how to: tame the mail

The second in my series on how to tame the paperwork, I’m going to share with you my tricks to taming the mail.

One of the easiest ways to tame the legions of trees in your mailbox from falling is to stop getting so much mail. This will decrease what you bring in so you have less to sort and less to pile. AND it saves a lot of money, since it removes temptation in the form of catalogs, special offers, etc.

Here are several ways to tame the mail.
1) cancel the catalogs
A great way to cancel the catalogs is using Catalog Choice. You may want to collect your catalogs for a month or two (if you don’t already have a pile ), some catalogs require you to enter the code on the back of your catalog to be removed from the mailing list.

2) go paperless for your bills
You can go to almost all your bill providers and sign up for paperless delivery of your bills/documents. If one of your providers doesn’t allow it, write them a letter requesting it. You can also auto-deduct your bills from your account, and usually then you can instantly file your bills. We also use our bank’s BillPayer to pay and receive several bills. It is super convenient, and I love that the money is immediately deducted from our account.

3) opt out of credit card offers
Opt out of pre-approved credit card offers using this site. You can choose to opt out for 5 years, or permanently. Make sure to do it again when you change your address, name or other personal info.

By using these methods we’ve reduced our mail significantly. We typically get one weekly grocery circular, one subscription magazine, and 2-4 pieces of mail a day. It makes the extra large mailbox I thought we needed when we installed it last year seem way too big. Though it is nice to find a package in there every once in awhile!

Also remember not to put checks in your mailbox, since identity thieves look for those red flags, and remember to follow my rules on how to tame your paperwork.

I wonder how many trees you’ll be saving.

Kelly

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About Kelly

Kelly Whalen is the founder of The Centsible Life, a blog where motherhood and money meet. Her goal is to help readers live well on less. Kelly is a mom to 4, and loves that she can stay at home with her kids, and still pursue her passions for writing, personal finance, and social media. You can often find her on twitter and Facebook talking money and motherhood.

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Tagged as: mail, paperwork