Monday, October 7, 2013

Junk Mail Opt Outs & Going Paperless



Hopefully, this topic causes your ears to perk up because who doesn't abhor junk mail?  It truly makes me ill at how much paper is wasted every day on junk mail, not to mention the needless paper monthly statements that payees can easily access online.  The paper literally gets moved from your a box/slot to the recycling bin and is such a waste!  Given today's technology, why do we even need catalogs, flyers, paper advertisements or statements, when everything we need and want is right at our fingertips online.  If you are not sure how to tackle this problem, here are some quick, easy and free solutions:



Catalog Choice (https://www.catalogchoice.org/) is a great place to start and covers a huge chunk of unwanted mail, not to mention it's easy and free. You simply register and then start selecting the catalogs, phone books, credit card and other advertisements, etc. that you no longer want to receive.  This company works directly with merchants to ensure that the opt-outs are being honored.  So, it has proven to be highly effective.  They also have a unique tracking feature that shows you how much water and trees you are saving based on your opt-out selections, which I find to be rewarding.  It's nice to get a little pat on the back for your efforts, right?



DMA Choice (https://www.dmachoice.org/) is very similar to Catalog Choice and is an alternative service that does the work for you.



PaperKarma (https://www.paperkarma.com/) is by far my favorite.  I had opted out of receiving catalogs long ago, so the stuff I get is more related to credit card applications, local realtor and restaurant advertisements, and the like.  This type of stuff isn't always covered in the online services like Catalog Choice and DMA Choice because the merchants aren't large enough to be identified.  PaperKarma is a free Apple (at the iTunes App store) or Google (Google Play) mobile device app.  Once you download the app, you simply take a picture of the piece of mail you received using the app, and it does the work for you.  PaperKarma contacts the sender and sees to the opt-out.  My husband and I have come to love this app for it's ease and effectiveness.


Yellow Pages Opt-Out (https://www.yellowpagesoptout.com/) is a site dedicated to opting out of receiving phone books.  While Catalog Choice offers this option too, I found this site to be really quick and effective.  Phone Books are the monsters of junk mail in that they use so much paper.  Given the online resources we have nowadays, they are all but rendered useless.



The next time you get a paper statement, look it over to find out how to go paperless.  Most merchants offer this option nowadays.  And if the statement doesn't tell you how, just go to the website.

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