Say Goodbye to Snail Mail
Say goodbye to the old-fashioned snail mail. New web services make it possible to subsist on electronic mail alone. For most of us, the majority of our correspondence has been done electronically since Juno first offered free email. This does not however, stem the flow to the mailbox that clutters your desk and inbox and fills the garbage can.
Switch to Electronic Statements
Make a list and check it twice:
Nearly all business prefer to have you set up on electronic statements. Notable exceptions are government institutions and those with stock in the paper companies (I think?) Contact those that you do business with. Make a list of all your paper bills and as you change these to electronic statements, notate the date, time, confirmation numbers, etc. File this list for reference later. This does require some initial legwork on your part. Not all bills can be switched over by means of their websites. Some will require telephone calls.
Follow Up, Follow Up:
Next, you need to devise a way to make sure that those statements actually make it to you each month. “I didn’t receive the bill” is not a valid excuse and it is up to you to find out if and why a statement/bill is not making its way to your inbox. To help with the initial setup and make sure that you are receiving all your bills, I recommend that you set up a Google Calendar specifically to remind you to check for your latest statements a few days after the billing dates (find this on your statements or you can call customer service).
Opt out of Junk Mail
Do Your Paperwork:
Direct Mail - The Direct Mail Association offers a form to opt out of mail from members of their association. You can get the from online (www.the-dma.org/consumers/offmailinglist.html), but you still have to submit it through our favorite subsidized postal system. “Mail Preference Service at P.O. Box 643, Carmel, N.Y. 10512”
Credit Card Offers - Opt out of credit card offers through the credit reporting agencies at: www.optoutprescreen.com
Others - The Center for Democracy and Technology has a general form to mail to those that continue to send you mail after completing the above steps. Download the customizeable forms at:
www.opt-out.cdt.org
Or be Devious:
“One way to stop the offers is to sign up for so many cards and run up such high levels of debt that you become a credit untouchable. That is not a good plan.” NY Times Damon Darlin
You could also mail a box of rocks to the Republican/Democratic National Fundraising address with the “Postage Will Be Paid By Addressee” envelope and your return address taped on the front. This should guarantee that you never receive these envelopes again.
Cancel the Magazine Subscriptions
Rivaling TV (I don’t have one) and radio, magazines will probably subject you to more advertising than any other media outlet (if you use adblock plus). This is not only a waste of time, but can end up being a drain on the pocketbook. Print magazines normally have websites with rss feeds to grab their content without the paper version in your mailbox. Another option is to find another website or blog that covers the same information. You will normally have the news faster than the larger print magazines can deliver.
The Rest
Now that we have done what we can to reduce the amount of mail coming in, we all know that there will be some correspondence and junk mail that will always be sent with a stamp in the upper right corner. (Grandma’s birthday card, local mass mailers, your favorite magazines)
Here is where a relatively new web service steps in to help us out. Earth Class Mail (previously Remote Control Mail) offers to e-mail you scans of your postal service mail with options to open and email you a scan, shred, recycle, and forward to a different address. All this does come at a price. The lowest plan (Bronze) starts at $9.95/month when prepaid for 12 months all the way up to the Gold plan for $49.95 (paid monthly). No monthly plan includes the shipping for forwarding mail.
Outbound Postal Mail
That takes care of the inbound postal mail, but what about getting letters to your great uncle who doesn’t believe in computers? (Disregard this paragraph if you already bought a lifetime supply of "forever stamps.") Postful is still in beta, but it is easy to get an invite. This service will print a full color page and mail it from an email for $.99 each. No envelopes or stamps are required, just include the name and address in the subject line. This could take care of the majority your outbound snail mail needs.
Keep in mind that, depending on your correspondence practices and personal habits, the goal of this article may be both impractical and unnecessary, however, I hope someone will find it somewhat useful.
