It’s been a while and the catalogues etc. have begun to build up again. So here’s a reminder since I have to find out how to do it anyway of how to get off all those mailing lists.
credit card offers: www.optoutprescreen.com
do not call list: https://www.donotcall.gov/
direct marketing: https://www.dmachoice.org Though many websites warn that they’ll spam your email box instead so be careful what email address you give.
And of course you can individually call catalog companies. Our previous residents must have really been into Victoria’s Secret.
Here’s a wikihow
Update: Debbie M in the comments suggests “Catalog Choice (http://www.catalogchoice.org). You enter information from your shipping label.”
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December 27, 2010 at 4:24 am
One of my very first blog posts was about the war I declared against junk mail:
http://wp.me/p101OG-1A
Even if you do the above things, you still get a ton of stuff from “affiliates and 3rd parties” of people you are already doing business with. So you also have to call your current credit card company and current mortgage broker, and any kind of loyalty card you have (frequent flier cards, etc). Loopholes there are a plenty.
It took me over a year of tracking this stuff before it went to virtually zero. Good luck!
December 27, 2010 at 6:37 am
Wow, you even kept track of the repeat offenders. That’s cool.
December 27, 2010 at 6:31 am
I was going to deal with some of this stuff this week believe it or not, and you just made it a whole lot easier. Thank you!!!
December 27, 2010 at 6:37 am
We at Grumpy Rumblings strive to be helpful. :)
December 27, 2010 at 9:59 am
I’ve had really good luck canceling catalogs with Catalog Choice (http://www.catalogchoice.org). You enter information from your shipping label. You can always go back and un-cancel them if you change your mind.
I’ve had a lot of fun hitting the unsubscribe link for a bunch of e-mail lists I was getting tired of, too.
I’ve also just used your links to confirm that I’m on the do-not-call list (I am) and to opt out of credit card offers. I’d been reticent to opt out in the past, but now I feel that I’ll be able to learn about cool new credit cards from the personal finance blogs I read and I’ll be able to see how my credit is (you can tell by what kinds of offers you’re getting) by checking more directly via Credit Karma. Thanks!
December 27, 2010 at 10:04 am
Useful! I’ve updated the post.
hm… I think that might explain why we’re down one subscriber…
December 28, 2010 at 12:59 pm
No, I only unsubscribe to icky and boring things. Not things where a post on reducing junk mail leads to finding out about a yurt made with f***ing junk mail, wherein cocktails may be served.
December 28, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Ha! Yeah, our readers are pretty interesting and entertaining.
December 27, 2010 at 3:34 pm
(1) I don’t ever answer my phone unless I recognize the caller’s number and want to talk to him or her.
(2) If those f***en assholes want to keep paying the f***en post office to send me f***en catalogs, I’ll just keep throwing them in the trash without opening them. It’s not my f***en problem, and anyway, somebody’s gotta keep the post office in business.
December 27, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Okay! You go ahead and don’t do anything then. We at Grumpy Rumblings do not mean to pressure anyone on this matter as we don’t really care what you do.
December 27, 2010 at 4:05 pm
You say you don’t care. But you *will* care after I finish making my own junk-mail yurt, just like Molly On Money, and then I don’t invite you over for cocktails!
December 27, 2010 at 4:06 pm
Ha! Yes, if you make a junk mail yurt and don’t invite us for cocktails, we will probably care.
December 27, 2010 at 3:49 pm
This is a great list! I have an old email that I never use except when I company insists on an email.
I’m in a quandary whether I want to get rid of our junk mail. We use it to make papercrete blocks which is the material we are using to rebuild our yurt. I know it’s a bit strange but if I had the ability to plop a photo in this comment I could show you how cool it is!
December 27, 2010 at 3:54 pm
You have a yurt? You should totally do a blog post on that (with pictures!). I saw a mythbusters episode on pycrete. That was pretty awesome.
December 30, 2010 at 12:35 pm
I need to email you whenever I’m stumped on what to write about!
December 30, 2010 at 12:50 pm
I’m definitely waiting for your GRS reader story on raising chickens!!!
Or bees. Those bee photos were luscious.
December 27, 2010 at 4:04 pm
You’re making a yurt out of motherf***en junke maile!?!?!?!? That kickes asse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 1, 2011 at 4:02 am
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