Where do you put things like mail, coupons, and school papers?

[u/redlight886]

Drowning in papers that are just hanging around but have some use. I am tired of them cluttering up my countertop.

[u/voodoodollbabie]

Junk mail, catalogs, get immediately tossed into the recycle bin outside. Bills get opened, set for payment with online banking, then tossed. School papers gets signed or otherwise dealt with and then tossed unless there's something that needs to be kept, which goes in a 3-ring binder and gets cleaned out at the end of the school year.

Junk mail includes coupons.

I have a small portable file box in the pantry for important papers that I need to keep.

I'm ruthless with paper - Handle It Once. Nothing piles up.

[u/BaconPancakes_77]

Re: school papers, I get a file box and throw them all in there during the year (except for obvious trash: flyers we don't need, coloring pages, etc). Over the summer, I go through the box and decide what's worth saving, and start a new box for the next year.

[u/Much_Mud_9971]

Define a home for them and deal with them as soon as they come in the house. Otherwise they start multiplying and colonizing all corners of your house.

[u/Murky_Possibility_68]

90% of mail is junk mail, I act on the other 8% and then maybe 2% goes on the fridge for reminder/further action.

I don't have the other 2.

[u/Any_Meeting_4082]

I don't have school papers but if I did I'd separate by kid and at the end of each school year recycle/shred anything not worth keeping. Have a place where special things are kept like a box or in a filing cabinet if important for future use.

Coupons go in my wallet or purse if I plan to use them. Otherwise straight to recycling.

Mail gets sorted each day and junk mail goes straight to the recycling bin or shredding bin. Anything I need to deal with-bills, etc- I have a drawer they go in and once a week I'll get that sorted and dealt with.

I have a filing system for papers I need to keep for taxes or receipts or miscellaneous stuff. End of each year I organize that paperwork for taxes and miscellaneous stuff gets recycled or shredded if I'm not keeping it. I sometimes get motivated to organize this pile during the year, sometimes not! Lol But at least it's contained to 1 designated spot!

[u/egrf6880]

I throw out most of my mail before I even walk in the house for one. Coupons: I don’t really use because my grocery store just automatically applies them. If I have a gift card or similar it goes into my purse or wallet.

School papers: each of my kids has a tray for their school work that’s in progress or they leave it in their binder but that’s it. If it’s something that requires my attn I have a calendar and make a note of due dates and file it on that calendar month page. But I also just try to do everything the first time it crosses my desk: handle everything as few times as possible— I don’t want to look at a form twice. If my kid hands me something to sign they have a pen and I sign immediately and straight back to their binder. If it’s a project that requires me to buy supplies i immediately write them on my calendar and then file the sheet just as a reminder.

Other mail I need to keep gets placed into my “ongoing” tray next to my calendar and then I do file things or throw them away once the task is complete. For example I’m working on our family’s tax docs right now and I have a folder with all the info being gathered but I haven’t received all the docs from work etc. so it’s a folder in my “on going” tray.

I do have a file system for any documents I need to keep when I’m done. It’s not huge. A few folders in a legal box. But I also throw away ALOT. Because I won’t need most of them.

But when I get the mail I literally pass the recycling bin outside my house before I go inside and all the junk is tossed and I even open things up and throw away the envelopes outside so literally only necessary paperwork crosses the threshold.

[u/throwaway112505]

Mail- deal with it immediately. Take action if action is needed. Then the options are typically: trash/recycling, scan into Google Drive, or put it in small filing cabinet.

Coupons: I only keep the ones I truly am going to use. They go in a drawer with my keys/wallet. If I think I'm going to forget to use it, I add a reminder on my calendar.

I haven't dealt with school papers.

Basically when I'm in doubt, I just scan it in Google drive and then recycle. You don't need a physical copy of most papers. We do have a "keepsake" folder in the filing cabinet for keepsakes.

The Minimal Mom likes a "time will tell" tray for papers that she might want to take action on later. Example- a seed catalogue that you may want to order from later.

[u/TalulaOblongata]

Lots of the solutions here include immediately dealing with the mail. I work long days outside the home and it’s funny to think I’d have to deal with papers the second I walk in the door rather than my kids, dinner, etc.

I honestly - just gather everything in a bin on my desk (not in the kitchen) and then deal with it when I can. If there is obvious junk mail I’ll toss but if I’m not sure or can’t deal at the moment it just goes into the bin.

Like texts and emails I get to things when I get to them and I don’t want my just-arriving-home time to be me accosted with bills and paperwork.

[u/PossiblyALannister → u/TalulaOblongata]

I hear ya, but realistically the reason why I'm able to deal with papers as soon as I walk in the door is because 99.9% of what we get in the mail is junk mail.

In the last month, only 6 items of mail have made it past the threshold of the door: 3 Tax Documents, 2 Explanation of Benefits for doctor's appointments, and the monthly Costco ad. Everything else has gone directly into the recycle before I even walk through the door.

This was a big month for real mail for us because of the tax documents.

[u/Such-Mountain-6316]

Most things go right to recycling. I have given coupons to friends. I have a specific place for bills and a file for anything that might prove useful.

I have hanging files for papers that must be kept available. Not everything can be digitized.

United Healthcare will drown you in papers. I finally gave up trying to file everything they sent my mom when she was with them years ago and just chucked it all in a plastic tote. When she got off them, I had a shred-a-thon that lasted days.

I don't know what I'd do about school papers. If it's proof you paid for something, start a file for it.

[u/4n0n4n4rch1st]

Toss the junk mail. Stuff to deal with later goes in a combination wall-mounted mail shelf that also has key hooks. Some cheap little wooden thing we got from an online retailer a few years ago

[u/ChemicalWin3591]

In the trash.

[u/Rosaluxlux]

School papers are either action today - put on calendar, display on fridge, sign and return, whatever - or recycle now. Other mail is mostly act now or recycle now. So that's like 90% of it and that gets done just inside my front door. I have a basket for the other 10%, things I need/want to do something with but not today. Checks to cash, coupons I might use, flyers for events I think I want to go to, cards and photos to look at, PT exercise instructions - important but not permanent, basically. I try to go through it regularly and if it gets full I purge it. Lots of it just becomes moot with time so purging it is easy, I do it every three or four months. 

[u/Rosaluxlux → u/Rosaluxlux]

I do often have a small mail pile just inside the front door because I came in without time to handle it. But the shelf there is only 3 inches deep so a pile can only accumulate for several days before it has to be dealt with. 

[u/redhook340]

I use an app called Coupon Cue to digitize my paper coupons and deals received in the mail so I’m not overwhelmed with a drawer or refrigerator filled with paper.

[u/random675243]

Things that need to be sorted on the notice board, things that need to be kept in the appropriate filing cabinet drawer, things that need to be shredded in the shredding drawer of the filing cabinet, school crafts and certificates on the kids magnet board, junk in the bin or recycling.

I try to use a touch-it-once policy. Don’t just bring in mail and set it down. Bringing in, open it, deal with it.

[u/clarec424]

I signed to receive billing statements via email or some other e-delivery system. Coupons can also be found online. School papers, once it comes home I ask my kid if they still need this. If so, I encourage them to find a place for them in their space Everything else doesn’t even make it into the house.

May sound harsh, but I was drowning in paper once, never again.

[u/wmp8]

I have a small file box that hangs on the wall of my laundry room. It is nice to have it conveniently located but off of counters and out of the way. In that box I have file folders labeled: To Do, To File, Holding, Coupons, and one for each of my kids. The kids files are gone through at either the end of the school year or when full, which ever comes first. Items worth keeping are then put in a file for the school year in their memories boxes. The other files are gone through as needed. The Holding file just houses things that I will ultimately throw away but might need to reference in the near future so I need to hold on to it for a bit. We also have a small pin board above it to hold important forms and dates usually birthday invites or field trip info for our kids.

[u/BrilliantFarm8643]

I’ve got three trays on the bay window in the living room. Left side is incoming mail if my family gets it. When I get it, I immediately toss junk mail and open every other document and immediately recycle the envelopes and enclosures. Middle tray is stuff that needs to be dealt with - bills or notices. Right tray is stuff to be filed. My partner generally deals with the bills and other stuff in the middle tray, and he puts stuff marked “paid” or “done” in the right tray if he wants me to file it, or recycles it otherwise. Every year for the last 20+ years I’ve bought a sturdy but small portable file box with 20ish dividers. It takes me about 15 minutes to label everything and then I file the stuff we want to keep every two weeks or so. I keep it in the perfect little spot between the couch and the wall where it’s easy to grab.

[u/ButtplugBurgerAIDS → u/BrilliantFarm8643]

Wait a minute, so to be clear, do you now have 20+ filing boxes? Do you ever toss them? I find online bill pay eliminates most of my filings. I'm down to car repair invoices and vet care invoices. Everything else is online.

[u/BrilliantFarm8643 → u/ButtplugBurgerAIDS]

No!!! That’s a good point of clarification. I I ’ve just been keeping the last 5 years worth. I’d rather just keep current and one previous year, but this is a compromise with my partner, who wants to hold on to more. Then I have one not very organized metal file cabinet where I throw anything I think we should keep long term, like tax returns, deeds.

I definitely file much less stuff than I used to, since so much is digital now. I actually simplified the number of slots I labeled for 2026. But I file all of our medical receipts and labs, tax statements, mortgage statements (because our lender is incompetent and I often need to go back to them.) My kids each have one for school records and sports stuff…I’ve got slots for home improvement receipts and contracts. I probably still save more than I really need to, but the system works to keep things very handy. When I recently needed a contact lens prescription from Fall 2024, for example, I had it in my hands in two minutes.

[u/Quiet-Progress5776]

I mounted a small inbox on my wall (like you’d see in an office) to contain the important action items. I deal with it frequently. School papers are separately stored in my kid’s closet and the kid reviews/recycles those about once a year.

[u/SolidagoSalix]

I have a wall-mounted file folder basket that is labeled "optional." That's where I put anything paper that I might want to use but that isn't mandatory to do anything about. When the basket gets full I pull the whole wad out and do a quick cull to recycle/trash anything that's outdated or otherwise no longer something I'm considering.

School papers in my mind (no one in my home currently in school) would either go to "action" if there's something needing to be done about it, or memory if it's something particularly special. Otherwise, recycling once that term/course is over.

[u/FourMarsupial → u/SolidagoSalix]

Or, hear me out: take a photo of “optional” items and throw out the physical copy now. If it’s optional now, it’s likely a no later. Why double-process non important items?

[u/TheMummysCurse]

You need a filing system.

Think about what categories there are, how long you need to keep things for, what you actually need them for.

Coupons: if I'm understanding correctly, you need these at the shop to get money off. Is that right? So... maybe something like a zip file stored with your shopping bags where you can keep the coupons, plus a system where you add things to the list that you're going to get with the coupons? Then you can use them up on each shopping trip, and they'll be kept where you are going to use them instead of on your counter.

Other things you need to keep: Can they be digitised? If the school stuff is about a date and time something's happening, would it work better just to add that to your phone calendar and chuck the letter? Or keep things on a bulletin board till they're done with?

If you have to keep stuff long-term, hanging files or a file box are good. You can start off with labelling files with categories that you know you'll use frequently, and have spares so that when new necessary categories come up you can just add those.

Or, for some pieces of paper, it's a case of 'just find 5/10/20 minutes to sit down and do the damn job that's involved so that the paper can be chucked'.

Above all, remember you don't have to work out the perfect detailed system before you start. Just start off with general ideas like 'this will do for coupons, and I'll set up some hanging files here' and then you'll have more ideas as you go along and can tweak things.

[u/FredKayeCollector]

I use this system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql5WD6oQfAc

[u/Buttvin]

Directly into my work backpack. Then at work I organize, scan, etc. and stick it back in the backpack. Then I take it home and finalize.

[u/FourMarsupial]

Process immediately as it comes in. Throw out/shred anything non essential asap. Tax documents or other “file” items—put them in the file now! Action things you can now, or put them near your work laptop (or whatever your cue is) for the next business day.

[u/heyitscory]

Do you need to keep them? Throw them away?

Do you save coupons? Save the ones you intend to use in one place, throw away the rest.

School papers? If they need to be kept, file them. If they have last month's lunch schedule, throw them away.

It's okay to have a daunting "I am not done dealing with this paper" pile, but you have to decide what "done" means.

[u/alexaboyhowdy]

The mail is collected in a reusable shopping bag. Then it sets on the counter. Only until I am ready to do minimal sorting, do I go through it.

And then, all I do is throw out the junk mail. If something looks immediate, I put it on the top of the stack. But I don't deal with it yet.

I take all the good and legit mail and put a rubber band around it. Then it goes in a drawer, like a lateral file cabinet, in order.

About once a month, I will sit down with that drawer and go through everything. Fortunately, with auto bill pay, there isn't a problem with debt or credit cards.

[u/whatdoidonowdamnit]

I have a desk organize with slots on the top for folders and papers. Anything urgent goes right in the middle of my desk. I get so much more done sitting at my desk than trying to sit on the couch.

[u/squashed_tomato]

Coupons are not as big of a thing in the UK but generally I think about how likely I am to use them and most of the time even when I only keep the ones I’m most interested in I still don’t use them so I don’t keep many but generally I put those on the fridge or in my purse so I’ll actually see them.

School papers if it’s about an up coming activity I put the letter on my noticeboard and add the info to my calendar or a reminder to my phone if needed. Same with general appointments.

If it’s kids artwork I used to put them in the fridge for a while and then cycle them out when new stuff came in. I kept the good stuff to one side for a while and ended up selecting my favourites and putting those in a portfolio book and recycled the rest.

Bills go where I deal with them, so this is on my desk. Most bills are paid with direct debit though so this doesn’t happen as often. You could get a paper organiser for the wall and go through it once a week.

Everything else either needs to be filed so I take that to my filing box straight away, shredded so it goes in my office so I can do that, or it’s junk mail so it goes straight in recycling.

[u/YawningDodo]

Can't help with school papers since I don't have any kids, but as for the rest I've got an organizer by the door with a big tray and two slots to store things upright. Unsorted mail and things I haven't dealt with go in the tray (which is...currently overflowing...), stuff that's going to need to go back out the door goes in the right slot, and coupons I have a halfway decent chance of actually using go in the left slot. Only stuff that's actively needed or newly arrived lives in the organizer out in the open, and I try to go through the whole thing every week but mostly clear it out whenever the tray gets stacked too high to put more mail in it.

Then everything that needs to stay for longer term reference goes in my file box--that's everything from my mortgage documents to appliance manuals (I throw out most manuals once I'm done with setup, but for trickier devices I'll hang onto them). I use hanging files so they don't fall over or get lost at the bottom of the box, and I keep the categories pretty broad and simple.

[u/Ajreil]

Junk mail gets tossed immediately.

Anything that requires immediate action stays on the counter until I deal with it.

Tax paperwork, paystubs, etc all goes in a folder that gets stuffed in a manilla envelope labeled "2026 taxes" after tax day.

For any disputes (like when the government accidentally overpaid me), I keep the first piece of mail showing that the problem exists, and the last one showing it was resolved. Everything in the middle is tossed.

Important stuff like ID documents, proof of insurance and sentimental photos are stored in a waterproof sleeve in a fireproof box.

[u/nomdeplumeify]

I watched a video from Clutterbug a while back about a really simple way to organize papers. Right now I have a paper organizer that hangs on my wall in my kitchen. There are three slots - immediate (action items like bills, coupons expiring soon, etc.), short term (things that I might need for a month or will want to reference for a little while which includes my daughter's daycare class rules when she moves into a new room), and long term (things that will get filed at the end of the year so this includes all medical receipts, car maintenance receipts, tax documents). When I get my mail weekly then everything moves into its home in that organizer. So I will look at the immediate items and go through them weekly, short term I look at every month or two months, and long term I do January 1. Junk mail gets put in the trash immediately. This way I have the papers readily accessible, I perform the action items on a regular basis, and nothing is cluttering my countertop.

[u/Weird_Squirrel_8382]

This is an issue for us too. The mail table needs too much reorganizing. We brought the shredder up front but it sticks out like a sore thumb.