Keep your name out of marketing databases and free yourself from unwanted mail.

Many people get far more paper coming in than they want or know what to do with, so the first step in managing paper is to reduce the amount that comes in. Start with your mail. Junk mail, which is still filling up many mailboxes and creating tons of waste and clutter, can be stopped, or at least reduced. Here are 3 ways to stop the deluge of junk flooding your mailbox:

1. Get your name off of junk mailing lists by going to the Direct Marketing Association’s website http://www.dmaconsumers.org/consumerassistance.html.
2. Call your credit card company and tell them not to share your name or your information with third parties. Do the same with your magazine subscriptions, utilities, and other organizations that send you mail.
3. Try to refrain from signing up for contests and other freebies, as these types of promotions frequently share names with junk mailers.

The goal is to try and have your name and information in as few databases as possible—the fewer companies that have your name, the less junk mail you’ll find in your mailbox.