How To Stop Junk Mail From Taking Over Your Life

Yesterday, I was chatting with a friend who mentioned that the amount of junk mail she receives seems to have increased dramatically.

I don’t recall the last time I ever responded to a marketing offer through a junk mail effort and I am sure many people also toss them in the shred pile without even opening them. But that takes time and effort and frankly we all have better things to do than deal with junk mail. There are a couple of things you can do to stop the junk from even hitting your mail box.

The first think you should do is submit your request on the "Direct Mail.com National Do Not Mail Registry" that can be found on their website. Now don't be fooled by the name "National"; this is not a government regulated registry like the "National Do Not Call Registry".

I think "Direct Mail.com" uses the term to try and make us believe that we have more protection than we really do. Basically the industry that is responsible for creating all that junk mail in the first place is trying to police itself. Direct Mail.com asks its member companies to use the Do Not Mail Registry to clean up their distribution lists, but since it is voluntary they do not have to comply.

What that means is that there is no legal recourse for you should the junk mailers continue to fill your mail box. But it's a first step, so start there.

Next, you have to attack the individual companies who disregarded your request to the Do Not Mail Registry. You have to contact each company directly and as you can imagine some of them make it very difficult for you to find out how to get your name of their lists.

The organization "Volunteer Guide" has some very helpful information to help you get rid of junk mail.Here are a few tips from their website that you may not be familiar with:

1. Always say "No" when companies ask you if they can share your name with their marketing partners. Once you give them permission it is not considered junk mail.
2. For Valassis/Red Plum coupons, you can submit the request very easily on their website. When I submitted my request, I got a message saying I should expect to wait 5 to 6 weeks before I drop of the mailing lists.
3. For Valpak coupons, you can also submit the request on their website.However, when I tried it, I found out that I have to submit the information exactly as it appeared on the junk mail I received. Sadly I have to save this junk mail the next time I get it before I can get rid of it forever.
4. For catalogs, submit your request to Abacus which is a cooperative of retail members who share their customer information with each other. To contact Abacus, click here for their email and phone number.

Are there any other effective ways to deal with junk mail? Please share with us.

Have a junk free day!