January 2007 Newsletter

This month's focus: Junk Mail (and other junk)

Tip of the Month: Eliminating/Reducing the Catalogs

Were you overwhelmed by catalogs during the holiday season? Do you want to stop wasting all that paper, since most of this stuff can be found and ordered on line? As Jon Carroll writes, do you want to be nice to your mail carrier? Here are some ways to do that.

• Get off the Direct Marketing Association's List.
   
• Opt out of the Abacus database used by many direct catalog marketers.
   
• Call the toll-free number on catalogs you receive and ask to be removed from their mailing lists. (Note: If it's a one-time mailing, don't bother - you probably aren't on any list. Use this for catalogs you get all the time, probably because you ordered from the company in the past.)
   
• For more junk mail reduction - beyond the catalogs - there are a few more steps to take. And Real Simple has some good tips for keeping your name from getting on the lists.

While none of this is difficult, some people prefer to use a service that eliminates junk mail for them; two such services are 41pounds and GreenDimes. (May & November 2008 Updates: Catalog Choice and ProQuo are other options.)
 

Note: I realize this tip is only relevant to those in the USA, and this newsletter has readers in at least nine other countries. I'd love to hear if junk mail (catalogs and more) frustrates you, too - and what you can do to control it. Here are a few things I do know about:

• The Canadian Marketing Association has a Do Not Contact Service.
   
• There are ways to minimize junk mail in the U.K., too - although a postman got in trouble for advising people about junk mail reduction. (Updated November 2008 for new U.K. site. Also, note the postman did not lose his job.)

Organizing Event of the Month

Need encouragement to make some changes and start the new year right? The National Association of Professional Organizers (of which I am a member) sponsors Get Organized Month every January.

Quote of the Month

Most of the books and articles on how to more efficiently organize a house really show how to hang up, hide, file, tolerate, and make decorative use of junk.

-- Don Aslett, Clutter's Last Stand

Statistic of the Month

The average person will receive 41 pounds of junk mail this year.
-- 41pounds.org

Product of the Month

For those magazines (and maybe catalogs) that you do want to keep around to read, here's a lovely kiri wood magazine rack - but notice it only has room for a limited number of items!!

Donation/Recycling Idea of the Month

Get something for Christmas (or another holiday) that you don't need and can't return? One person's junk can be another person's treaure, so consider re-gifting - but do it with care and caution.

Highlights From the Blog in December

My two-month-old organizing and decluttering blog had 39 entries in December, including items on

• Cleaning Out the Medicine Cabinet
• The Cost of Disorganization
• Under Cabinet Cookbook Holders (and other under cabinet tools)
• Funny Alarm Clocks
• Time Management Advice from Alan Lakein
• Hurry Sickness

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