)
John
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Nov 5, 2011 9:58:42 GMT
Post by Mouse on Nov 5, 2011 9:58:42 GMT
That's delegating to the right person = success!
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Deleted
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Nov 5, 2011 22:06:33 GMT
Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2011 22:06:33 GMT
i need a Deb lol xx
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Deleted
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Nov 6, 2011 22:14:02 GMT
Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2011 22:14:02 GMT
Thanks for your responses. Twix and Dizzy - both of these strategies sound good. Think I'll combine them by getting a friend or the bf round to supervise me and then I'll do the timer method. I do often find that if somebody's there with me I can get started on these things more easily and they can keep me focused. Something that'd take a gabillion hours on my own only takes an hour or so when somebody is keeping an eye on me. I'll send up a flare for help :-)
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Nov 7, 2011 20:30:00 GMT
Post by boo on Nov 7, 2011 20:30:00 GMT
buy a shredder! tbh, all of my bils are DD and thank goodness, cos i am awful with post and letters. my aim, if i was good at keeping to my own rule would be open post make 1 pile to keep, 1 pile to shred saturday/sunday morning shred the shred pile, file the keep pile what actually does tend to happen is post piles up unopened and every now and then gets shredded, opened or not! some things i see are not the usual 'bills' and i open them (sometimes!) its an area, i am really bad with and if i didnt pay by DD, i think i would be in a terrible state I do keep up with it for a while, depends on the amount of junk mail that gets piled up with the 'real' mail though, and once i start on the slippery slope of not keeping on top of it, it becomes too much of a mountain to face note to self: start shredding again this weekend! it can be quite thereputic
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Nov 8, 2011 23:15:58 GMT
Post by dizzydumpling on Nov 8, 2011 23:15:58 GMT
I might be able to dish it out, but sadly cannot act on my own advice.
I have 7 concertina files stuffed full of old bills/documents/crap going back about 10 years, a large drawer full of as yet unfiled stuff (the holding pen), 2 huge carrier bags of stuff waiting to be shredded (stuff that isn't worthy of filing but I'm too paranoid to just bin it), and various small piles around the place that have yet to be either opened or placed in the correct recepticle.
I always thought that this was super-organised, and it's only since reading this thread that I've realised it's probably not that effective a system. My next plan is to invest in a brazier (is that how you spell it?), as shredding this amount of old post would take about 12 solid hours I reckon - definately not tharapeutic! ;D
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Nov 8, 2011 23:17:16 GMT
Post by dizzydumpling on Nov 8, 2011 23:17:16 GMT
Just realised that anyone reading the above post might be wondering how a new bra would improve my filing situation!
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Post by kakema on Nov 9, 2011 0:09:12 GMT
Only if you burn it...
Flaaaaame!! ;D
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Nov 9, 2011 1:05:13 GMT
Post by boo on Nov 9, 2011 1:05:13 GMT
haha shiny! hey... actually, i bought one of those garden burners once, with the aim of burning letters etc, that didnt last long either dizzy, i know exactly where you are coming from with the bags of letters... i bought the shredder when i realised the bags of paperwork, really had got beyond silly point i think at my worst, i had 3/4 carriers filled to splitting and to stop them spilling out, these were then crammed into a large black sack, which was tied and placed on the 2 underbed storage boxes also filled with papers, and on top of this mountain was a couple more carriers, and of course the loose pile of ...... ready for going throughnot to mention the holdall in my wardrobe, and the storage box in the loft, and some bags of stuff under the bed!!!! and 12 hours probs isnt far short of how long the first shred-fest lasted! I think, there are probably plenty of leftover papers from this really bad backlog, where i didnt shred, but didnt file either. cos i was in shredding mode... (and cos i never really know where to file... theres just so much tbh!) and so anyway, those got put into yet another bag for after the shred-sesh, of course never to be looked at again.... i also have probably 4/5 shoe size boxes of papers that should really be kept.... i think if i looked properly, my mortgage etc would be in one of those and then there are always the little pockets of papers tucked in kitchen drawers and bedside cabinets too arent there
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Post by kakema on Nov 9, 2011 5:46:08 GMT
You've been round my house, Boo!
I see each of those boxes/bags as a general file, now - asylum say,with a bit of proper looking, I can usually find anything I need, and you can usually narrow the search to one or two containers by 'vintage'....
Life's too short to alphabetise!
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Nov 9, 2011 8:01:38 GMT
Post by boo on Nov 9, 2011 8:01:38 GMT
Life's too short to alphabetise! ay-men to that
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Deleted
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Nov 9, 2011 15:57:12 GMT
Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2011 15:57:12 GMT
after reading this post i FINALLY got my arse into gear and assessed the "POST"situation and "piles" ive found 4 boxes of stuff to be sorted and 1 cupboard so far ive shredded 1 box full (shredder now packed up) and started sorting the cupboard its rediculous!!! havent even looked at the "piles" yet and to top it off i put the money in the wrong account for direct debits and guess what theyve bounced 2 of them ggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr *****just hand me the chocolate and no one will get hurt**** definately need to sort it and get a system in place ive switched most statements to online rather than paper hoping this will help
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Nov 9, 2011 19:16:28 GMT
Post by boo on Nov 9, 2011 19:16:28 GMT
hey vixter, good going on the shredding mine gives up too if i am on a shred-fest, it usually overheats and needs a break from being overworked either that or i get impatient and try and shove too many sheets through at once and spend ages having to unblock the bloody thing, talk about false economy on that score, do you think i learn? no chance haha!! still, sounds like you've made an impact on it, good for you bit crap about the DDs, ive had that before too, you try and get organised and its a bugger when it backfires! i hate that you get charges when overall you 'accounts' have the money to cover it, but the particular account you have ringfenced for bills and such goes over
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Deleted
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Nov 9, 2011 20:07:14 GMT
Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2011 20:07:14 GMT
i no lol i just hope i manage to finish it omorrow or im gonna have created a massive job to clear up the extrs "piles" xx gonna phone em tomoz xx
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Deleted
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Nov 10, 2011 10:27:04 GMT
Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2011 10:27:04 GMT
Has been really interesting to read other peoples way of coping with the post situation - can't believe how efficient some of you sound.
When I file (which is rarely) I go for a chronological rather than alphabetical order (open draw, shove stuff in - newest is always on top :-)).
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Nov 10, 2011 14:31:52 GMT
Post by dizzydumpling on Nov 10, 2011 14:31:52 GMT
i think if i looked properly, my mortgage etc would be in one of those Grrr....I recently spent weeks turning every file, box, pile, corner of the house etc. upside down trying to find a copy of a document relating to our house - it wouldn't have been as annoying if I didn't know for a fact that there were originally 3 copies of that document in the house - one for each person named on the deeds, but could I find one anywhere? ? Hah - everywhere! it's funny because the amount of piles pretty much remains constant, so I must have found some sort of level - about every 3 months I reckon I end up trying to tackle the piles, and what doesn't get shoved in the drawer, a file or stuffed in a shredding bag just gets sort of rearranged into smaller neater piles....which build up...etc etc.... How do some people seem to manage to find a home for everything?? I could live in a huge palace designed by Mr Schreiber & Mrs Tupperware, and I still wouldn't be able to find homes for all of the crap!
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Nov 11, 2011 8:14:30 GMT
Post by boo on Nov 11, 2011 8:14:30 GMT
How do some people seem to manage to find a home for everything?? I could live in a huge palace designed by Mr Schreiber & Mrs Tupperware, and I still wouldn't be able to find homes for all of the crap! haha, so true vixter, did you manage to sort out with your bank about the DD's?
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Deleted
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Nov 11, 2011 9:03:11 GMT
Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2011 9:03:11 GMT
not yet gonna try and ring em today been back at docs wi daughter last night shes got whooping cough temp of 38 and wont stay down and wasnt drinking thankfully she has drank a cup of hot chocolate this morning so hopefully back on track today xx
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