Not-quite junk mail

[catherine]

So, I'm REALLY going to try to stay on top of paper clutter. Also, trying to restrict things from coming into the house, while I work to declutter stuff out of the house.

Today I spent a good 20 minutes decluttering paper stuff--receipts, old project documents, etc. I felt pretty good about my progress and THEN...

the mailman came.

So, I "processed" all the mail properly--threw out, put in recycling, put in my action box. But I was kind of flummoxed by a fat envelope from the Sierra Club asking for donations and including a stack of greeting cards. I don't mind sending a small donation to the Sierra Club, and I don't even mind getting direct mail from them from time to time, but I don't want or need their greeting cards.

So, how should I process stuff like that? I get calendars, return address stickers, stuff like that from all kinds of non-profits and I feel guilty throwing them out, so they wind up as clutter that I did not ask for.

Does anyone have any creative ideas? Freecycle them? Donate them to a thrift store? Return them to the Sierra Club and tell them to take me off their list?

[razz]

Perhaps others will disagree with me but I either use the cards or donate them. I use the address labels freely.

There is a certain amount of money dedicated to fundraising for non-profits and I prefer not to receive any correspondence from them so do not reply or respond in any way. Eventually, I get deleted from their lists. The fundraising arms of all organizations seem to sell their lists to each other so suddenly if you are on one list, you start getting stuff from others.

I always check the box that says no further correspondence or contact whenever I get the chance if I have initiated contact.

[Tiam]

So, I'm REALLY going to try to stay on top of paper clutter. Also, trying to restrict things from coming into the house, while I work to declutter stuff out of the house.

Today I spent a good 20 minutes decluttering paper stuff--receipts, old project documents, etc. I felt pretty good about my progress and THEN...

the mailman came.

So, I "processed" all the mail properly--threw out, put in recycling, put in my action box. But I was kind of flummoxed by a fat envelope from the Sierra Club asking for donations and including a stack of greeting cards. I don't mind sending a small donation to the Sierra Club, and I don't even mind getting direct mail from them from time to time, but I don't want or need their greeting cards.

So, how should I process stuff like that? I get calendars, return address stickers, stuff like that from all kinds of non-profits and I feel guilty throwing them out, so they wind up as clutter that I did not ask for.

Does anyone have any creative ideas? Freecycle them? Donate them to a thrift store? Return them to the Sierra Club and tell them to take me off their list?

As a preschool teacher, I use appropriate greeting cards in our writing areas for kids to practice 'writing'. If you have any preschools, they would take them, I'm sure. Plus any stickers or calendars or what not.

[iris lily]

We keep all of the address labels that we get because we use them. I toss the ugly cheap greeting cards. I never send money.

If this junk is from an organization that you care about, contact them and tell them don't send more stuff so that they don't waste their money. If it's from an organization that you don't care about, don't spend your precious time talking to them about unsolicited junk.

[JaneV2.0]

I include random stationery with my regular thrift store donations.

[ToomuchStuff]

Can you mail them some of your trash and have them offer to pay you to dispose of it? Kind of how I feel about all junk mail, from the ads to the solicitations.

[bUU]

Unfortunately, even charities are now using the most annoying tools of consumerism to "sell" their "products".

On the first level: I never take personal responsibility for "wasting" anything someone else sent to me. Quite the opposition: Instead of feeling guilty, myself, I feel put-upon by those seeking my contributions. There's no escaping the fact that such things deter me from donating - they don't encourage me to do so.

One the second level: Keeping my home ever-increasingly free of clutter takes precedence.

[Rosemary]

A relative told us that the senior center in her town welcomes those cards, calendars, note pads, etc.

[catherine]

Wow, great ideas! I will definitely aim for offering them to the elementary school right behind my house today, and if I don't get to it by then, they're out. Thanks!