Manage Greeting Card Mailing: 4 How-To Ideas

Despite being a stationery designer, my personal mailing habits are chaotic. Here are four strategies to manage mail that, cross my fingers, will help me, too.

How Not To Manage Greeting Card Mailing

At Kim+INK, we design and print wedding invitation suites, birth announcements and many special occasion cards for others.

But do I remember my own family’s birthdays?

In May I thought of the two family birthdays coming up: Kim’s the second week of June, and our DIL’s, at the end of the month.

Wow, I don’t know if I can even share this, it’s so embarrassing.

Perhaps you remember me writing about this trip to visit our family on the little farm by the river.

I proudly tucked a very special card into the computer bag. Along with all the other little gifts and sweet things you take along to glittles when you go visit. Every day I hauled out another fun something for the boys. A huge bubble maker. Soooo much fun! The ginormous bubbles sailed as high as the trees were tall, and were perfect for chasing and popping. Toy bow and arrows. A major hit, I modestly admit. Although not sturdy enough to last boy power. Pictures colored by their cousins, which they taped all around their room.

Then I looked for the card for my DIL.

I knew it was in there because it was on my collection pile for weeks before the trip. I looked. And I looked. I went through every pocket in every bag. Then did it again.

And came up empty.

Of course she laughed it off and said it was okay. Maybe it was for her, but not for me. It was over a week after we got home that I found the card. I had it along alright. It just got wedged deep into a pocket that folded under another pocket. Or something.

Try not to be like me.

4 How To Ideas to Manage Greeting Card Mailing

Here are four strategies to organize your personal mailing (much more effective than our own. We promise):

1. Paper Printable Organizer Calendar

Get yourself a cute organizer calendar cheat sheet, preferably one with adorable animals or funky designs. (We have the cutest designs in our shop). Jot down all those birthdays and anniversaries you promise you’ll remember this year. Stick it somewhere you can’t miss – like right in front of your nose on your office desk or above your favorite coffee spot at home. Then, if you’re feeling super organized (or just desperately trying to keep up), prep a stack of cards for the entire month, complete with stamps, and pray you actually remember to drop them in the mailbox on time.

2. Online Calendar

Embrace the digital age with Google Calendar – because who needs paper when you’ve got pixels? Plug in all those names and dates, then set up an army of reminders to bombard you until you finally cave and send that card. Bonus points if you manage to dig out the alerts buried amongst your bulging inbox.

This post helps you set up your family calendar on Google.

3. Calendar App

Enter Postable, your one-stop-shop for all things greeting cards – from goofy to heartfelt, they’ve got it all. Customize your card with photos or stick to the ready-made designs, then unleash your inner designer as you choose the font, size, and alignment of your heartfelt message. Just be sure to keep an eye to note dimensions – some cards are smaller than they appear!

With Postable’s magic, you can schedule cards to land on the perfect date, save all your dates in the app, and brace yourself for those friendly reminder emails that’ll soon flood your inbox. But yes, all this amazingness comes at a price – about $4.50 per card, so maybe start saving for your newfound organizing powers.

4. Kim+INK’s own SWAK Service

Enter our world of handmade cards, where nostalgia meets modern convenience with our SWAK Service – Sealed With a Kiss, Mailed With a Smile! Fear not, we keep a germ-free zone. Our sealing kiss is actually a friendly damp sponge shaped like a smile (or, more likely, a quick pull of a peel and stick tab).

Simply provide us with your details (which we guard carefully in our family heirloom vintage lock and key metal case, or it’s digital equivalent, at least). We add your heartfelt message, printed in your font of choice. We’ll handle the rest – stuffing, addressing, sealing, and stamping – all with the tender care your message deserves. But wait, there’s more! Elevate your SWAK experience with glitter confetti or even opt for the ultimate personal touch by emailing us your handwritten message to transfer into the card. Basic SWAK Service starts at just $2 per card, because who said spreading love had to break the bank?

And that’s the skinny on managing greeting card mailing.

… more effectively than the stationer herself. (Covers red face with both hands.)