Want some of this?
The man is on a mission.
Junk mail drives him crazy.
Most of us would say
"But what can you do?"
and then toss it in the recycle.
First off,
nothing with our name or info on it goes anywhere but the shredder.
But that can be snipped out with scissors...
then loaded into the shredder
and the remainder goes into the recycle.
That is what we did for a long time.
When that happened,
we were treated to snips of Andy's work life on TV,
that we had not viewed in some time.
One of his 60 Minutes episodes
where he ranted about the things that annoyed
him was focused on "junk mail".
No one really likes junk mail unless you are
under the age of 6 and know that "current resident"
really isn't how you spell your name.
But what exactly can you do with junk mail?
Is there anyway to stop getting it?
NO.
No matter what you do...
who you call...
what removal list you sign up for...
junk mail finds you and creates a pile in your home...
until you add it to the already stressed landfills.
But Andy Rooney had an answer.
The man has seized on this wisdom with a vengeance.
The rules are simple.
Keep all prepaid return envelopes.
Stuff all the junk mail inside the prepaid envelopes...
after removing your personal information...
and mail them.
Give the people who send you junk mail the joy
of figuring out how to dispose of it.
The postage is paid after all...
and they have a clear response to their offer.
Think of it as doing your part to help keep
the postal service going.
The only variation that the man has to his system
is for credit card requests.
That junk mail he leaves our info on
and writes in big letters across the application...
"NOT INTERESTED... TAKE ME OFF YOUR LIST."
Does it work?
I don't know for sure.
We've only been doing it for a few months.
It keeps the man happy stuffing his ire into the envelopes.
Sometimes he even cuts the junk mail up into little confetti pieces.
Someone on the other end will have an interesting thing to talk about at diner.
Is that crazy?
Ha.
Feel free to join in.
Or not.
How do you deal with junk mail?
Up in DP'sH I used to keep it to light the wood stove.
Sometimes it makes the flames pretty colors.
But it did make a lot of ash.
Too bad our real life mail box doesn't have a spam file.
i went through a phase stuffing return envelopes with crap and mailing it back. (i also tossed in some baking soda but don't tell anyone)
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea to resend the junk ail.. postage paid.. that is awesome.. I think I will try that from now on..
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that when out shopping we are now asked for our postal code everytime.. which we refuse to give out.. we know that they know they will still send junk.. so we just say NO..!!!
We are pushed here to recycle.. so we do in hopes that somewhere it's being made into something much more disposable..
I have never heard of that junk mail solution but I like it and I am going to try it. Right now Kyle likes to open all of the junk mail because I believe almost 3-year-old boys like to do stuff like that.
ReplyDeletebilly pilgrim- Oh you are so bad! But your secret is safe here. =;]
ReplyDeleteMrs. Harry Woman- You know, they do that zip code thing to us too. I didn't really pay it much mind, but now that you mention it, I imagine they can use that information. The other thing they do is keep our account "discount" stuff by our phone number. We always use the man's number. He's the one who gets telemarketing calls. Sneaky devils!
Don't even get the man started on stores wanting his social security number to join. We may never have a Costco Card because he will not give his social security number to them. He's very stubborn.
Mr.Shife- I don't doubt that Kyle loves getting junk mail. I remember waiting anxiously for the mail man to deliver and I was so thrilled to get the junk mail my mom gave me from the pile. It was very big deal. Besides, I would give your Kyle anything he wanted with that cute smile.
oh that's fantastic! i can just see him sitting at the table cackling like a maniac as he fills envelopes with junk mail confetti. i may have to do that.
ReplyDeleteFor the past few years I haven't gotten all that much junk mail. Maybe because I have no credit cards?
ReplyDeleteI like The Man's method of dealing with it though! Seems very gratifying :)
lime- You are so right. Sometimes he even cackles out loud.
ReplyDeletelaura b.- Even stores where I buy my clothing ask for my phone number and address... and send me junk. The man enjoys his therapy very much.
I've heard of that and the idea appeals to me, but it takes too much energy. So I shred credit card offers and recycle the shred along with any other junk mail.
ReplyDeleteSecret Agent Woman- lol. I agree with you... and ditto on what we do with our shreds, though I have played with the idea of making craft paper out of the shreds too.
ReplyDelete