Reduce Paper Waste: Get Off Junk Mail Lists

For those who strive to live a "green" life, junk mail can seem like an incredible waste of paper and resources. It can sometimes be difficult to get off of these junk mail lists. However, with a little bit of time and effort, it is possible to get yourself removed from these lists, stopping the waste of junk mail.

Registering with DMAchoice
DMAchoice is one of the best tools to use if you want to remove yourself from junk mail lists. Registration is quick and easy at the dmachoice.org site. For only one dollar, you will be able to use this site to drastically reduce the amount of junk mail you receive. In order to utilize the site effectively, you will want to monitor your mail for a couple of weeks beforehand, so that you can set your preferences on the site. This will help you get less undesired mail. As an added bonus, if there is a type of mail you do want to get, you will be able to set your preferences for this as well. Adjusting your preferences on the site is quick and easy, so you can continue to fine-tune your preferences until you get it just right.

Contact Companies Directlyr
You can also contact companies directly to let them know you want to be removed from their mailing lists. This can be accomplished either via e-mail, mail or by making a phone call, depending on the company you need to contact. Most mailings have contact information on them that can be used for this purpose. This often works especially well for catalogs that you are receiving, since merchants do not want to send expensive mailings to those who have no interest in their products, and are often happy to remove you from the list if you request to be removed.

Reducing Credit Offersr
Credit offers are often among the most commonly received unwanted junk mail. Always check your mailings carefully for information privacy options, selecting those which indicate that all of your information should be kept private. If you do this, companies should not be sharing your name with other companies, which will reduce the amount of mail you receive. If you get a lot of pre-approved credit offers, you can contact the three primary credit bureaus and request to be removed from their mailing lists.

Be Careful to Keep Your Information Privater
There are also many things you can do to help keep your contact information private. An unlisted phone number can often help. Also, resist the urge to sign up for drawings, surveys, contests and other events that require registration. This will help reduce the risk of being added to even more mailing lists. In fact, in many cases, once you are on one mailing list, your name may be sold many different times to other companies, since there is a market for mailing list contacts. Once you have successfully reduced the amount of junk mail you receive, careful diligence in regards to keeping your contact information private will prevent being placed on these lists again.