Step Two

Contact a direct marketing association near you.

This is the quickest and most effective method of eliminating junk mail. It'll get you on the "don't mail to me" list of many companies, including ones you've never heard of. The result: You'll only receive catalogs and offers that you have requested.

Send a letter to the Direct Marketing Association's Preference Services. Include your name and address, and clearly state that you do not wish to receive any direct mail from its members. The addresses are:

In the U.S.A.:
Mail Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association
P.O. Box 9008
Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008.

In Canada:
Mail Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association of Canada
1 Concord Gate, Suite 607
Don Mills, Ontario
M3C 3N6

In the U.K.:
Mail Preference Service
1 Leeward House Plantation Wharf
London SW113TY
England

Note: The DMA also has a telephone preference service that will remove your name from telemarketer's lists. Hooray! No more evening telephone calls. Just send your name and telephone number to the DMA, care of the Telephone Preference Service.

Tips:
Don't be cruel: There's no need to become angry or abusive to the senders of unwanted mail. Think about it: the person who handles your "no mail" request is probably not the person who organized the mailing. Why take it out on that person? Instead, be polite--and unmistakably clear.

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