How to Recycle Junk Mail

It happens to us all. We go to the mailbox hoping to find a letter from a friend, a magazine we subscribe to, even a bill we have been waiting to pay. Instead we find a mountain of junk mail. Credit card offers, catalogues, life insurance pitches and what seems like an unending variety of offers from area merchants bombard our lives on a daily basis.

You could just toss them in the trash without further thought but you are far too sensitive to the environment to do that! So, instead let me share with you a few tips I've found handy. It's time to turn that trash into treasure ... or at least get rid of it in a responsible manner.

Recycle: This is the most obvious solution. If you are not interested in what is being sent do the right thing and recycle it. Check with your locality to see how items are to be separated and then send it out of your life as fast as it came in.

Re-use: Save the envelopes that come with most of the credit card offers and use them for your own mail. All you have to do is stick a label over the window and you have yourself a free envelope! Or shred the offers and add to your compost. Your lawn will thank you!

Get even: If you want to have a little fun with them send back their junk on their own dime. A lot of offers come with a self addressed and prepaid envelope. I use them to mail back their junk to them and hope they get the point. Even if they don't at least I feel better!

Put a stop to it completely: Probably the best thing you can do to save not only your sanity but also the environment is to sign up and have the junk mail come to an end. It depends on the type of mail. For credit card offers you can call 1-800-5-OPT-OUT and stop it all in one fell swoop. For other offers you may need to call or email the company and ask to me removed from their mailing list. A little effort will save a lot of headaches and paper.

I hope these tips will stop some of the junk from taking over your life and our planet. At the very least you should now have some ideas on how to deal with what does come. And isn't that half the battle?