Letter Ledgers

[jburchett]

Hello,

 

Do any of you keep a letter ledger to keep track of received & sent letters? If so, what's your method?

 

Thanks!

[T4TEXAS]

Too much trouble for me. I write Replied and the date on the back of their envelope. Just want to be sure that I have replied.

[linearM]

I have a lined journal and when I receive a letter I place the date and who I received the letter from on a line and then place the date behind the entries after I have mailed the letter. It helps me keep track of my replies and then I know I haven't missed replying. It also helps me see if there is someone I haven't been in contact with for a while. I figure I receive and reply to about 150 letters a year.

 

I also write the date received and the date replied to and mailed on the envelope.

[jburchett]

I have a lined journal and when I receive a letter I place the date and who I received the letter from on a line and then place the date behind the entries after I have mailed the letter. It helps me keep track of my replies and then I know I haven't missed replying. It also helps me see if there is someone I haven't been in contact with for a while. I figure I receive and reply to about 150 letters a year.

 

I also write the date received and the date replied to and mailed on the envelope.

Sounds like a good system. I may organize mine in a similar manner, but with some added tweaks

[sharonspens]

Too much trouble for me. I write Replied and the date on the back of their envelope. Just want to be sure that I have replied.

 

Ditto to this for me.

[sangrisano]

I use the FPN Post Office forum to keep track of letters received/sent out. I already have enough paper around.

[PaperDarts]

I have a small notebook in which I record letters written by month/year, and to whom. It's just a monthly list, really, but helps me keep track of when I last wrote to someone.

A friend of mine also notes briefly what she wrote about to each person but so far I haven't been tempted to go further than my list.

[abstract49]

I scan each letter I receive so that I don't have to carry a lot of them on the road (or in case I just forget to put them in my attache case); that way, I can read in my hotel room, contemplate my replies, etc. Also, when at home, I don't have to get up and go to a file cabinet and rifle through a big folder to find anything I want to review (I'm lazy, yes).

 

I also scan my replies before sending them off. Thus, I can review what I have already told my correspondents and not be too redundant.

 

My file system on the Mac is Documents > Personal Correspondence > [penpal's name]; in each penpal's name folder is "[x] to bwr 0xx" and "bwr to [x] 0xx" or something similar. And of course, just in case, as with all my computer stuff, I have multiple backups for security.

 

I keep all letters from correspondents not yet answered in a file folder ("Unanswered"), which is with me pretty much all the time. The letters are oldest to newest (front to back), so when I sit down to write, the one on top is the one I should reply to soonest. Once answered, each letter goes into a folder in a file cabinet (see above). One of these days, I must separate all these letters into a folder for each penpal before it becomes overwhelming.

 

So, no, I don't keep a handwritten ledger. But I can certainly understand the attraction for people like most of us here, who just like to use their pens!

[abstract49]

Double post. Sorry!

[Judybug]

I created a correspondence folder on the Awesome Note iPad app and chose the "diary" option for arranging it. I keep track of out-going mail here. On in-coming mail, I write the date received. Of course, I am a compulsive record keeper - the daughter of an accountant.

 

Judybug

[PaperDarts]

I scan each letter I receive so that I don't have to carry a lot of them on the road (or in case I just forget to put them in my attache case); that way, I can read in my hotel room, contemplate my replies, etc. Also, when at home, I don't have to get up and go to a file cabinet and rifle through a big folder to find anything I want to review (I'm lazy, yes).

 

I also scan my replies before sending them off. Thus, I can review what I have already told my correspondents and not be too redundant.

 

My file system on the Mac is Documents > Personal Correspondence > [penpal's name]; in each penpal's name folder is "[x] to bwr 0xx" and "bwr to [x] 0xx" or something similar. And of course, just in case, as with all my computer stuff, I have multiple backups for security.

 

I keep all letters from correspondents not yet answered in a file folder ("Unanswered"), which is with me pretty much all the time. The letters are oldest to newest (front to back), so when I sit down to write, the one on top is the one I should reply to soonest. Once answered, each letter goes into a folder in a file cabinet (see above). One of these days, I must separate all these letters into a folder for each penpal before it becomes overwhelming.

 

So, no, I don't keep a handwritten ledger. But I can certainly understand the attraction for people like most of us here, who just like to use their pens!

 

This is so 21st century!! I bow to you, your system sounds great.

[Runnin_Ute]

For a long time in addition to IN: date received and OUT: date sent on the envelope - I answer in date order received. I also kept in a notebook the following: mo/day IN/OUT name and where they are.

 

Like this: 5/29 OUT Bruce Prattville AL I don't do this much anymore though.

Edited April 20, 2017 by Runnin_Ute

[Rhincodon]

I'm trying a new method. We'll see how long I'm able to keep up. In a CF French-ruled notebook I have the date, To/From column, section to say who I wrote to/who wrote to me and the contents, and a check column to see if I replied yet. I often forget what I write to my penpals and want to make sure I remember what I said to them originally that they might reference.

[coriander]

I have a tiny notebook (11cm x 8cm, or 4 3/8in x 3 1/8in) with three columns: IN/OUT, DATE, and SUBJECT. So for example, the top of the current page is OUT 18/04/17 AMY - HISTORICAL, which would mean I sent the letter to my friend Amy last Tuesday, the 18th of April, and this letter belonged to the historical/fictional correspondence we're doing, as opposed to our other thread of what I'm calling "normal" correspondence. (Really, the only reason the notebook I use is so small is I couldn't figure out what else to do with it )

[JayHomeBody]

I have a page in my bullet-ish journal I use as a letter ledger. It's super simple, one line per name, here's an example:

 

Name: R-3/21, S-3/25, R-3/31, S-4/2, R-4/10, S-4/11...

 

Where the R means the date I Received a letter and the S means the date I Sent a reply. I helps me keep track of the dates, of course, but also how long I take to reply. It's super easy to keep track and I can just scan the names for lines that end in an R, and then I know I need to write a letter. I also keep a weekly spread in the journal, with holidays, birthdays, and scheduled appointments along the top, and the rest of the page is tasks, notes, and to-do's. I always make sure to add a "Letters" line on the bottom of the page and list the names of my penpals and whether im looking out for a letter or need to write one.

 

And recently I've been taking a crappy phone picture of my letters, so I remember what i wrote. And I usually keep their letter spread out beside me when I write the reply.

[MissChief]

I have an Excel spreadsheet set up with one sheet for the date received, sender, sender's location, and date responded and another sheet for swap partner addresses, date sent, paper and ink used. A lot of the swaps are only a one-time correspondence.

[asnailmailer]

I did try to use a spreadsheet when I started this wave of letterwriting in 2008/9. However, I kept forgetting to update it. Since 2008, I have a diary where I write incoming and outgoing correspondence. I also keep a to-reply list with names and the date their letters arrived, ticking off when I've posted the replies. When I get to the end of the page (currently using shopping list paper), I start a new list. I will probably have to start a new list this weekend.

[by_a_Lady]

Something very similar to abstract49's method, only way more elaborate and time-consuming!

 

I scan every letter I write and receive and file them in a Dropbox account to have access to them wherever I am (I love handwriting, but I'd be utterly lost without cloud systems). In a separate Word document with inserted tables - one for each of my correspondents - I fill the following columns:

• to/from (input format: "to" or "from")
• written (input format: date DD.MM.JJ)
• sent (input format: date DD.MM.JJ)
• received (input format: date DD.MM.JJ)
• scanned (input format: checkbox)
• transcribed (input format: checkbox)

The latter two are just an orientational aid for me, because I sometimes forget which letters I've already filed. I do transcribe incoming letters, it helps me absorb the content and formulate my replying thoughts better, and sometimes it's just easier to see structure in a printed text, especially when the other person has bad handwriting. I thought about adding a "replied" checkbox column to my system when I was working it out, but in practice it proved to be superfluous; for some reason, it's much more effective for me to make a sticky note every couple weeks with the names of people I need to write back to and just cross them out when I'm done.

 

As for the physical letters and the printouts of the transcripts and scans of my replies, I have a stackable archival box for hanging file folders, each of which holds all the letters and replies from and to one person. In addition to all the digital filing extravaganza, I also write the written/sent/received dates on the back of the corresponding envelopes and on mini sticky notes for the letters themselves.

 

I'm currently corresponding with about 20 people, so it's not that hard to keep up with the filing and replying. I'm always working on two letters at once, each one clamped into a clipboard with a sheet of guiding paper underneath and the printout of the transcript next to it. Being so highly organised is half the fun for me, I would give up very quickly if the papers would be all over the place.

 

 

Dominique

[CraigR]

I do keep a correspondence journal where I keep track of pen pal letters, cards, addresses, etc. I am not fanatical about it, but it works well for me. I use a page for each pen pal or family member. Record letters received and sent. I usually keep a file with actual letters received for reference.

[BorisoftheStars]

I never heard of a letter ledger before, but it sound very useful. I should probably get and use one.