An Empty Mailbox Is a Good Thing
If you are like me, you pick up your mail to find a mound of trash or junk mail and usually - nothing else! One part of being frugal is not to waste. This includes not wasting money, but also in other areas of your life. Paper mail is already weighing upon our natural resources, so if I can help at all (no matter how small it may seem), it makes me feel good to be doing my part.
So, I sat down and began removing my families' names frmo mailing lists. We've already noticed a dramatic decilne in the amount of junk mail we receive. Here are some ways you can empty your mailbox as well:
Register To Remove Your Name From Mailing Lists. While it would be great to have a No Junk Mail Registry (like a do not all registry), there isn't one. However, you can go through Directmail.com to try to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive. This is a free site and you indicate the types of mailings you wish to receive or not receive and they submit it to the National Do Not Mail List. Keep in mind that although you submit to thm they can not guarantee that the mailings will always stop.
Removal From Catalog Order Lists. Did you know that when you place an order from a catalog, your information is given to a company called Abacus. You can be removed from their list by contacting them via e-mail at optout@abacus-us.com making sure that you include your name (including any middle initial), current address as well as any previous address if you have recently moved.
Contact Bank, Credit Card & Subscription Holders. Did you know that these organizations actually will sell your information to third party companies and that in turn generates junk mail? Contact them and request that your information NOT be rented nor shared/sold with any other parties.
Eliminate the number of catalogs you receive. This is one of the sites I really like, it is called Catalog Choice. You can easily subscribe to or unsubscribe from various catalog mailings. These are such a waste of paper and always end up in my recycling bin and I'd rather just shop on line.
Junk mail doesn't only clog up your mailbox, it can also take up space in your in-box, which can make you waste time filtering through them. You can take a few simple steps to reduce in-box clutter.
Unsubscribe. Many times, you subscribe to an e-mail newsletter for a coupon or a freebie. Each of these must contain an unsubscribe feature in the email. Click this and within 10 days you should no longer receive these emails.
Junk Email Account. I always recommend to set up a hotmail, yahoo or gmail account that you can use for anything you request on line. This can keep the junk and spam from cluttering up your personal email accounts.
I've personally taken these steps and have seen the amount of mail we receive drop dramatically and now, rather than junk mail, I find coupons, freebies and of course BILLS are all I receive in our box these days.