Catalog Control

I don’t know about you, but we get an unreasonable amount of catalogs at our house.  Catalogs that call my name.  They are all pretty catalogs, with pretty things that tempt me.

Sometimes we even get duplicate catalogs–one with Chris’ name and one with mine.  It’s like double the temptation, double the torture. Kind of like the old Doublemint Gum commercials, but instead of cute twins with fresh breath it’s evil catalogs that want to drain my bank account.

Anyway, my point is that I was recently feeling overwhelmed by the abundance of catalogs that were coming in the door.  And while I really do like the glossy pages and clever layouts, I know I can find the exact same tempting things at my fingertips online any time I’d like. So, I decided to clean catalog house.

A few years ago, I signed up at www.CatalogChoice.org to reduce our catalog intake, so I logged back in to adjust our preferences.  The site is quite easy to use.  Once you are signed up, search for the companies who are sending you too much mail.  You can eliminate catalogs completely, or reduce the frequency of their visits.  You can even add multiple names to your profile so that you can remove mailings sent to you and other household members (or to your maiden name), all with just one account.

The process is most effective if you have the catalogs with you, so that you can enter in the customer and source numbers on the back.

When you’re done, you can check back in to see how your catalog declines are doing.  CatalogChoice.org uses this handy, color-coded system so you can see which companies are playing nice and which ones are taking their sweet time.

Another site that I’ve used to reduce junk mail is www.DMAchoice.org, a tool developed by the Direct Marketing Association to help you manage your mail.  I used this service to cut down on the number of pesky credit card offers that we receive and promptly tear up.  The site claims to be most effective in reducing credit card offers if you provide your social security number, but it is not required.  The site is legit, but to be safe, I excluded that private info.

I even went one step further and scrolled through my e-mail inbox and unsubscribed from the gazillion Ann Taylor, Amazon, Anthropologie, ZGallerie, Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn emails that I get each week.

While reducing junk mail and catalogs is certainly environmentally-friendly, my main motivation is reducing clutter around our house (and on my screen) and removing the temptation of spending money.  The more junk paper that comes in, the harder it is to separate the good stuff and keep it all organized, and the harder it is to keep money in our savings account.

So, are you with me?  Do you get too many catalogs?  Have you used any kind of service to reduce your mailings, or have you called all of the companies directly to remove yourself from the list.  Or, do you love the catalogs and keep them all? Do tell.

(photo credit)