Reducing Junk Mail
A bunch of services offer to help you reduce your junk paper mail for $15-20/yr, which is ridiculous for how easy it is to do once you know where to go.
If you want to spend the absolute least amount of time on this possible, fill out the forms in the following three services:
- To get filtered out of almost everyone's snail-mail lists addressed to you or former residents: https://www.dmachoice.org/
- To stop getting credit card offers (which are often stolen from mailboxes and used fraudulently): https://www.optoutprescreen.com/ or 1-888-5-OPT-OUT
- To stop getting most telemarketing calls (not junk mail, but good anyway): https://www.donotcall.gov/ or 1-888-382-1222
If you have a little more patience, the following are also worth it:
- Stop receiving unwanted catalogs: http://www.catalogchoice.org/
- Stop getting some of the more common coupons and such addressed to
"Resident":
- http://www.valassis.com/1024/Contact/contact_home.aspx or 1-888-241-6760
- http://www.coxtarget.com/mailsuppression/s/DisplayMailSuppressionForm or 1-800-661-0959
- http://www.experian.com/privacy/opting_out_direct_mail.html or 1-800-228-4571 x4633
In addition to the above online forms, it's also commonly recommended to send out-out letters to the following, which I didn't bother with:
- Data Management, PO Box 2 Stoneville, NC 27048
- Haines and Company, inc, 8050 Freedom Ave NW North Canton, OH 44720
- Money Mailer, LLC, 12131 Western Ave Garden Grove, CA 92841
- Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, privacychoices@pchmail.com
- Readers Digest Sweepstakes, PO Box 50005 Prescott, AZ 86301-5005
I spent under half an hour filling out online forms and my mailbox is no longer full of trash every day that immediately gets thrown away. Most days, it is completely empty. This is a huge improvement, in that I no longer miss important dead-tree mail that I actually want.
Another, more comprehensive list for this is the World Privacy Forum Top Ten Opt Outs. If you have more patience and want to try to get rid of the last few pieces of junk mail, go there next.
