File Creation, Day 3 of 4

Right about now you're wondering if something is wrong with me.  "Regina promised information about creating a great file system and yet she posted 3 photos of entry ways. Does she realize what she has done?"  Yes, I do. You see a great file system starts the minute you enter your home with mail in your hot little hands. While I want you to get to your home office or work area as quickly as possible to deposit and deal with your mail, I realize that most of you dump it wherever you can.  And very often it's here in the entry or worse on the kitchen counter. Let's designate one spot rather than be in free fall.

In the photos above there are ideas to help organize your home from the moment you step foot inside.  How would you pick the right ones for you?  Ask yourself some questions.  Here are a few to get you focused and on the right road:

• How many people enter here during the course of the day?  If it's multiple might any one of them get the mail or have you taken that task as your own?  No matter who gets the mail, it must go to one repository.  That way the person who is going to deal with it has only one place to look for it: time and energy instantly saved and aggravation avoided.
• What type of tools appeal to you?  Do you like a paper catcher on the wall, a pretty basket, a drawer or a flat surface? 
• Will your entry hold a complicated set-up or do you need to keep it simple?
• Is this the formal entry for the home and therefore in need of a stylish solution or are we talking mud room and family only?
• Do family members hang up their coats here?  Is there a real closet or do you need a clothes tree or free standing unit? I've seen mail hidden under tossed coats. 
• Will you need a place to sit or is this just a quick passage way? (In cold climates you might want to be able to sit so you can remove boots.  In a temperate climate a seat might never be used.)

Questions like these will help you make wise decisions.

Before you get to your designated work area try and ditch the junk mail, the flyers for sales that don't interest you and the catalogues you know you don't need.  It's not a bad idea to have a trash can and a cross cut shredder here so you can shred the items you don't need that may have personal information like a credit card offer.  If there's no way to incorporate those items here be sure you have them in your work area.

A calm, well organized entry invites peace into the rest of the house.  You set the tone for order or chaos and it will carry over to everything you do including those pesky files.