Master of the Bin!

I have this bin. Metal, about 6in. by 12in. I paid 50 cents for it from the "as is" section at Ikea. When I bought it I had big dreams for this little bin. I wanted it to be the bin where I could put all the important mail aka all the stuff I felt like Nate The Husband needed to see. The sorting started off strong, like all good will-powered resolutions do. And then...it seemed like the important mail kept building up. After a few weeks I asked the man if he had seen and taken care of such and such in the mail: it was in the bin. "What bin?" he asks. Oops. My bad communication. We recommunicated and truly meant to start using it for what it was intended.
And then...things came in the mail that I wasn't sure what to do with. In the bin? Receipts that we might need for returns later; in the bin. Papers stacked in piles on the kitchen counter; in the bin. People coming over and the counter covered in papers? Throw it in the bin! The bin an eye-sore in the kitchen? Put it on top of the refridgerator, toward the back!
I can't tell you how many months the top of the fridge became home to the pile of "important" papers. It was a good many while I lived my life too short to see it up there. When I did see it I shuddered. "Too much work" to go through that right now. "I'm scared to find out." This weekend I conquered my fears and got the shiny metallic bin down. I found: one very old electricity bill, zoo pass coupons, about 50 offers from real companies and real scammer companies offering to lower our monthly mortgage, health insurance survey, USD graduate school forms, Albertsons card, zip-lock of change, income tax requests, tax readjustments, tax confirmations, OU physician bills, march of dimes address labels, a teaching credential, and about 30 pounds of expired coupons and grocery store fliers.
It feels good to be master of the bin again. And although it still has a number of envelopes and forms that we really MUST deal with and/or find a home for, I consider it a victory!