How To Organize Greeting Cards

This year I have totally nailed the best way to organize greeting cards ready to send them on time.

I love to send out 'real' cards to my friends and relatives. It is an easy way to remind people they are special to you.

Usually I am a little tardy when it comes to mailing out birthday cards. Urm. Lots tardy. It isn't that I don't remember. It is just the whole 'going out and buying a card, signing, addressing, posting' thing seems like such an effort. But this year I am totally on it!

Let me share with you how I did it and the best way to organize your card giving in 2020.

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Which Cards Do You Need?

Do you know how many greeting cards you send each year? I think you will be surprised!

Step one in the process is to make a list. Go through your calendar and jot down everyone who needs a card. Think family, friends, coworkers, neighbours. You don't need to name specific people - you are looking to figure out how many of each type of card is needed. For example:

Kids birthday cards
Adult cards - male/female/neutral
Anniversary cards
Mothers day/Fathers day/Grandparents day

Don't forget to buy your own birthday card from the kids if you normally do it!

Now add the following possibilities to your list. Just make a guess as to how many of these you will need to send each year.

Thank you cards
Valentine
Sympathy cards
New baby
New Home
Get Well
Retirement
Congratulations
Graduation
Wedding
Engagement
Confirmation/Baptism
Easter

I haven't counted the major holidays (like Christmas!) but you may want to add them to your list.

I am sure you have some cards tucked away. Go and find what you already have and cross those off your list.

Buy Your Cards Ahead Of Time

Armed with a list of how many cards you need?

It is time to buy them ahead of time.

I know this may come as a shock! It did me when I priced it all up. But you are going to spend that money anyway. You will spend more on individual errands to buy one card (think gas, time, inflated prices at the local store!). So this is a real cost saver in the long run, especially if you shop around to find cards at a good price.

If you just can't manage it all at once then break your list down into quarters or months instead. Or check out the card stands regularly and pick up any good deals that fit into your list.

Boxed card packs are good if they match what you need. Take a look at what is inside the box and see what would be left unused at the end of the year. I like blank cards as they are the most flexible. Shop around and find a good deal.

Organize Greeting Cards Effectively

Got your cards?

Now you can sort out who is getting which one! I allocated each card by adding a post-it note to the front. I think you would be awarded extra Ninja points if you write the greeting, and put the address on the front of the envelope!

I decided to store my cards by month. It makes it easy to see whose birthday is coming up and made me feel more organized. So once I knew which card was which, I shuffled them by birthday month.

I had a couple of people whose birthdays fell on the 1st or 2nd of the month - I moved them into the previous month pile. For example, my Mam's birthday is the 2nd of July. It won't get to her in time if I post it on the 1st - so she was moved to the June stack.That way I will remember to post near the end of the month.

Greeting Card Organizer

Store your cards!

You will need a place to keep your cards handy. It needs to be big enough that they won't get dirty or creased. But easy enough to find when you want it.

I have an old and tatty card organizer book. It is divided into months with a pocket to store the cards for that month. I have used it on and off for years but not so determinedly as this time! Each month has a space to write in the birthdays for that month (which I have updated). It makes it easy to see at a glance which card sending dates are coming up.

The downside to this system is that there is nowhere to store the extra cards I purchased, such as the thank you cards. I have just had to tuck them into the back of the book..

I know some people prefer to store in a box. Again, I think a monthly divider system is good - you can see what event is coming up and be ready to post. This system would allow you to store the extra unexpected event cards that you bought.

Some ideas from Amazon:

Reminders!

So the last step is to remember to actually mail them at the right time! I have reminders set up on my phone (via google calendar) for each birthday 1 week in advance, 3 days in advance and on the day (if I want to call or send a text).

And now I have the cards all ready to go! 2020 here I come!