The least sophisticated way to organize your monthly bills (that really works)

If you're looking for bill organization tips from a CPA, you're at the wrong site. But if you're looking for an easy, albeit unsophsticated, way to start getting your bills under control, take a look at this. I have been using this method for years now and it works. Many of my recurring bills I have withdrawn automatically, but this is for the bills I still want to pay "the old fashioned way."

1. Open your mail. This may seem silly, but I know how easy it is to let the mail pile up. If you just open it when you get it, it won't turn into a big chore later on.
2. Make three piles. A pile for bills, a pile for trash and a pile for "other" (magazines and whatnot). Be ruthless about the trash.
3. Open the bills. Here's my method. I open each bill, tear off the payment stub, check the balance/total due, tear up the rest and put it in my trash pile. Statements are always available from the company, and for me, keeping all that turns into a storage issue. (By the way, I tear up anything that has an account number on it, just in case. A shredder would work, too.)
4. Set them up. I buy preprinted return address labels that I slap on each envelope right then to save time later on. I write the date due on the envelope, in the upper right hand corner. Then, and this is the unsophsticated part, I take my "Bills Due" clothespin and pin them together, in the date order they are due, the most recent on top. That's right. I use an old, wooden clothespin with a hang tag marked "Bills Due". It goes on my desk in a basket and it's visible, but not a messy eyesore. You could use a big binder clip from the office supply store, or something prettier if you choose. I recommend something bigger than a paper clip, so that it doesn't get lost on your desk.
5. Check the clothespin. Once a week, pull the bills that are due, write out the checks, put in the pre-addressed envelopes, toss a stamp on and mail! That's it!

If you have struggled with keeping bills organized, this could be a place to start, and then you can advance to a more "twenty-first century" method. I'll stick with my clothespin method. It works for me precisely because it isn't sophsticated.