My mailman loves me!

This is Pete my postman. He loves me. I suppose I should explain.

I made a commitment to reduce the amount of junkmail I receive. I approached this project as a game. Every night, I'd make a pile of junk mail, call the the numbers and ask politely to be removed from their distribution lists. Sometimes, it takes research to find out who is sending you stuff. I learned that there is a code on the label that can tell you who sold your name to the people sending the junk. If I found the name, I called the "data pusher" directly.

Some companies make it very difficult to be removed from their databases. Visa for example kept sending me solicitations despite repeated calls to stop. Turns out you need to say "Take me off every list" because they have seven different offerings (mortgage, credit card, car loans etc.) with seven different mailing lists. They forced me to vocally say "No" as they asked me if I wanted to be removed from each one. They wouldn't let me say "No" to all. I'm not making this up.

Opt Out
I was very hesitant to "Opt Out" of all credit card solicitations using this website (click here) because it required my social security number. Turns out it is safe. But after I completed the web registration, the junk kept coming. After studying the fine print, I learned that to be permanently deleted from these lists, you must also sign and send a hard piece of paper to the the "Opt Out" crew in Atlanta. Funny. I paid the 40 cents and mailed it off.

" Why commit yourself to sorting junk mail for the rest of your life? "

Today, Pete my mailman said that he noticed a dramatic reduction in my mail. He smiled. I smiled. Yeah ... we had a bond. I thought he was going to ask me to join the postal gang for a beer. I'm not really sure if it is good to be "in" with the postal team so there was a moment of quiet uneasiness between us.

Fewer Paper Cuts
During this project, I've never gotten angry. I'm just persistent. My wife tried to discourage me: "It is easier to throw out the junk mail then to go through the hassle to stop it!" In my defense, I use my speaker phone and watch TV to kill the time painlessly. And the payoff ... what a payoff! Eventually you notice a dramatic reduction in junk mail. It's liberating.

If you aren't challenged simply by the fun of playing this game, then here's some additional reasons to go through the hassle:

1. You will dramatically reduce the amount of spurious purchases you make. We are all influenced by repetitive sales messaging. Stop the repetitive messages and you'll spend less.
2. Unlike our appraisal process, you get tangible positive feedback all during the project run. You can actually see the results.
   
3. You'll save trees. Sammy P told me it is cool to be green this year.
   
4. The probability that you will be scammed by ID theft will fall.
   
5. You'll spend considerably less time processing mail.
6. Your shredder will last longer.
7. You'll get fewer paper cuts.
8. You'll make a new friend like Pete.

If you have other reasons to fight this good fight, please let us know. If you have other tricks for beating junk mail, then share your secrets.