A POST FROM MY SOAPBOX

Just a few recent deliveries

When we moved to this little house 15 years ago, it wasn't a month until the catalogs and junk mail began to arrive. Mike found a website called “Catalog Choice," and I was assigned to follow through. By selecting the catalog on the website, I opted out of receiving it. The process was easy and fun for a while.

But – as time went on, it seemed like the more catalogs I reported, the more we received. Many weren’t listed, and then I could report them by listing the name and address. For others, I might receive a message that this company would not respond to Catalog Choice and I should contact them myself. Instead of opting out with a simple click of my mouse, the process became time consuming and less satisfying. And then, like any non-profit, “Catalog Choice” began to ask for money so that they could continue their work. While the website became more complicated, the work seemed less effective. I quietly gave up and just put the catalogs into recycling.

Of course, I like catalogs from my favorite companies, especially autumn, Halloween, and Christmas issues, but for the most part, I don’t shop by catalog any more. I shop online. I should really eliminate more catalogs because I swear some companies send them every other week.

And then there’s the junk mail. I mostly eliminate what we receive on a daily basis by shredding and tossing. There’s a psychology to mailings from non-profits, and I resent it. They write monthly to tell you that you haven’t renewed (they call your annual donation a renewal) when you have, and you just know they’re taking advantage of the fact that you don’t remember and will probably send money again. Those folks meet their match in Mike’s meticulous record keeping. It's further confusing that some organizations have names that are suspiciously alike. To thwart your effort to shred the envelope before opening, they include things that can’t be easily torn, like stickers and decals. I’m looking at one right now that says, “Save the Honey Bees!”

Many companies send mailing labels as a “free gift.” Mike says he only wants the ones that print his name as “Mike Warnock.” All others are tossed. I also toss those that aren’t what we’re about, such as horses, military symbols, etc. And I’m surprised that some organizations will actually apply Mike’s name to lovely floral labels. That’s just – well, inappropriate – and it seems like a no-brainer to me. And besides, in reality we send so little mail. I suspect we have enough mailing labels on hand for the duration.

There are other types of free gifts, such as greeting cards and wrapping paper. What does this free gift cost, anyway? I just wish they wouldn’t because honestly, I don’t want them.

Lastly, our children have never lived at this address, but one of them receives junk mail here regularly. I have interrogated him under bright light, but he claims not to know how this happened. I have taken to contacting these organizations and respectfully requesting removal of his name from their mailing list, pointing out that it’s a waste of their resources. My efforts will probably be rewarded with more junk mail. KW