by Texas Homesteader ~ 

I hate junk mail, it’s such a waste and not kind to the earth at all. So I easily stop junk from hitting my mailbox in the first place. Thankfully it’s very easy to do. Come see how. 

New Year, Easy Trash-Reducing Goals

So a brand new year has begun and there are many resolutions & goals we’re all busy jotting down. Resolutions & goal setting does get a bad rap sometimes, but who doesn’t want their lives to be just a little better than the year before?

One of my goals is to stop the mountain of junk mail from coming into our home. It’s not good for the environment and not good for me either. Heck it’s not even good for the advertiser since I’ll not be buying their product.

So these days I’m more keenly focused on stopping that junk from hitting my mailbox in the first place. Thankfully it’s easy. Come see how I do it.

I don’t do resolutions since they’re typically so hard to complete.  Read my New Year’s Goals Steps to see what I do instead.

But today I’m focusing on one of the all-year-long goals I have: stopping junk mail from being crammed in my mailbox. Maybe you’d like to do the same?

I hate junk mail. A Lot. It breaks my crunchy-green heart to have unsolicited junk delivered to our mailbox. Sure you can typically recycle junkmail, but it’s disheartening how much recycling actually ends up in the landfill even after being sent off to be recycled.

Plus it’s a colossal financial waste for those advertising companies as well. I’m never going to buy their goods anyway. No one wins with this one.

First Step: Register To Stop Junk Mail

You can opt out of almost all marketing by visiting the website www.dmachoice.org. When you fill out the form your information is placed  on a file made available to all direct marketers.

This should reduce our junk mail stream for 10 years! Yep you read that right, 10 years bebe!

It only costs $2 but it was one of the best dollars I ever spent. Our junk mail volume was significantly reduced immediately.

I tackled the remaining trickle of junk mail landing in our mailbox myself. But at least now a piece of junk mail in our mailbox was rare.

Accumulate Remaining Junk Mail

I can do this every day if I want, and often I do if I have the time. But it’s even easier if I bring in any junk mail from the mailbox and toss it in a drawer or out-of-the way basket.

Then at the end of each month I have a reminder in my online calendar reminding me to OPT OUT from all of those pieces of junk mail. Since I have that online reminder, I receive an email reminding me to do this task at the end of each month.

Now it’s go time!

Quick Copy/Paste Request

I pull out that basket and do a quick google search “[name of company] contact us” for each piece of junk mail and BOOM! Google brings up a link. I click & email each of these companies the same copy/paste message.

That message basically says we must pay to dispose of our trash and for environmental reasons I respectfully request to OPT OUT of any promotional mail from them or any of their affiliates. Then I include the address information shown on their label, including any codes they might show that would help identify the mailing for them.

I ask them to confirm to me when my request has been completed. I send a copy of this email  to myself as well. My copy sits in my inbox until they respond.  Oh no, you know I’m not gonna just forget about it!

Easy 2nd Request Reminder

If they don’t respond in a reasonable time I hit REPLY ALL (so I get an updated copy as well) and send it again with ‘2nd request, please respond’ on top. That usually does it.

When they send the opt-out confirmation I’ll trash my copy of the email and file their confirmation in an email mailbox I’ve titled OPT OUT.

If somewhere down the road I begin to get their junk mail again (not probable but it has happened before) I can forward their confirmation back to them and ask where things have fallen through the cracks. That usually fixes things for good!

So if you’re wanting to give Mother Nature a big, wet kiss on the mouth this year & stop junk mail from accumulating at your house too, give this a try. It’s EASY!

~TxH~

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Other Posts About Reducing Household Waste

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• I Love Mother Nature So I Recycle LESS!
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• Ditch The Plastic! Using Glass In The Refrigerator
• Natural Air Freshener In Reusable Glass Jar
• Reducing Plastic In Personal Hygiene: Deodorant
• No More Plastic Razors – How To Use A Safety Razor
• Where Exactly Is ‘Away’?
• Replacing Plastic Wrap With Beeswax Wraps
• Repurposing Empty Coffee Containers
• Denim Repurposed Into Fun Crafts
• 5 Zero-Waste Products We Love
  
• Making Your Own Pourable Sugar Jar
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• Repurposing A Parmesan Cheese Lid
• Zero-Waste Hygiene
• Eliminate Plastic Produce Bags
• Natural Cleaning – Homemade Laundry Detergent
• 5 Handy Repurpose Ideas From An Old Sock

…and Many More 

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