I love mail! But I dislike junk mail. I think most of us do. I'm sure more than a quarter or more of our paper recycling each month is simply junk deposited in our mail box. And in most cases we didn't ask for it!
Did you know there are ways to stop a lot of the junk mail we receive? Today, I'm going to link up the companies I have used to limit the amount of junk mail coming to our home. These are all free services. And I'm sure there are others you can find by doing some of your own online research.
Opt out of Catalogs (and Phone Books)
Visit Catalog Choice and sign up for a free account. You then search for companies that have sent you mail that you no longer wish to receive. I found this to work REALLY well for catalogs. I do like to browse them, but at times I'm getting way to many. And they do make you want to buy more stuff. And I don't need more stuff!!
Opt out of Credit Offers
Credit card companies are relentless about mailing out new credit card offers. They can come EVERYDAY and add up to a lot of junk mail. The cool thing is you can tell those companies not to send you offers by mail. This doesn't mean you can't ever get a credit card. Nearly all credit card companies allow you to apply for credit on their secure websites. To stop the offers from arriving in the mail visit Opt Out Prescreen. Again this is a free service!
Opt out of Direct Marketing
The Direct Marketing Association has their own site to help consumers manage the mail sent to them by member organizations. I know I have used this in the past, but I'm guessing I need to sign up again and get current for our new address. It does take some work. You need to track what types of mail you get and notify them specifically the type of mail you no longer wish to receive. I know I never really like those envelopes of coupons that arrive, so I'm definitely going to request that one to stop next time I see it.
Sign Up for Paperless Statements
We receive most of our bills and investment statements by email or paperless, rather than getting a hard copy in the mail. This saves a lot of time!! No mail to open, recycle, file, store, possibly move and then eventually shred. Of course, you will still need to look at the statement that is emailed and likely save it to a folder, but no paper is involved unless you chose to print. It is so nice to have less of those papers coming in the mail. So next time you get a statement in the mail, log on to the company's website and your account to determine if you can request paperless statements by email.
I figure if we can stop the mail that we don't want we say time sorting through it and needing to recycle or trash it. We also help the environment by asking the companies to print fewer marketing materials. And I'm sure somehow that has a small environment impact.
Have you stopped the junk mail at your home? Did you use these sites or others? If you like 'junk mail' tell me why.
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