The Universe throws clutter at me

[cjsmith]

"My job is to throw it back," says the quote. I'm trying this one on for size: "My job is to block that process."

Step one: junk mail. I don't have to recycle great big bags of it if it never gets sent.

Comments

[rampling.livejournal.com]

But the worst offenders are those big piles of large pages of newsprint (and glossy) ads that appear in heaps without any envelopes or organization. They sometimes have a separate little ad page with your address. Any idea how to stop those?

[joedecker.livejournal.com]

Ahhh, but how?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

We only get one or two of those a week, so by far my biggest problem is stopping the catalogs right now. As for stopping those heaps, TECHNICALLY there's a way but it doesn't work well in practice. You can block the guys who send the separate little ad card. We did that. The letter carrier is supposed to give a heap only to people who receive the ad card -- that's a legal requirement. In practice our carrier just gives one to everybody. We went through a few rounds with the post office and gave up. In the winter the heaps make nice tinder for the fireplace. :-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

For me, mostly it's catalogs and prospecti. I'm on those mailing lists "legitimately" (example: I personally have never spent so much as a penny at Eddie Bauer, but someone who stole my credit card did, so I'm "a customer") so all I really have to do is get off the mailing lists again. That'll be eighty to ninety percent by weight, I bet.

[oddhack.livejournal.com]

I commend to your attention USPS Form 1500 (http://www.usps.com/forms/allforms.htm), Application for Listing and/or Prohibitory Order. This works relatively well with repeat spammers. Note that whether or not a piece of mail is considered obscene for purposes of this form is in the sole determination of the recipient.

The ad card, yes, annoying. It took me several years of runarounds with the local post office (this included some real gems, like an employee at the branch telling me, with a straight face, that she did not report to anyone and did not have a superior) to get them to mostly stop putting the weekly mailers in my box. Still happens once in a while but then it's usually with the address card for (my apt. #+1) included so an understandable error.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Note that whether or not a piece of mail is considered obscene for purposes of this form is in the sole determination of the recipient.

I am laughing. That is GREAT!

she did not report to anyone and did not have a superior

Some people have a lotta nerve.

[aelfie.livejournal.com]

I think Cosby is the one who said:

My job is to kick them back into play.

Refering to his children as his wife is giving them a beatin' ('cause you know they can't sleep without their nightly beating)