Got Junk Mail? HATE Junk Mail?

 

It’s surprising to me that at this day and age with all of the online shopping, companies still find it necessary to inundate their customers with catalogs. It’s like they see someone enjoying swimming and think that perhaps they would like drowning even more. Ordering one item online is an invitation to not only receive countless daily junk emails, but also a healthy portion of regular catalogs. Glossy catalogs are fun on occasion, but the constant threat of decision fatigue is so intimidating I rarely take the plunge. I usually want something specific and go searching for it online. Perusing clothing catalogs leads to discovering new “needs” that save a lot of money if I never knew they existed. Also, I feel preyed upon when I receive a catalog from a store I’ve never heard of, much less purchased from. Anyone else feel this way? Just me?

Catalogchoice.org is here to the rescue! Take a couple of minutes to quickly set up an account and then you’ve taken the first step in reducing the weight your mailman uses for arm curls,  reducing greenhouse gases, reducing pounds of solid waste, and saving forests of trees- all with a few clicks of the mouse.

Once you’ve created your account, press the “Search Catalogs” button and search for the offender by name. Catalog Choice has a vast array of names to choose from. Once you’ve found the company you’re looking for you’ll need to click through 5 quick questions. Sometimes Catalog Choice isn’t able to contact a company, but you’re given a phone number to call. In a couple of instances a few companies weren’t available and I have to *GASP* look up their phone number and call them myself. Even if you don’t take it that far, just filling out the electronic form for the companies you can, will produce a noticeable reduction in junk mail. I rip off the back page of catalogs to shred anyway, so I just saved them up for a couple of weeks and entered them in a batch session. 

1)     Profile name? Probably just yourself, unless you’re also doing this for other people in your family.

2)     How is the name spelled? Use the exact name from the mailing label. Perhaps a misspelled version of your name has evolved from somewhere or your maiden name lives on in infamy. This name is saved for future reference and you simply select the name that is on the current catalog that you’re trying to irradiate.

3)     What address is on the label? Maybe you’re getting junk at your work address, too, so you can get rid of that at the same time.

4)     What is the account number and key or source code? While this is helpful information, it’s not required. This information is often available near the address on the back page of the catalog.

5)     Why are you opting out? There are several options listed as well as the default, “I’d rather not say.”

Click CONFIRM and BAM you’re done!

There is a shameless plug for a donation at the end, but that’s understandable since these people aren’t selling your information for money, they need some way to maintain this free service.

PS For some reason this site didn’t play nice with Mozilla Firefox, but worked great with Internet Explorer.