How To Get Rid Of Junk Mail Forever

Paul is sick of getting unwanted junk mail, spam electronic mail, and robocalls and is actively testing many services that reduce these types of spam.

Junk Mail Doesn't Quit

If yous're annihilation like me, y'all've had enough! I'1000 sick and tired of getting so much junk mail. My home mailbox is getting filled with catalogs, credit card offers, and fliers. I get so much junk mail that I tin can hardly tell what is real mail and what isn't.

Here's what I did to cut dorsum and almost become rid of all my mail entirely.

one. Switch to Paperless Statements

The beginning stride was to become to all of my beak providers and sign up for the paperless options, set up eBills, and allow automatic payments.

For me, paperless statements are offered by almost all my providers:

Checking accounts
Credit cards
Power companies (PG&East)
Cable including internet (Comcast)

My checking account from Schwab was helpful with setting this up. They evidence which of my bills have eBill services. EBills notify you lot in the bill pay department that you have a new eBill and you tin view the statement and pay it all online with no statements getting delivered in the post.

A few credit cards offered paperless statements but didn't offer eBills integrated with Schwab (like my Chase credit card) which I found annoying. It's important to me to pay my bills on fourth dimension and efficiently, and then I opted to prepare automatic payments through each provider that didn't offer eBills. I lose a bit of the ease of reviewing, merely they will no longer transport a paper statement.

The only reoccurring bill I can't get a paperless argument from is my water nib. I'm hoping I tin can set that bill up to be paid automatically so I don't have to expect out for it in the mail.

2. Opt Out of as Much Junk Mail every bit Possible

The next step is to opt out of all the junk mail you can. There is a service (DMAChoice) that costs a former fee of $2 that law-constant marketers use to honor opt-outs. They will remove from major offers of catalogs, magazines, credit cards, and other offers. If you opt-out, they should respect information technology. I was leery of a service that costs money, but later inquiry, I decided it was a trustworthy organisation.

There is one slice of the service I didn't like. To opt out of a lifetime of credit card offers, you had to impress and post forms in ironically. I did nearly of this on my phone, so I instead chose the five-yr choice for the financial information. I wish there was an online process that supported a lifetime opt-out option.

This service should reduce significantly the number of credit card offers that come up in the postal service, but it won't stop all of the local offers and resident offers.

In that location doesn't appear to be a way to do this, so it seems unlikely that I tin can terminate getting junk mail birthday, but at least I should be able to significantly reduce it.

three. Stop Receiving Catalogs and Other Junk Mail

And so, this is a flake contentious and a bit duplicative with DMAChoice. My wife actually likes some of the catalogs we go, but I feel they're wasteful. And so, we've compromised. We are just opting out of catalogs she says she doesn't want. There are multiple options for opting out of catalogs. You can:

Contact catalog companies direct (Transmission Option)
Catalog Option (Non-Turn a profit and Free Choice, but they ask for donations)
PaperKarma (Paid Service)

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Less Mail Than Ever!

Three-to-four days a week, I get no mail. It was a pretty quick reduction. I look forward to getting mail and counting how much post I want vs how much junk post comes every twenty-four hour period. I submit each slice of junk mail to PaperKarma because sometimes they surprise me by getting opt-out confirmations from places I didn't think they could. Of the last x pieces of mail submitted, 7 have been confirmed opted-out, two unsuccessful, and one pending (Pottery Barn). Non bad.

While we won't be able to cease all the junk mail, we have significantly reduced information technology—as far as I can tell, this is the best way to do it. Promise this helps others reduce their unwanted junk mail.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge. Content is for advisory or entertainment purposes only and does non substitute for personal counsel or professional person advice in business concern, financial, legal, or technical matters.

Questions & Answers

Question: What exercise you call back about receiving informational literature from political candidates in the mail, even though that data is easy to find online?

Answer: I consider political mail junk postal service. I don't want it delivered to my house. It'south often difficult to stop these types of mailings, but I've continued to submit them to Paper Karma.

Robert on August 23, 2020:

Prescreen opt out stops credit card/insurance offers - select the Permanant option. As well check your credit reports and remove any unwanted name/address variations (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion & Innovis)

Chris Desatoff from USA on May 27, 2018:

Good luck, homo. I hope it works out well and really stops.

I tried calling that number at the bottom of my credit card offers to cease getting junk mail from them. Only it'south an automated phone system, and information technology required me to spell out my last name letter by letter.

Unfortunately...look at my last name lol.

D sounds like T over the phone.

South sounds similar F over the telephone.

T...well...yous know.

F and F...sigh.

And so the junk mail keeps coming =(

Only I bet somewhere in the world, there's a guy named Chris Tefadoss who no longer gets credit carte offers in the mail =P

Peggy Woods from Houston, Texas on May 25, 2018:

Years ago I had the same mission of getting rid of junk postal service and that was prior to the days of electronic billing. I cannot remember the last catalog that was mailed to us because it was literally years ago. Now we get very picayune junk mail except from political candidates when it is nearing election time.

Thanks for your advice! Pinning this to my Do You lot Know This? lath.

Paul Edmondson (author) from Burlingame, CA on May 24, 2018:

i'm on a total mission to get rid of our junk mail. I'm actually looking forward to the mail to see what I tin can unsubscribe.

Linda Crampton from British Columbia, Canada on May 24, 2018:

The tips and services that you've described sound dandy. I'm going to expect for some equivalent services in Canada. I'thousand at the phase you describe at the get-go of the article. It'south getting hard to tell the real mail from the junk mail that arrives at my home.

Larry Rankin from Oklahoma on May 24, 2018:

Swell topic!

Junk mail is in the heart of the beholder, simply I hate the stuff! So environmentally wasteful. Spam is annoying, but the physical waste impacts u.s.a. and then much more.

Thank you then much for these wonderful tips.

Paul Edmondson (author) from Burlingame, CA on May 23, 2018:

I'm going to post on my mailbox, please don't evangelize mail addressed to "resident".

Sally Gulbrandsen from Norfolk on May 23, 2018:

In France, ane volition often see 'Pas du Pub' printed on the letter-box of a front door. Took me a while to effigy out that the possessor was non publicising his or her visit to the local pub but was instead asking people not to pop advertising through their alphabetic character-box:)

Paul Edmondson (author) from Burlingame, CA on May 23, 2018:

I'm guessing DMAChoice helped a lot since you submit to it in one case for lots of providers. It's sort of like the do not telephone call registry.

Glenn Stok from Long Isle, NY on May 23, 2018:

It'due south interesting that your spam mail was reduced in as short a time as 30 days. I wonder which of the services you used really is the most responsible for the success.

I too use paperless billing with all my accounts, and Citibank too offers eBilling – and I use it. It makes bill paying piece of cake to manage in just a few minutes each calendar month. No paper bills, no checks to write, no lost bill payments in the mail.