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Balanced Life Tip: A Spam Filter for Snail Mail
“We need a bigger mailbox!” proclaimed a friend as she came back to her kitchen, barely able to contain the
mass of envelops and flyers clutched to her chest. She dumped the pile next to the hot biscuits and steaming
coffee she had served me a few moments earlier. We chatted while she sorted her mail into three piles, one
to keep, one to shred and one to recycle. “Gosh, look at this stuff. Why can’t there be a spam filter for snail
mail?”
For the rest of our visit, the idea of a spam filter for snail mail lingered in the back of my mind. Think of the time
and resources we waste picking through our mail looking for the important stuff like bills and statements.
How often has a bill or important notice gone unheeded because it was lost in a pile of flyers, coupons and
catalogs? In terms of living a balanced life, junk mail may not seem like much of a challenge but it is a
needless and wasteful part of the equation that can be significantly minimized with a few simple steps.
A large percentage of junk mail consists of offers of credit, based on our credit scores. Creditors buy mailing
lists from the major credit reporting agencies and make blanket offers to every one who fits their profile. Since
offers of credit are among the kinds of mail that should be shredded to foil dumpster-diving identity thieves,
why get them at all? Consumers can opt out of unsolicited offers of credit by visiting www.optoutprescreen.
com or by calling (888) 5OPTOUT.
You can stop a lot of the advertising you receive by
contacting the Direct Mail Preference Service. You
can do this online at www.dmachoice.org. Reputable
direct mail marketers are members of the Direct Mail
Association and comply with the list.
Catalog Choice, www.catalogchoice.org, is a service
that helps people unsubscribe to catalogs from
merchants. Once you sign up you simply find the
catalogs you receive and indicate that you no longer
wish to receive them. They do the rest.
You may have to contact some mailers directly. Some
of the fliers you receive don’t have a return address so
look for the card that accompanies the fliers. The card
has a return address. It also has numbers near your
address that identify you as the recipient. Attach the
card to a dated, signed letter requesting to be removed
from all of their mailing lists. It may take a month or so to kick in because mailings are prepared in advance
but it should work.
You may also wish to contact the charities you support and ask them not to share your information with other
organizations. This will reduce the charitable requests you receive.
If you want to take the easy way out and hit as much of the direct mail community as you can in one stroke, a
nonprofit organization, www.41pounds.org promises to do the legwork for you for a basic fee of $41. They
promise to eliminate up to 90% of your junk mail for five years. (The closest thing I've found to a real spam
mass of envelops and flyers clutched to her chest. She dumped the pile next to the hot biscuits and steaming
coffee she had served me a few moments earlier. We chatted while she sorted her mail into three piles, one
to keep, one to shred and one to recycle. “Gosh, look at this stuff. Why can’t there be a spam filter for snail
mail?”
For the rest of our visit, the idea of a spam filter for snail mail lingered in the back of my mind. Think of the time
and resources we waste picking through our mail looking for the important stuff like bills and statements.
How often has a bill or important notice gone unheeded because it was lost in a pile of flyers, coupons and
catalogs? In terms of living a balanced life, junk mail may not seem like much of a challenge but it is a
needless and wasteful part of the equation that can be significantly minimized with a few simple steps.
A large percentage of junk mail consists of offers of credit, based on our credit scores. Creditors buy mailing
lists from the major credit reporting agencies and make blanket offers to every one who fits their profile. Since
offers of credit are among the kinds of mail that should be shredded to foil dumpster-diving identity thieves,
why get them at all? Consumers can opt out of unsolicited offers of credit by visiting www.optoutprescreen.
com or by calling (888) 5OPTOUT.
You can stop a lot of the advertising you receive by
contacting the Direct Mail Preference Service. You
can do this online at www.dmachoice.org. Reputable
direct mail marketers are members of the Direct Mail
Association and comply with the list.
Catalog Choice, www.catalogchoice.org, is a service
that helps people unsubscribe to catalogs from
merchants. Once you sign up you simply find the
catalogs you receive and indicate that you no longer
wish to receive them. They do the rest.
You may have to contact some mailers directly. Some
of the fliers you receive don’t have a return address so
look for the card that accompanies the fliers. The card
has a return address. It also has numbers near your
address that identify you as the recipient. Attach the
card to a dated, signed letter requesting to be removed
from all of their mailing lists. It may take a month or so to kick in because mailings are prepared in advance
but it should work.
You may also wish to contact the charities you support and ask them not to share your information with other
organizations. This will reduce the charitable requests you receive.
If you want to take the easy way out and hit as much of the direct mail community as you can in one stroke, a
nonprofit organization, www.41pounds.org promises to do the legwork for you for a basic fee of $41. They
promise to eliminate up to 90% of your junk mail for five years. (The closest thing I've found to a real spam
filter for junk mail.)
Before you go out and buy a bigger mailbox to accommodate your snail mail spam,
consider these few easy steps to drastically reduce your junk mail. You will save time,
make fewer trips to the recycle center and save a few trees in the bargain.
Before you go out and buy a bigger mailbox to accommodate your snail mail spam,
consider these few easy steps to drastically reduce your junk mail. You will save time,
make fewer trips to the recycle center and save a few trees in the bargain.
