Unsubscribe from as many mailing lists as possible. Doing so reduces both paper and electronic clutter, cuts down on daily decisions, saves time, and minimizes the effort needed to organize your mail.

Here’s a broad list of the kinds of mailing lists someone can unsubscribe from (both paper and digital):

Paper Mail (Postal Mail):

• Catalogs (clothing, home goods, tools, hobbies, etc.)

• Charity solicitations (fundraising letters, donation requests)

• Political mailings (campaign flyers, party newsletters)

• Credit card offers

• Insurance offers

• Magazine subscriptions

• Store promotions and coupons

• Local business mailers (restaurants, gyms, salons, real estate agents)

Email Mailings:

• Retail/store newsletters

• Promotional offers/discounts

• Charity fundraising appeals

• Political campaigns

• Subscription services (newsletters, online magazines, podcasts)

• Travel deals (airlines, hotels, booking sites)

• Social media notifications (friend requests, updates, reminders)

Text Messages / Calls:

• Retail promotions (coupons, flash sales)

• Political texts

• Charity donation requests

• Survey companies

• Subscription alerts (shipping updates, appointment reminders you no longer want)

Some of these can be stopped by directly unsubscribing, others through services like DMAchoice.org (for U.S. paper junk mail), the National Do Not Mail List, the FTC Do Not Call Registry, or simply by contacting the sender.