Tips on Tuesday: Getting Rid of Junk Mail

How often do you find yourself taking the mail from the mailbox and standing over your recycle bin as you go through the stack??



What if I told you I found a way to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive? You can even set preferences to accept mail from some companies while blocking mail from other ones.



Where could I find such a miraculous method of mail reduction? Check out the Direct Marketing Association's website (DMAchoice).


From the About Us section of the DMAchoice website:
What is DMAchoice?
DMAchoice™ is an online tool developed by the Direct Marketing Association to help you manage your mail. This site is part of a larger program designed to respond to consumers' concerns over the amount of mail they receive, and it is the evolution of the DMA's Mail Preference Service created in 1971.
For the purposes of this site, direct mail is divided into four categories: Credit Offers, Catalogs, Magazine Offers and Other Mail Offers. You can request to start or stop receiving mail from individual companies within each category—or from an entire category at once.


To get started, you register with the DMAchoice website (it's free) and they suggest following these three easy steps.
1. Keep an eye on your mail for a few weeks. Write down and track what you do and do not receive. The more information you have, the better your choices will be.
2. Go to DMAchoice and set up your preferences.
3. Adjust your choices to add or subtract companies or offers as your interests or circumstances change.


With a small amount of leg work, you can easily shrink the amount of unwanted junk mail that comes to your mailbox. You can also sign up to receive some of those great offers that your best friend always gets and you'd like to receive.