Every day I get the mail at the end of the driveway after getting my daughter from the school bus. Now that school’s almost over, I’ll need another reminder to remember. In general, mail in our house is one of the primary reasons my kitchen is always a disaster (the other being the numerous drawings, markers, toys, and schoolwork my daughter brings home). Instead of just taking the mail and dumping it on the counter, I’ve been trying to go through it first and dump the junk main in the recycle bin in the garage on my in the house. I shouldn’t even have to do that! Why is my house messy because someone sold my name and address six years ago to a catalog company? I’ve been married eight years and I still get items addressed in my maiden name. Dear marketing professional, you did NOT get your money’s worth.
My family doesn’t catalog shop at all. American Doll and Build A Bear Workshop catalogs arrive eerily near birthdays and holidays. The only exception to the ‘do not want catalogs’ is Penzeys Spice. Even then we order online. Having that catalog in front of me, along with the recipes they sneak in, inspires me to cook. I’ll review them sometime in the future, but in the meantime go check them out! Cake Spice RULES!
My hopeful mailbox savior? Catalog Choice. Plus they have a great blog - something I think 95% of companies should have. Catalog Choice is a free service that lets you (after a quick and painless - and free) signup page, helps you get rid of unwanted catalogs from ever being sent to your home. It would be easy to just check off most every box and say ‘decline’ but that’s difficult for the companies sending catalogs. Instead what you do is enter the information directly off the mailing label of the offending catalog. This helps companies zero in on the exact database entry to delete.
The website and service is sponsored by Ecology Center, so there appears to be no hidden agendas. Reading the FAQ is really helpful too, even though normally those pages make me snore. One good point to make is that Catalog Choice doesn’t sell your information or give your email address to the catalog companies you want to decline. So far I don’t see any listings for the grocery store fliers I get several times a week, maybe I’ll make a suggestion that it’s added.
It seems that companies voluntary sign up for the list, so not every mailbox stuffer shows up. Why would they want to waste money and paper trying to sell you a product that you aren’t interested in. This to me is a good sales tip - don’t try to sell to those who don’t want to buy.
I’ll keep you updated to see if it reduces the amount of dead trees in my mailbox, and clutter from my kitchen counter. Now, if only my daughter would stop leaving her toys and crumpled bits of paper all over my house…
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Original post from the Reviews From The Radio blog. This post is an unpaid, unsolicited opinion completely inspired by a product, service, company, or website that I find worth writing about.
Technorati Tags: green living, junk mail, catalog choice, penzeys spice
I’ve had good luck with GreenDimes.com. It took a few months, but now our junk mail has been reduced significantly. Best of all, if some catalogs slip through the cracks, you can go to their site and list the specific ones you no longer want.
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