A mailbox full of mail against a blue and puffy white cloud sky
Picture of By: Mary Sommer

By: Mary Sommer

Stop Physical Junk Mail

Get a quick summary of the information below by jumping over to my Printables tab and download the Junk Mail printable.

A major hurdle we all face is handling the amount of paper that comes into our homes everyday. If we are able to reduce the amount of paper that is a good step towards being able to manage the remainder of papers. 

While we are all home we should take advantage of this time and start taking steps to reduce the junk mail that comes into our house everyday.

I have done a search and tried to locate the resources that will help you reduce the amount of physical junk mail you receive in your mailbox.

It is up to you to fully ready the websites and follow the instructions

After you have started reducing your junk mail contact me a find out how to handle ALL THE OTHER PAPERS that come into your house. 

http://www.dmachoice.org.

This side will help you eliminate offers for

  • Credit Offers
  • Catalogs
  • Magazine Offers (this includes subscription offers, newsletters, periodicals and other promotional mailings)
  • Other Mail Offers (this includes donation requests, bank offers, retail promotions and more)

It can take up to 90 days for the flow to stop since many mailings are already in print or production.

Please note: there is now a small fee of $2 to unsubscribe through DMA Choice.

http://www.catalogchoice.org is free and simplifies the process works in tandem with dmachoice.org

Allows you to unsubscribe from catalogs and mailers one at a time and it is free

National Do Not Mail List

https://www.directmail.com/mail_preference/

http://www.optoutprescreen.com

To eliminate credit card promotional mailings,

You will have the opportunity to choose either a five-year removal or a permanent removal.

For your personal credit cards, ask the company to place you on their “in house” list that is not sold or traded to other companies.

www.therealyellowpages.com

To opt out of yellow pages and other phone directories

https://www.charitywatch.org/charitywatch-articles/seven-tips-for-reducing-unwanted-mail-and-phone-appeals/43

The American Institute on Philanthropy offers several tips on reducing junk mail and phone solicitations from charities

If you contribute once a year to a charitable organization, ask them to send you only one donation request per year.

Call and ask the charity to stop sending notepads, stickers, address labels etc

Go to http://www.valpak.com and have your name removed from their physical mailers. 

You can still pick and choose what coupons you want by using their on-line website

Lastly, try this too:

Look for any of the following phrases:

return service requested,

forwarding service requested,

address service requested, 

change service requested.

If you find any of these phrases, write “refused, returned to sender” on the unopened envelope and put it back into the mail. 

Mail sent to “Resident,” “Current Resident,” or “Current Occupant” can be refused if it contains one of the above endorsements, or is sent First Class. 

When you receive unsolicited promo products, you can mark the envelope “Return to Sender” and put it back in the mail.

Get a quick summary of the above information by jumping over to my Printables tab and download the Junk Mail printable.