How to Control Your Mail
Millions of Americans receive piles of snail mail every week in a mailbox across this country. As people run to and from work, the mail piles day by day on counter tops, tables, on floors, in bedrooms, in living rooms, just all over the house. Half of the mail received is legitimate mail that is needed to pay necessary bills. The other half of the mail is junk mail that is not needed and that is clogging up not only mail boxes but the houses of Americans who are frustrated with what to do with the extra paper.
With a little creativity and diligence, and these simple tips, you can take back the control that you deserve as you clear up your space and organize the mail you’re receiving.
Three major things you can do to control your mail: Separate catalogs and magazines, find the important mail and put that aside and discard junk mail. With your catalogs and magazines, take the page that indicates the company website, and tear out that sheet of paper, save it for future reference. Instead of keeping the huge catalog and letting that extra paper clog up your home, you can reduce that paper from your home. When you want to order from that catalog, simply go to the website and do your online shopping there. You save money on shipping costs most times and you get rid of unnecessary paper that would normally be clogging up your personal space.
When you find your important mail, identify important bills and insert them in a flexible envelope. You can organize your envelope by labeling the company or by labeling a single month and storing bills that need to be paid. Another suggestion is to find a box or other filing mechanism and keep all current bills that need to be paid inside the box on a weekly basis go through it, and once the bill is paid, get rid of the excess paper. Why keep paper when it’s no longer needed?
Junk mail is an unnecessary evil in this day and age. With many companies opting to sell your personal contact information, it is necessary for you to get your name added to “Opt” out so you won’t receive such mailing notifications. In the meantime, you should take a look at the junk mail and if it does not contain any personal information like your social security number, or other personal information, simply place it in the nearest garbage can. However if you find some junk mail with personal information, you should take the time to shred any and all confidential information. This will ensure that your personal information will not end up in some criminal hands. With identity thefts on the rise the last thing you would want to do is to give someone your personal information on a silver platter.
There are several ways to remove your name from the mailing lists. One surefire way is to make sure when you receive your credit card statements, read through the materials for the Opt-Out form and fill it out, send in, and get your name, address, removed immediately. When responding to marketing efforts on the internet, please make sure to be careful with those alluring “free” vacation or other marketing survey questionnaires. Most times that information is being used to build a marketing list for a particular company. Is it no wonder you receive a call from a company that you don’t know of. What you need to remember is that when you provide your name or address for anything, it will be added to a marketing list.
There are ways to remove your name from the lists. You can call the company and ask them to remove your name from the list. When you receive a phone call from a solicitor, ask them to remove your name from their database. You can write the Direct Marketing Association by writing to Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, PO Box 643, Carmel, NY 15012-0643. This service will cost about five dollars to remove your personal information, and it will take up to six months to process. But it may be worth the effort to get rid of unwanted junk mail that you are not interested in.
Take your time to do these short simple tips to make your life more easier. Not only will your homes be a little more cleaner, but you will be uncluttering your life. This will result in a lot more of clean counter tops, kitchen tables, living rooms, and bedroom. Why keep a bunch of paper that you are not looking at or needing. Take the time now to control the mail in your life or it will control you. Good luck and if you have any extra tips, please list them below in the commentary boxes.
