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There are a handful of easy ways you can keep your mailbox from overflowing with unwanted mail.
ISTOCKPHOTO/ALEXEY STIOP
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Tired of opening your mailbox to piles of unwanted promotions?
On average, each American receives
41 pounds of junk
mail per year, and more than
100 million trees are
lost annually to produce those advertisements and solicitations.
While you likely receive mail from businesses or causes that you
value, you probably get mail from many in which you have no
interest. As always, you can recycle your excess mail, and
thankfully, easy options now exist to minimize or even completely
stop unwanted mail.
Web sites such as
GreenDimes.com and
41pounds.org can remove your
name from direct mail advertisers' lists for a fee ($36 for one
year; $41 for five years, respectively). Less pricey alternatives
and a few simple tips also can significantly reduce the amount of
junk mail sent to your home.
- DirectMail.com
compiles a list of people who
indicate
that they don't want to receive advertisements in the mail.
Registration for the list is free, and the Web site then supplies
the list to mass mailers, which can choose to check it with their
mailing lists and remove names that appear on both.
For a $1 processing fee, the
Direct Marketing Association
can add your
name to its 'do not mail' list. The DMA requires its more than
3,600 member companies to match their marketing lists with the 'do
not mail' list. You will see junk mail decrease about three months
after your name gets on the list, which is updated four times a
year.
Both services assure that they do not pass along your name or
address to any mailing lists. Both work only for home addresses,
not business addresses. Neither can guarantee a complete stop to
junk mail, and be aware that registering for either list can also
prevent you from receiving mail you might want, such as coupons,
catalogues, and mail from nonprofit and charitable
organizations.