Slaying the Paper Monster, Part 3: Stop the madness!

One of the leading sources of frustration for households dealing with clutter is junk mail. In fact, the average American will spend eight months of their lives dealing with junk mail, with advertising mail now accounting for 48% of all mail. Whoa! I know many of you are overwhelmed by the volume of unwelcomed catalogs, credit card offers and various advertising pitches entering your home and seemingly staying for the long haul when the piles begin to mount, which is why I’m going share a few of my favorite tips for cutting off the flow of mail before it even has a chance to reach you:

1)      Junk mail be gone: sign up for a free account with Catalog Choice and say bye-bye to all those unwanted catalogs, coupons, credit card offers, donation requests, and other daily junk mail.  You simply select the companies you no longer wish to receive mail, and they fully manage your opt-outs for you. It’s fast, easy and secure.

2)      Mailbox makeover: check out the Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference Service, which works like Catalog Choice. It lets you opt out of receiving unsolicited commercial mail from many companies for up to five years.

3)      The buck stops here: sick of all those credit card or insurance solicitations? The Opt Out Prescreen Program, provided by the credit reporting agencies, allows you to opt-out of credit card and insurance offers, allowing you to connect only with the companies you wish.