Now that you’ve created a nice, organized filing system, and you’ve conquered the paper piles, how do you keep unwanted paper from marching into your home against your will, and taking over every available surface again?
There are many sources of paper clutter, but the daily mail is probably the most significant. I greatly reduced the amount of unwanted mail we receive by doing these simple things:
1) I went to optoutprescreen.com to stop the influx of pre-approved credit card and insurance offers.
2) I went to the Direct Marketing Association web site, and removed our name and address from the mailing lists of their members.
These two steps reduced our unwanted mail by about 90%. We still get occasional unwanted flyers and catalogs, but I handle those with my “Take me off your mailing list” letter. Whenever I get something in the mail that I don’t want, I tear off the address portion, which has the company’s contact information, and write “Letter” on it. I put it in the “To Do” slot of my mail sorter, and when I pay bills and file papers every Thursday, I also print and mail any necessary letters. I promised to share a sample of my letter with you, so here it is. This letter is simple and to the point, and it works. Feel free to copy and paste it in MS Word. You can then modify it with your personal information:
Crate and Barrel
PO Box 3210
Naperville IL 60566-7210
November 21, 2005
(Your name and address here)
To Whom It May Concern:
I do not wish to receive sales offers, catalogs, marketing materials or any other unsolicited mail from your company. Please remove my address from all marketing lists and databases.
Please send written verification of your receipt of this letter to the above mailing address.
Sincerely,
(Your name here)
The companies rarely acknowledge me in writing (though it has happened), but they always take me off their mailing lists. Keep in mind that it usually takes a couple of months for the unwanted mail to stop, while the marketing and fulfillment departments compare notes.
If you take these simple steps, eventually the only unwanted mail you’ll receive is bills. Unfortunately, I know of no way to stop those.
