Every day, Americans all venture to the mailbox in hopes that there might be good news waiting. Alas, that seems to no longer be the case. Instead of a letter, we will find four credit card offers, six catalogs and a stack of other junk mail.
For most of us, we end up with things we do not want, which means it ends up getting tossed into the recycling bin or the trash. What a waste of money! I hate the idea that I am getting things I do not want nor need. But, how can I change this?
I was able to get our name removed from mailing lists. It may sound impossible, but it is true. The thing is when your name gets on one list, which gets sold over and over (and over) again. This, in turn, is what creates so much mail coming your way. Check out these tips and ideas you can implement and try to get your name removed from lists (for both regular and even e-mail).
HOW TO STOP GETTING JUNK MAIL
REGULAR MAIL
Register To Remove Your Name From Mailing Lists
While it would be great to have a No Junk Mail Registry., there isn’t one. However, you can go through Directmail.com, which is a free junk mail removal service. You indicate the types of mailings you wish to receive or not receive and they submit it to the National Do Not Mail List.
You will enter your information on the first page and hit submit. On the second screen, you can opt out of absolutely everything, or you can select the ones you no longer wish to receive.
Keep in mind that although you submit to them, they can not guarantee that the mailings will always stop.
Notify your bank, credit card and other subscription accounts
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 data is NOT to be rented nor shared/sold with any other parties.
Stop getting catalogs
One site you can use is 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 online. Here is how to do this:
- Visit CatalogChoice.com.
- Click the green SIGN UP NOW button to join.
- You can connect with Facebook or enter the information requested.
- Enter your address. You can enter more than one (so if you have a PO Box and a home address or an office you want to include, you can do it under one account).
- After you sign up, click over to your email account and watch your inbox for an activation notice.
Click the link in the email to confirm your account. - Next, click the Find Companies button. Go through the list and find those that you receive and those you don’t.
- You will want to have the catalog handy so that you can enter account and other information as may be on the mailing label. This will help them identify your account so that they can cancel the mailing.
- Repeat this for all publications you receive.
You will create a permanent login, so each time you get a new catalog in the mail, you can sign into your account and add that one to the list, and they will stop sending them to you.
Whenever you place an order through a catalog company (online included), your information is sold 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.
HOW TO GET REMOVED FROM EMAIL LISTS
Junk mail doesn’t only clog up your mailbox; it can also take up space in your inbox, which can make you waste time filtering through them. You can take a few simple steps to reduce inbox clutter.
Unsubscribe to get rid of junk email
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. You can find the link located either at the very top or the very bottom of the e-mail. Click this, and within ten days you should no longer receive these emails.
You can also use a service such as Unroll Me. This will help you clean out your inbox without your having to click through and unsubscribe to each one individually.
Use a Junk email account
I always recommend to set up a Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail account that you can use for anything you request online. This can keep the junk and spam from cluttering up your inbox.
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.
