I used to dread that time of the month. . . the bill-paying time.
So much mail, so much to keep track off. So much waste and papers piling up in every little corner of my house.
But I’ve realized now that staying on top of all your bills and keeping them organized isn’t impossible.
You just need to have the right system in place.
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Start Off By Designating A Space
First, find a space in your home that’s only for organizing and sorting your bills. This can be simply right near the door where you walk in the house, or it can be a place in your home office or tucked away in some other room, but make a space to keep all your bills in one place.
Next, set up a way to sort and organize your bills as you receive them — a hanging mail organizer for the wall is great for this. And you can definitely find or make a system to go with any decor.
I love how Honey We’re Home transformed her office space into a stylish yet functional farmhouse-inspired room, and a wire mail sorter on the wall goes perfect with the rest of the design.
You could even set up a full-on wall mounted command center to organize more than just your bills and mail. This layout from Elizabeth Jo And Designs is so simple and one of my favorites.
And if space is limited, try using some envelopes and the inside of a cabinet like Organizing Home Life did.
Or you can even get a wall-mounted desk and convert it into your one-stop-shop for all things bill organizing related.
You might also like: What You Need To Do To Finally Get Rid Of Paper Clutter
Next, Make A Plan For Opening All Your Bills And Record Your Payments
Now that you have a place set up to open all the bills and incoming mail, you need to make a plan on how to organize the space so you can stay on top of all your payments.
Make it your goal to open ALL your bills as you receive them, and record the date these bills are due. To make this process easier, you can pick two days a month and make those your bill-opening-and-paying days.
When it comes to recording and keeping track of your payments there are tons of ways to record and manage all your bill payments digitally. My favorite approach is using an app that does it all, like Prism.
Prism allows you to record all your different payments all in one location and will alert you when you have an upcoming payment. The best part about using an app like Prism is that they’ll do all the organizing for you—no more stacks of papers or folders. And with all the reminder features you’ll never miss a payment again.
If going digital isn’t for you, try using a bill organizer folder or binder. There are tons of free planning worksheets available on Pinterest, but I’ve found this guide from Mom’s Favorite Stuff to be the easiest setup and schedule to follow.
To set up your bill organizer binder, all you need are some binder pockets with filing tabs and a simple binder.
I don’t know about you but I definitely feel more organized and productive if my supplies look pretty too, and I’m loving these patterned decorative binders right now—perfect for keeping all your bills and important papers in order!
Of course, an easy way to cut down on all the bill and paper clutter is to just automate your bills and go paperless.
Related: How To Declutter Your Whole House In Just One Afternoon
BUT just a teeny, tiny word of caution here: don’t automate your water bill.
Or really any of your utilities.
That is, UNTIL you’ve implemented an bill organizing app or have a super-duper bill organizing binder already set up.
And you know when payments need to be submitted and processed.
You see, a few years ago my husband had our water bill automated, but something got messed up on the city’s end and our water got shut off.
I was 8 and a half months pregnant.
I had to waddle myself to city hall and pay the emergency fee to get the water back on as soon as possible.
Not. Fun.
So, be choosy with which bills you automate, digitally organize bill payments using an app or use a binder, and set up a space and a time to sort through, organize, and get all your bills dealt with.
You’ll feel SO MUCH BETTER once you’ve found a system that works for you. Let me know which approach you tried!
