Junk all that Junk Mail!

In an effort to take back and clear out the piles of papers in your kitchens and dining rooms, we will learn how to “Junk all that Junk Mail”! The average American adult receives almost 560 pieces of junk mail each year. And they spend 8 months opening junk mail in the course of their lives! And we wonder why we are drowning in paper!

While striving to  ”Get Organized in 2009″, we have been looking at the universal problem of overwhelming amounts of paperwork, and the resulting piles that usually end up in the kitchen. Together we have looked at how and why this problem is created (Help, My Kitchen is My File Cabinet) and have begun to create a plan of action to eliminate it (Quick Access Files, Don’t Live an Organized Life Without Them!).

Today, we will learn how to ELIMINATE much of the problem by eliminating much of our junk mail. It takes a bit of effort, but the savings in time, energy, and waste are well worth it.

I wish I could give you one phone number to call, similar to the National Do Not Call Registry, but it hasn’t been completed yet. Check out the New American Dream site: http://www.newdream.org/junkmail/state.php to see the progress on the “Do Not Junk” registries.

Until then, there are several steps you can take to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive:

• Get off the Junk Mailing List. Visit the Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference Service. Go to www.dmachoice.org , click on “Remove My Name from Those Lists,” and follow their instructions for removal.The DMA estimates that listing with their mail preference service will stop 75% of all national mailings

• Eliminate credit card junk mail. Most credit card companies use a central service to screen out people who don’t want to receive their mailings. To avoid getting most credit card junk mail, call 1-888-OPTOUT (888-567-8688).

• Stop junk mail before it begins. Whenever you fill out a form or place an order, always write “Do not rent or exchange my name” or ask the order taker to please “flag your file” so that your information won’t be shared.

• Eliminate the extra papers and advertisements sent to you with current bills by signing up for automatic payment. This will eliminate paperwork, and save you time and save money on postage.

• Stop the Catalogs. Most catalogs have an 800 number that customers can use to place orders. Use this same number to call and request that your name be taken off of their mailing list. You can also go to Catalog Choice at www.catalogchoice.org. This site allows you to type in whatever catalog or mailer you receive and opt out. Just be careful that you don’t sign up to receive more catalogs than those you opt out of!

Other helpful websites:

• www.junkbusters.com : provides further guidelines for reducing junk mail. You will find step by step directions to “gain control of your mailbox”.

• www.obviously.com : provides a free on-line do-it-yourself guide to stopping junk mail, emails and phone calls

Do you have more money than time? You may want to try one of the following services:

• www.41pounds.org will do the work for you. They are a nonprofit organization working to eliminate junk mail and charge only $41 for 5 years. That’s only $8.20 per year!

•  Purchase the Stop the Junk Mail Kit developed by the Consumer Research Institute. Go to www.stopjunk.com. The kit is $13.95 for the printed version ($9.95 for additional kits) or $10.95 for the PDF version. This simple kit was researched and developed by a former junk mail copywriter. The kit includes simple stop by step directions as well as pre-addressed postcards to make the job of ending junk mail simple.

• www.privacycouncil.org will do the work for you. The Privacy Council describes itself as “marketers committed to privacy”. Their mission is simple: they strive to collectively put an end to unwanted junk mail, SPAM and phone calls. The Privacy Council offers a full removal service, which removes your household from call lists, email lists, and junk mail lists. The initial cost for this service is $9.

This is only a drop in the bucket. A quick google search of “stop junk mail” brings up nearly 10 million sites. So, use my suggestions, or research your own. But, certainly DO simplify your life and clear out your kitchen by “Junking all that Junk Mail!”

Happy (and organized) Days!

Cheryl                  

Help, My Kitchen is My File Cabinet!

Take a quick look around your kitchen and dining room: the kitchen table, the counter tops, the buffet, and the surfaces of your refrigerator. Do you notice a re-occurring theme? Do you see the mounds of information needed to run your home and your life, spread hit or miss around your kitchen? Is the pile of junk mail, catalogs, and newspapers on your kitchen table blocking your view of your loved ones at dinner? If so, you’re not alone.

Do you realize how much paperwork enters your home on a daily basis? Most of us probably receive more mail on most days than our parents received in a week. We receive newsletters, magazines, bills, advertisements, million dollar offers, and letters, to mention a few. Along with incoming mail, many of us have school-aged children, who each bring home permission slips, completed work, tests to be signed, the dreaded fund-raising packets and letters from teachers and administrators. We receive the Daily Newspaper, and we carry in papers on a daily basis from work, meetings and appointments.

In my time as a professional organizer, I have come across a universal problem of overwhelming amounts of paperwork, and the resulting piles that usually end up in the kitchen. In our efforts to “Get Organized in 2009″, we will look at this all-too-common issue and outline simple solutions that can solve this problem and simplify your days.

 Together we will create a plan of action. A place for everything and everything in it’s place! Clutter happens when we don’t have a place for something, or when it’s more difficult to put something away than it is to deal with it. The result is the inevitable cluttering up of our spaces and our lives.

As we create a plan for all the paper coming into our homes, we will ask ourselves some very basic questions:

• Who needs this information?

• Where will I/they need or use this information?

• How long do I need/want to keep this information?

• What time of day does most of this information come into the home?

• Do I have time to put it where it belongs?

The majority of the paper coming into your home will NEVER need to be looked at again!

                “Man’s best friend, aside from the dog, is the wastebasket”.           Business Week

Remember this truth and always have your friend with you when dealing with paperwork. That’s the first and most essential step! Until next time, I challenge you to quickly recycle or simply throw out that which you don’t need or won’t use. Make it a habit, and your piles may actually start declining!

In my next series of articles, I will encourage you with other simple tips and strategies to take back and clear out the piles in your kitchens and dining rooms.

Happy Days!

Cheryl