The Quick 5-Minute Solution That Stopped My Junk Mail for Good

For years, junk mail was the biggest clutter problem. The mailbox would often overflow with endless catalogs, and sometimes the mail carrier had to leave extra mail on the ground beneath the box because it wouldn’t fit. The initial belief was that contacting every company sending catalogs would be necessary to be removed from mailing lists, so the process of saving all the mail to tackle later began.

However, after months of accumulating paper, it became clear that there was no way to get through the ever-growing pile. A quick research session led to the discovery that stopping junk mail was much easier than originally thought. In fact, the entire process took less than five minutes. Here’s how junk mail was finally eliminated.

How Junk Mail Was Stopped

After some quick online research, it was found that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommended using http://DMAchoice.org , a service that removes a name from most promotional mailing lists. This process took only about two minutes to complete. Although there was a $6 fee, it lasted for 10 years, making it an excellent investment considering how much junk mail had been coming in.

Additionally, there had been a constant influx of unsolicited credit card offers. Following the FTC’s advice, a registration on http://optoutprescreen.com helped eliminate those offers. At this point, most junk mail had been dealt with, but there was one more step that made a huge difference.

Many Reddit users recommended PaperKarma, an app that helps eliminate junk mail by simply taking a photo of it. The app then contacts the companies on the user’s behalf to have them removed from mailing lists. Although there was a $25 annual subscription, it was much more targeted than DMAchoice, and it proved to be very effective.

How to Maintain a Junk-Mail-Free Lifestyle

To keep junk mail under control, PaperKarma will continue to be used whenever new unwanted mail arrives. Another key change is limiting online shopping, as it’s one of the easiest ways to be added to mailing lists. Shopping less reduces the number of catalogs and promotional materials received. Additionally, switching to electronic communication with banks and healthcare providers helps eliminate unnecessary paper mail.

Thanks to these straightforward steps, junk mail has drastically decreased, creating a much cleaner, clutter-free environment. With DMAchoice handling the bulk of the work, only a few updates to the PaperKarma app are needed each month. For the next decade, junk mail is no longer a problem!