That mail stack is begging you to act
Ever y day we skip to the mailbox and then slowly trudge back with our bills, flyers and catalogs again. Too boring to go through, we set it down “for now.” If there was a way to completely stop it, we just might if only they’d take all our old mail too.
This Saturday take a stack of mail you haven’t opened yet and pick out anything that’s asking you to buy something you haven’t thought of buying.
Donation requests. You threw them a 20 a couple years ago. How much more have they spent since then asking you for more? If you have a budget for giving and you need the reminder, that’s one thing but most likely you know what you want to give and when. You can’t save the whole world even if they send you a thousand address labels you don’t really care for.
Flyers and ads for dentists, gutter cleaners and pizza. It’s not like this is the only chance you’re going to have to see these, they send them ever y single week.
Subscription of fers for magazines you don’t have time to read, no matter how deep the discount.
Ultra-local collections of ads disguised as community magazines. One day you might need a coupon for air duct cleaning. But the coupon expires soon and since you hadn’t thought of air ducts until you saw the coupon, anything you spend now is more than you planned to spend.
Pick one piece of mail that’s asking for money and find its friends. All the donation requests from St. Jude’s, or the ASPCA (American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). Whoever fills your mailbox and makes you feel guilty and irritated. You’re keeping the reminders because you think you want to or ought to give them something. It’s time to either do that or not. Take the action and let the reminders go. Leaving them unopened in a pile of mail from last year isn’t helping the cause. You’re saying no anyway, why not have some counter space too?
Consider stuf fing their prepaid return envelope with all the letters they’ve sent you, and writing “Please Take Me Of f Your List” so whoever opens the envelope sees it right away. They’re wasting money mailing people who aren’t going to donate. Money that could be far better spent helping the kids at St. Jude’s and the animals who need rescuing.
Professional organizer Lucy Kelly would like to interview you if you grew up in a cluttered home. Confidential, respectful discussion of how it af fects the way you organize now. Please contact me at lucy@joyfgulsurroundingsllc.com or 720-526-2114 if you’d be willing to share your clutter story.