How to Reduce Mail Clutter and the Risk of Identity Theft

In the pursuit of clutter free living, it is easy to overlook what is commonly one of the major sources of excess quantity in your home, the mail. If you're like me you have probably been surprised at one time or another at how much mail can be shoved into a single mailbox. Bills, ads, magazines and junk mail, these are the things that can easily fill your box and turn to clutter in your home.

Not only is excess mail unsightly, it can also be a threat to your identity. According to the Federal Trade Commission over 9 million people have their identities stolen a year. If you consider how much information about you comes through the mail, with credit card offers and the like, it isn't hard to conclude that controlling excess mail is crucial.

Making simple changes in how you collect and store your mail, can go a long way in creating and maintaining a clean clutter free environment as well as helping to keep your identity safe.

Some of the steps that you can take are:

-Trash it before it makes it into the house.

Take a look at your mail as you remove it from the box. For those ads,etc that your really not interested, in chuck it into the trash (preferably the recycle bin) immediately. Just be sure it doesn't have your name and address on it!

-Shred it!

I love my shredder and I'm not afraid to use it! A shredder is a great an inexpensive way to keep your private information private. As soon as you walk in the door with mail in hand, discard those junk mail items that have your personal information plastered on it. Your information is private and personal, with all the identity thieves out there why make it easier for them to know who you are and where you live?

-Put a stop to credit card offers!

Speaking of identity thieves! Just because it hasn't happened to you, doesn't mean that it won't. Unfortunately the world we live in is teeming with those who would steal your identity and take you to the cleaners or worse. This can ruin your credit and can be difficult to erase. Taking action to put a stop to the many credit card offers that come in the mail is a very wise preventative measure.

There are several ways to do this:

-Opt out of each individual offer. On each mailing there is a notice in bold type, usually at the bottom of page 1, listing the phone number and Web site that allows consumers to cut off credit card solicitations.

-You can call 1-888-567-8688 or go online to http://OptOutPrescreen.com to opt out for several years.

Remember to shred those offers ASAP even if you do decided to take them up on the offer.

-Create a mail center.

By creating a mail center you have a go-to place in which to you can organize your incoming and outgoing mail. This is a great way to insure that bills that need to be paid are never misplaced and are taken care of in a timely manner. Work out a system that is convenient an usable for you and your family.

-Go paperless

Another great way to reduce clutter is to pay bills online. Many companies will give you the option to discontinue your paper bills and receive and pay your bills online. This can drastically reduce the amount of mail you receive monthly.

By following the above steps you can quickly be on your way to reducing clutter in your home and enjoying the peace of mind of knowing that you are protecting your privacy as well.