Stopping the Junk Mail | Family Economics

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Stopping the Junk Mail | Family Economics

The truth is, I don’t pick up my mail every day. I think of my mailbox as the junk mail keeper until I have the time to read, sort and recycle it. Why? Because about 75 percent of the mail I receive is junk mail, catalogs and solicitations that I’m not interested in.

I recently decided to look into how one could rid their mailbox of unwanted junk mail. I discovered that most of the junk mail I receive is from places that obtained my mailing address from one of the below companies. If I took the time to visit these company websites, add my name to the “Do Not Mail” lists and opt-out of future mailings I would stop receiving the unwanted junk mail.

Are you ready to empty your mailbox of unwanted junk mail, catalogs and solicitations? Go to these websites and register your name with the “Do Not Mail” list

•   Catalogchoice.org
•   OptOutPrescreen.com
•   Abacus Catalog Alliance Opt Out
•   Valpak Savings Coupons
•   DirectMail.com's Do Not Mail List
•   Valassis and Red Plum

For all of the junk mail that continues to arrive after you have registered with these companies I suggest collecting them and putting them into one basket or pile, then take a few minutes to contact these companies by phone and ask to be removed from their mailing lists. When you do chose to make a purchase online, look for the “opt out” box and check it so you do not get added to their mailing list.

How much junk mail do you receive each week?

1 Comment so far

On Thursday, December 22, 2011, Jacy from WA wrote

Thank you so much for this. I bookmarked every site. Question: How long do these companies have to honor your choice to opt out before they can add you back? I don't like all of the mail clutter; it honestly makes up a lot of my recycle bin content!

Thank You

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