How to Stop Getting Junk Mail
I’m pretty conscientious about recycling whenever I can, including all of the junk mail that we receive. But now that I’ve given birth, it seems like the hospital has given my name to every baby related company. How can I get my name off of all of these lists – and save some paper?
Great question. There’s a reason so many women find themselves hiring personal organizers shortly after giving birth: suddenly staying on top of all the stuff feels so important. Otherwise it just becomes totally overwhelming. So, your desire to reduce the amount of junk mail you are receiving is fantastic, not just from an environmental perspective, but also good for taking care of you and your new mom sanity. That said, please also remember to give yourself a break and know that the most important thing at this moment in your life is taking care of you and your new addition. So if, in exchange for you getting a little cat nap or a walk outside, things pile up a bit, the laundry goes undone, bed doesn’t get made, etc. take heart. It will all calm down and get done eventually. As for calming down those piles in your mailbox...
The wonderful news is that you can have an immediate impact by keeping trees in the forest and junk mail out of your home. More than 100 million trees are destroyed each year to produce this paper stream that results in over 19 billion catalogs going out to American consumers. The pulp and paper industry is the single largest consumer of water used in industrial activities and the third greatest industrial greenhouse gas emitter, after the chemical and steel industries. In other words, creating and shipping junk mail produces more greenhouse gas emissions than 2.8 million cars, and wastes about 28 billion gallons of water!
If you or any of your friends need more convincing, take a peek in your mail box and think about this: the average adult receives about 560 pieces of junk mail each year and 44% goes to the landfill unopened. As if the process of creating the junk wasn’t enough!
So in terms of taking action, there are countless organizations and movements that are now working to reduce this problem. It is quite interesting – though time consuming – to research all of your options. To help you, dear new mommy, here are the two options that I have found easy and effective.
My favorite is a non-profit organization called
41pounds.org - so named in reference to the average amount of junk mail one person receives each year. They eliminate 80-95% of junk mailings for you by contacting dozens of direct marketers on your behalf. I can personally attest to the fact that once I signed up with 41 Pounds, the only junk mail I receive is to my PO Box (and this of the sort that unfortunately can not be stopped at this time due to some funky – and very profitable - arrangement with our postal service... all of those coupon books, shiny paper grocery store flyers, etc.). This service covers your entire household for five years, saving:
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Time - No credit card offers to shred or unwanted catalogs.
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Trees - Keep 100+ million trees in forests, cooling the planet.
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Water - Protect 28 billion gallons of clean water.
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Our Climate - Junk mail produces more C02 than 2.8 million cars.
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The Planet - We donate to your favorite charity when you sign up.
41 Pounds also donates more than one-third of the $41.00 service charge to one of the non-profit organizations which they support (including my favorite, of course, EcoMom Alliance).
A second excellent route to reducing junk mail in your home is via the free service,
CatalogChoice.com. With this process, you don’t pay anything but you have to put in a few more minutes of work, which as a new mother can be an important factor. Still, it is very easy.
Step 1: Sign up.
Step 2: Find the catalogs you don’t want to receive anymore, and then they contact them on your behalf and have your name removed from their list.
Step 3: See the results. As a registered user, you'll also discover additional features related to declining catalogs at multiple addresses, adding new catalogs to our database, recording personal notes, and "going paperless."
Lastly, if those hormones have you feeling really spunky, you can also contact the USPS and share your dissatisfaction with their junk mail policies by writing to:
Government Reform Committee Room 2157
Rayburn House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20525.
