HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR CORRESPONDENCE?

[Bogon07]

I just write an incoming and an outgoing list and keep all the letters in a box. Sorting the letters in the box is the biggest concern now that I've rec'd more than one letter from some INCO+ enthusiasts.
I figure I spend too much time being organised at work to do the same at home.

[woosang]

I just Wing it!

[Toffer]

I have a box with all my stationary and letters in and then they go in another box when I have replied. I keep the ones I haven't replied to yet in order of received so I reply to oldest ones first. Managing one letter every other day at the moment!

[cedargirl]

Thanks Manoeuver

Yes, it is interesting how a discussion can develop through letters.

Bizarre ramblings ... no never!

[cedargirl]

I just pile up all the letters I've recieved and read in one pile, and put all the envelopes in another pile. Letters that I haven't replied to yet are kept in their envelope at the top of the envelope pile.
I haven't made any sort of contacts list...I simply look back at the envelopes when I want to write to someone.

Yep, piles of letters - it's obviously very popular. Thanks.

[cedargirl]

I have a rather extensive spreadsheet database to keep track of incoming. It has the day received, name, brief description of correspondence and a column for "age" that has a formula so it always tells me exactly how long that piece of mail has been waiting for response. I get a huge volume of mail, so having such a database is very important for keeping me from getting overwhelmed. The spreadsheet has a second page for me to move replied mail to once I've put it in the mailbox. I note the date sent and keep track of how long it took me to respond. My average turnaround is 20 days, but at the moment up around 35 days, and I think that is going to be my new average.

On the outgoing mail I keep all addresses in a digital address book ... Mac Address Book ... that syncs to my phone so I have it with me at all time. At the moment my address book has 9,902 contacts. On each contact card I note what stationery I sent, and when I sent it and sometimes why I sent it (thank you for Orphaned Postcard Project participation ... congrats on new job ... etc). Some of my contacts have pages and pages of entries, but most only have one or two entries because I include all my Postcrossing sends in my address book and those are typically, but not always, one time only connections.

Incoming mail is stored in a mail sorter that looks like this one, but I am seriously considering buying a surplus USPS mail sorter because it is crazy trying to stuff my mail in those tiny slots, and at the end of the month, I usually have mail from the beginning of the month still unanswered so there is no place to put the new mail.

I have various systems for storing incoming mail, none of them satisfactory, and none of them worth noting. I struggle with that all the time. I really need a storage facility where I can catalog and store everything nice and proper, but that isn't going to happen.

Keeping track of what has been written becomes easier as you get to know someone. I know I repeat myself on occasion, but that's okay. Mostly I try to keep to what is going on right at the moment when I am writing. I used to keep copies of letters, but I know that if I tried that again, it would bog me down. I often write on the go, and I don't want to have to carry around copies of letters because goodness knows I'm already carrying a small person on my back with just the incoming, ALL my pens, extra ink, stationery, postage (I keep about $200 on hand at all times), and the other sundry mail enthusiast accoutrements.

Now that is a lot of mail to manage. I too am keeping track of what paper/ink combo I use for outgoing mail - sometimes triggered by what the incoming letter is written in. Then I can mix it up a bit. I guess that's because I like knowing what ink/paper is in the incoming letters. It's been a whole lot of fun.

[cedargirl]

Thanks Gerald.

Your system seems very easy and uncluttered, but at the same time very useful. I don't know box.com, is it something like dropbox?

[cedargirl]

I just write an incoming and an outgoing list and keep all the letters in a box. Sorting the letters in the box is the biggest concern now that I've rec'd more than one letter from some INCO+ enthusiasts.
I figure I spend too much time being organised at work to do the same at home.

That was my concern - it can get too complicated - finding the balance that works is what I'm after.

I just Wing it!

There's something to be said for 'winging it'.

[cedargirl]

I have a box with all my stationary and letters in and then they go in another box when I have replied. I keep the ones I haven't replied to yet in order of received so I reply to oldest ones first. Managing one letter every other day at the moment!

Another vote for boxes!
Good on you for doing one a day and keeping on top of it. I wish I could say that. I need to catch up this week.

[gwgtaylor]

Thanks Gerald.

Your system seems very easy and uncluttered, but at the same time very useful. I don't know box.com, is it something like dropbox?

Yes exactly. Dropbox will work too. Each PDF is usually under 1mb so it's more than enough space for years of correspondence.

[KrazyIvan]

My man bag has a file folder compartment. I just use two of them for in/out boxes. I should really be using my Evernote more.

[chaimann]

Until InCoWriMo, I wasn't aware that people HAVE systems.

I'm on Team Pile 'Em Up. Incoming mail goes in a pile on the right side of my desk. After I've replied, they go into a bag from my local pen store, pending a more elegant solution.

I did have to make a list so I could keep track of real names versus user names.

[Tracy Lee]

Until InCoWriMo, I wasn't aware that people HAVE systems.

I'm on Team Pile 'Em Up. Incoming mail goes in a pile on the right side of my desk. After I've replied, they go into a bag from my local pen store, pending a more elegant solution.

I did have to make a list so I could keep track of real names versus user names.

I now have a small journal with a decoder list of forum monikers and real names. Now I am keeping g posts more in context of our letters and it has been great. I am also using said small journal to track ink colors I have enjoyed seeing, new paper types I like but haven't used, etc. That way it's all in one place. The pile system works just fine, has for me. When I am done replying they go into a nice wood box that I have. A little bit of chaos is important to my world, and makes the writing much more fulfilling, being surrounded by all my stationery, wax and seals, embosser, pens, ink, and piles of letters. :thumbup:

[thagbert]

The Pile System Of Organizing. Serving the non-OCD since the invention of paper!

[caribbean_skye]

I'm glad you asked as I was wondering about other people's system but I tend to get overzealous when it comes to organising so I figured not asking would mean I wouldn't be quite so anal about it (yeah right).

I keep all of my addresses on 5x7 index cards, that way if/when I move I can just put the index cards in a ziplock bag in my handbag. I used to use those lovely pen/paper address books but when people move every couple of years and all you see are either eraser marks (they never seem to erase fully) or addresses crossed out everywhere. This was fine until I kept running out of space as there were more addresses crossed out than current addresses.

The 5 x 7 card has name (surname first), address, email address and phone number on the front along with the year (the last time I sent you mail that way I know if the address is current or not). For penpals I also note in parenthesis next to your name any screen names. On the reverse side of the card are any notes such as birthdays, anniversaries, kids/spouses/pet names, notable pens in your collection (that you've mentioned). If someone moves I just pull their card out, put it at the back and start a new card for them.

Correspondence journal: I have a spiral bound FP friendly notebook where I write details of the letters. Incoming letters are always written in black in as I'm less likely to write in black ink as far as letters go. My entries usually look like this:

Received <current date>, mailed <from stamp cancellation if there is one>
<indented> Writer's name and location (state if they're in the US, and country if they're not in the US)
<indented> if they write with interesting combination of ink/pen (mainly for me to find them if I want to check out what a colour ink looks like later on)
<indented> Any inserts they've included in the letters.

Outgoing letters are notated similarly but with ink colours used and looks as such:

Written <date>, mailed <which mail date the postman will pick it up on>
<indented>Recipients name and location
<indented> Paper used
<indented> Pen and Ink
<indented> Pen and Ink
<indented> Pen and Ink
<indented> Any inserts I've sent along

I don't notate what I've written about, I figure that it will come back to me if the person references it in an subsequent letter.

All of my letters are read when they arrive and are placed at the bottom of the stack of letters to reply to and are left on the desk. When a letter is replied to it goes from the stack on the desk onto another stack. When enough letters are received from any one person they are all rubber banded together with the most recent letter on top so all of their letters are kept together.

NOTE: I like the idea of E-Z Contact Book however I'm on a mac (sans Parallel) and it doesn't look as though it's on a platform other than Windows. In the past I've lost countless information by keeping it on the HD (haven't lost paper yet amazingly) but that would be awesome just to keep even more details.

It seems like you people don't reply to the letters you receive on the day you get them...is this why y'all need these systems, or are you all getting TONS of letters?

Nope, that's ideal however I am still behind since February when I delayed responding until I could get all of the letters I wanted out in the mail. At one point I was able to keep up but when I received 5 letter in at a time that kind of throw that read/reply within a day out the window. Plus the majority of my letters seem to be 2 sheets or so, which means it takes me a bit of time to write each letter.

I created a neat system with my phone. I'm using box.com combined with a free app called genius scan.

On box.com I create a folder for each person I correspond with. In this folder I upload a screen cap of address from the forum or a snapshot of address from received letter. That's how I save and track addresses.

As far as what I send, I take a picture with genius scan and save as PDF to box.com. I can then refer back to what I've written and inks used. Each file is also automatically date stamped.

I'm pretty proud of my system. Let me know what you think.

-gerald

When I finally get all of my stuff (and more money) I may implement something similar to this.

[everybodylovesbacon]

carribean_skye... you are impressive and inspirational.

I'm so glad this thread was started. I'm still struggling with my "system." I would LOVE to have something going like carribean skye, but there's no way that's happening right now for me. But now I can set goals.

Thank you all for sharing your ideas!

[caribbean_skye]

carribean_skye... you are impressive and inspirational.

I'm so glad this thread was started. I'm still struggling with my "system." I would LOVE to have something going like carribean skye, but there's no way that's happening right now for me. But now I can set goals.

Thank you all for sharing your ideas!

Uh, thanks. All I can say is to take it one step at a time and go from there.

[cedargirl]

I'm glad you asked as I was wondering about other people's system but I tend to get overzealous when it comes to organising so I figured not asking would mean I wouldn't be quite so anal about it (yeah right).

At one point I was able to keep up but when I received 5 letter in at a time that kind of throw that read/reply within a day out the window. Plus the majority of my letters seem to be 2 sheets or so, which means it takes me a bit of time to write each letter.

Well, Carribean_skye, I knew there would be lots of systems out there, but yours seems to be one of the most comprehensive. But I know what you mean, when you get overloaded systems can fall behind.

I'm so glad this thread was started.

You're welcome. I knew it would be interesting too. Good luck with whatever system you settle on.

Until InCoWriMo, I wasn't aware that people HAVE systems.

I'm on Team Pile 'Em Up. Incoming mail goes in a pile on the right side of my desk. After I've replied, they go into a bag from my local pen store, pending a more elegant solution.

I did have to make a list so I could keep track of real names versus user names.

Pile 'Em Up is a system! And to be honest, that's what I did for a while. But as the letters come in and I started thinking about life with a constant stream of in and out mail, I just knew I'd have to be a bit more organised. If nothing else, every now and then my cat decides to launch herself at full flight across my desk. There's nothing like sliding cat feet to throw papers off the desk and onto the floor in random order . No I wouldn't do that to her!

Claire

[woosang]

Hey Bogon07 your signature cow and penguin has started a fan club on Instagram

[Bogon07]

Hey Bogon07 your signature cow and penguin has started a fan club on Instagram

oh damn fan dangled Internet !