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Blog.talktomel.com
ReduceMail.org
Simplify your life and reduce waste by unsubscribing from postal junk mail.
Simplify your life and reduce waste by unsubscribing from postal junk mail.
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Cruise lines send lots of junk mail, and they don't make it easy to find their Do Not Mail list. So here's your shortcut: the Marketing Subscriber Data Subject Request Form for Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises.
The form asks you to select among the three brands. Might as well select all to be safe. Then you can choose between Unsubscribe or Delete my data. Once again, might as well go for the nuclear option and choose delete.
Then you'll need to fill out basic details before reaching the Additional Information text box. To ensure you are removed from their postal mailing list and not just digital, you might write something like:
I wish to stop receiving mail from you. Please remove my postal mailing address from your mailing list.
Once you submit the form, you're not done yet! You will receive a confirmation email and you must scroll down and click the Confirm Email button. It's easy to miss, since the subject makes no mention of action required and the button is buried beneath 2 paragraphs that make no mention of it.
Within a few days, you should receive a confirmation email stating Your privacy-related request (Request ID: XXXX) has been completed along with a link to their privacy portal. You can safely ignore that button as you are now all set!
6.11.2025 13:00Jump Ship on Royal Caribbean's Junk MailIf you're on the mailing list for SPLC, chances are you receive a lot of junk mail from them. To make matters worse, their privacy policy explicitly states that they'll share your mailing address with other organizations.
Here's an excerpt from their privacy policy:
The SPLC makes its membership list available to reputable charities and businesses whose information we believe may be of interest to our members. Our ability to share your name with other entities will help build our supporter base. Sharing our list with others is the most cost-efficient way to find new supporters. We hope you agree. The option is yours. If you do not want your name used in this fashion, please let us know.
Given the sheer volume of unsolicited postal mail sent by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the fact that they are actively distributing your mailing address to other organizations, it's worth taking a few minutes to opt-out.
Various mail sent by SPLC
Luckily, SPLC makes it fairly simple. Head to their contact page and enter your mailing address exactly as written on the mail you receive. Then, in the description field, copy/paste the following:
I would like to opt-out of mailings from SPLC. Please remove my postal address from your mailing list.
I also request that you do not share my personal information with other organizations.
Thank youHit submit and you're all set!
You will first receive an automated email confirming that SPLC received your unsubscribe request. Then, you'll receive a more personalized response similar to this:
Just to let you know, your request has been updated. You will no longer receive mail from SPLC. I have made a special notation on your record so that your name will not be exchanged with other organizations. However, if your name is already on lists with other groups, the amount of mail you may receive from them due to our exchange will be limited and will soon end. We have an agreement with organizations that only permits them to mail individuals once. Please allow 4 - 6 weeks for this change to take effect.
And there you have it. SPLC will stop sending you mail and they will stop sharing your address.
💬 What was your experience with SPLC? Share in the comments below!
4.11.2025 06:15How to stop mail from the Southern Poverty Law CenterUSPS and White House officials unveiled the first set of electric vehicle charging stations in Atlanta, the first site of hundreds of sorting centers throughout the country that will power the nation’s largest EV fleet.
Electrification and modernization of the Postal Service’s fleet is part of a larger investment strategy (to the tune of $40 billion) to upgrade and improve the USPS processing, transportation, and delivery networks.
According to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, “The improvements we need to achieve in sustainability are an integral outgrowth of the broader modernization efforts we have undertaken through our 10-year Delivering for America plan.”
"As we transform our operating processes and invest in new automation, new technologies, and upgraded facilities and vehicles, we will generate significant efficiencies that reduce our costs, slash our carbon footprint and minimize waste," the postmaster general added.
John Podesta is the Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation. He was present at the ceremony and remarked that “In every neighborhood in America, people know their postal carrier and recognize the USPS vehicle driving down their street.” The new vehicles will help reduce air pollution and increase "the comfort and safety for the dedicated public servants who deliver our mail."
Brenda Mallory, who is the Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, commended the postal service for "leading by example" in delivering upon President Biden's Investing in America agenda.
The EV trucks will first get deployed in Georgia and then expand to other locations across the country in 2024. A major improvement over USPS's aging fleet is that these vehicles feature air conditioning and advanced safety technology.
These initial chargers are built by Siemens, and future projects will also use technology from ChargePoint and Blink. Likewise, the initial vehicles are "off the shelf" vehicles from Ford, rather than bespoke vehicles built for the postal service. Ford will provide at least 9,250 of the 21,000 off-the-shelf EVs the postal service plans to purchase.
In addition to improved comfort, safety, and emissions, these vehicles also provide nearly three times the cargo space compared to legacy postal trucks.
23.1.2024 22:38Check out the new electric postal vans and charging stationsAre you tired of receiving catalogs that clutter your mailbox and end up in the trash? It turns up a bunch of this mail comes from brands owned by 1-800-Flowers. Among the 19 brands they own, Harry & David in particular is known to send a fair amount of unwanted promotional mailers.
Luckily, 1-800-Flowers has an opt-out form on their website. Once you submit this form, you should stop receiving junk mail from the selected brands.
First, the site will ask you for your jurisdiction which in most cases is simply the state you live in. Next, there is a dropdown labeled I am. Select Prospective Customer / Direct Mail Recipient from the dropdown.
Once you make that selection, another field will appear labeled Opt Me Out of. From the dropdown, selection Direct Mail.
If you can find a Customer Number on the mailer, it can help the company track down your record, but if you can't find your customer it's alright to leave this field blank.
Finally, select the brand from the drop-down menu. There are 19 brands to choose from, and you may select as many brands as you like from the list:
After that you simply tick the legal checkbox giving third-party TrustArc permission to complete your request, then click the Submit button.
That's it! If you're ready to unsubscribe from 1-800-flowers, simply head to the form on their website to get started:
After six years of living a car-free lifestyle, I found myself in need of a vehicle while I was living in Asheville, North Carolina. Even though I moved there to be closer to nature, the reality is that much of the town lacks sidewalks and entire neighborhoods are disconnected from each other, so I caved in and decided to buy a car.
After much consideration, and despite urging from folks that I would need 4-wheel drive in the winter (I wouldn't), I decided to get a plug-in Prius. I think that plug-in hybrids are the best of both worlds: you can do all your errands on the 15-20 miles battery range, and you can fall back to the 50mpg engine for longer trips or when an EV charger is not available.
My first attempt at buying a car through Carvana's app failed. I still had a Louisiana drivers license, and they required a North Carolina license to sell the car to me in that state. However, I found myself caught in a bureaucratic Catch-22: I couldn't get a North Carolina license without insurance, and I couldn't get insurance without a car, and of course I couldn't get the car without the license. I finally figured out my brother could add me to his insurance temporarily, and a DMV visit later I was free from the red tape.
The evening that my car was scheduled to arrive on a Carvana carrier was exciting — I waited by the window as the truck pulled up. The delivery person handed me the keys for a test ride, and I was halfway around the block when I noticed a piece of metal sticking out of the rear tire. This was both dangerous and surprising considering Carvana advertises a thorough 150-point inspection before delivering the car. The delivery guy said this piece of metal must have gotten stuck into the tire between the inspection and loading up the car on the carrier.
Disappointed, I rejected the delivery and my car was put back on the truck and carted away. Several days later the car was returned to me, back tire fixed, and I signed off on the delivery and the car was all mine.
Now I had my car, but not my license plate. Just like when you buy a car the traditional way, it comes with a temporary plate. Carvana texted me that they would handle all the paperwork and registration, so I put it out of mind.
Congrats! The registration process has now begun. Carvana will finish our part in about 2 weeks. We will submit all paperwork to the DMV and they will issue your registration.
With my temporary license set to expire on December 31, I received a call on December 30 that they needed some additional information from me. I asked the person on the phone how they would get the license plate in the next 24 hours given that it was New Years Eve and the temporary plate was about to expire. The agent sounded flustered, and said no one else was in the office due to the holiday, and that she would have to get back to me.
Predictably, Carvana failed to register my car in time. Instead, they provided me with a voucher for a rental car. When I got to the rental car location, they were out of cars. I notified Carvana and received no response. Finally a couple days later I was able to rent the car. Meanwhile, I received radio silence from Carvana for at least 10 days, despite repeated emails to them asking for an update on the registration.
Given the repeated failures from Carvana, I opted to do the registration myself. It was quite easy to handle, and if I were to buy a car again from Carvana I would opt out of their registration service and do it myself.
My experience with the Plug-In Prius was excellent. I definitely recommend a plug-in hybrid to anyone considering a car. Especially when you factor in the materials of questionable sources that must go into EV batteries. If a smaller battery can cover 90% of your trips, then there's little reason to lug a big heavy battery with you everywhere you go.
The car did start to show discoloration in a few places where presumably the previous owner made some repairs and repainted. I don't believe this was disclosed in the sale, and it was only apparent after a few months on the road.
When I relocated to San Francisco a few years later, I was excited to be car-free once again. While I probably could have shopped around for the best price I could get, I decided to sell the car back to Carvana so that I would have the end-to-end experience.
The sale process was a little more straightforward since Carvana has one of their car vending machines in Daly City, just south of San Francisco. I scheduled an appointment online and showed up on time. When I entered the vending machine building, there was no staff in sight.
After waiting about half an hour, I was looking up a phone number to call when finally an employee showed up. I waited for the other customers in the lobby to receive their new car—they were given the wrong car at first, which delayed the process—and finally the agent was ready to assist me forty minutes after my appointment time.
Once I had the agent's attention, the rest of the process was easy. The agent is also a notary, so I just had to sign some documents on the highlighted line and then I walked out and took BART (the subway) home. The funds were deposited into my account via ACH that evening.
While it was nice to be able to purchase a used car through an app, and the car itself served me well for the time that I needed it, the buying and selling process certainly had some hiccups. This may have been easier than doing it the traditional way, but I don't have another experience to compare it to.
6.12.2023 00:38Buying, and then selling, a plug-in hybrid on CarvanaAs I mapped out my drive from New Orleans to San Francisco, I was excited to see that Tempe, Arizona not far off the I-10 route. Why would Tempe be an exciting stop on the way to California? Because I've been following closely the construction of Culdesac, a new car-free community.
As luck would have it, they just started offering short-term rentals a couple weeks before my roadtrip. After confirming that the rentals are pet-friendly, I booked us for two nights.
As we pulled into the visitor parking lot and plugged in our Prius, we were immediately impressed by the pristine white buildings and colorful murals.
While the neighborhood was quite empty on this 100° day, signs of future life were evident. A row of small shops had Coming Soon signs posted on each window, with opening dates ranging in the following months. One business was already open with some foot traffic—a botox clinic of all things.
Having spent the prior days in our packed Prius, my partner was excited to check out the gym. It's a beautiful, open, and airy space that is bright day and night.
When evening came along, we looked for places to eat. The only option within reasonable walking distance was the on-site restaurant. The service and food were great, but it was a bit high-end to be considered an everyday stop. I would have expected a more varied menu with salads and sandwiches and such. Nonetheless, we enjoyed our fancy dinner and drink with a fancy, cactus-etched ice cube.
In the morning, we searched for a café, but found nothing. It happened to be Saturday and the restaurant was open for brunch, so we went right when it opened and were the only patrons. We had some marinated coffee that was delicious, but had it been a weekday we would have been stuck with the coffee machine in our rental.
I'm sure a coffee shop and more food options will be coming soon as the area is still very much under construction. We quickly ran out of places to explore, as we were boxed in with construction barriers and unfinished walkways.
Seeing that we ran out of nooks and alleys to explore on-site, and we had an energetic dog tired of being stuck in our car, we explored the broader neighborhood. Much like Culdesac itself, the area is full of construction. We could not walk far before encountering a closed-off sidewalk.
As the creator of Mel, the missing unsubscribe button for postal mail, I was curious about the mailbox situation at Culdesac. I found this row of mailboxes:
Overall, our visit was underwhelming, simply because we came too early. I would be interested in visiting again in a few years to see the progress, because the vision is certainly a worthwhile pursuit.
29.11.2023 23:30A tour of Culdesac: the car-free community in Tempe, ArizonaNearly every household in the United States receives junk mail from Save.com. In fact, The New York Times reported back in 2007 that 90% of American households received Redplum, which was rebranded to Retailmenot Everyday and then rebranded again to Save.com.
Are you looking to opt-out of these promotional mailers? Save.com makes unsubscribing surprisingly easy. All you have to do is enter your mailing address on their Delivery Options form. After six weeks, you should stop receiving mail from Save.com
Since the mailers are addressed to "Resident" rather than to any particular person, there's no need to enter your name on the form.
22.10.2023 21:45How to unsubscribe from Save.com, Redplum, and RetailMeNotIf you have a membership to this warehouse club and you care about your privacy, then read on for a few simple steps you can take.
Costco has a cult following, so its members are often surprised to learn that the company sells their data. It's all spelled out right in their privacy policy – more on that below. The headline is that you can stop Costco from selling your data to third parties just by filling out a form. Once you submit the form, the site claims that "you will be opted out of having your personal information sold or shared to third parties by Costco."
Complete the Privacy Choices form to make Costco stop selling your data.
So, what does Costco do with your data, exactly? According to their privacy policy, they sell Identifiers (which includes your name, phone number, address, email address, social media handles, account information, and membership number) and Commercial Information (which includes order history, billing and payment records, transaction and purchase information) to other companies they consider "advertising, marketing, and analytics providers." They will also sell this information "to suppliers for marketing purposes."
Have you ever filled out a survey for Costco? They sell that data, too.
Luckily, it's easy to opt-out of Costco selling your information – just complete the opt-out form.
Do you receive promotional postcards from Costco that just end up in the trash? You can opt-out of mailings from Costco by logging into your online account unchecking the boxes on the Communication Preferences section.
While the steps above are useful if you are a Costco member and want to stop receiving mail addressed to yourself, this process won't work if you are trying to stop mail for someone who doesn't live at your address. To stop receiving mail for someone else you will need to get in touch with a representative from Costco using their online chat feature.
You can start off by sending a message like "I am receiving mail for someone who no longer lives at my address." The chatbot will respond with some unhelpful articles, and then you can respond with the word agent to be connected with a real person who can help you.
In my experience, I had to wait about 4 minutes before getting connected with an agent. At that point, you can send a message to the agent like this:
I am receiving mail for someone who no longer lives at this address. Please remove this address from your mailing list.
[Name]
[Address]
[City, state, ZIP]
After another 3 minutes, the agent confirmed my request.
If you're on a journey towards zero waste, you may have run into the conundrum of how to handle gifting. For some of us, family and cultural traditions mean that opting out of gift exchanges might result in less time with people we care about—or worse, arguments that can negatively impact our relationships.
If you're looking to avoid such conflicts while keeping true to your sustainable lifestyle, then read on for some ideas for guilt-free gifts.
Experience gifting has become somewhat normalized lately, especially as people crave in-person activities following years of social distancing. Actually finding giftable experiences can be challenging, however—they tend to be local, and it is not always clear if a local business sells gift cards.
To help solve this problem, the folks at Square—the point of sale system that has exploded in popularity among local merchants—have created a searchable database of local gift cards. They call it Give & Get Local.
A couple caveats: make sure the business is still operating! When I entered my address in the location box, I noted many businesses listed that have not been operational for years. Obviously you wouldn't want to give someone a gift card to a restaurant or salon that no longer exists. Also, this site only lists businesses that use Square's gift card platform. It may be worth also searching Google Maps for local businesses and checking their websites one-by-one.
Some San Francisco-based gift cards on my wishlist: Rainbow Grocery, Plant Therapy, Sightglass Coffee, Burma Superstar, and Buffalo Exchange.
We live in an age when media consumption is mostly digital – but far from free. Consider giving subscription credit to streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, Disney Plus, and Spotify to bring someone joy over several months without producing any waste.
To take it one step further, gift a service that actually reduces waste. I recently gave my brother a subscription to Ridwell so he can easily dispose of plastics, fabrics, and e-waste. There's also Mel, which for just $25 will help your loved one eliminate junk mail.
Also consider transportation-based gift cards, such as Lyft, your local bike share or scooter rental service, and even a transit card. These will help the recipient have more experiences while using their car less.
Dedicating a tree makes a great gift for any age. While there are options to plant trees cheaply as part of large projects—Arbor Day prices gifted trees at just $2 each—I find it more sentimental to plant a tree where the person lives. In my hometown of New Orleans, a tree is priced at $175 through SOUL.
An alternative approach is to gift offsets. Wren is a tech product that helps people calculate their footprint and then support and track programs to offset their impact. This includes planting trees, among other approaches.
Giving someone a gently used book is not only the cheapest option—but can also be the most sentimental. When you gift someone a new book that you haven't read, you are at best matching that book to the recipient based on the cover. However, when you give someone a used book, you are demonstrating that you spent the time reading the book and understanding its concepts or stories, and felt that the recipient would also get value out of it. It's quite a personal gesture.
Similar to gift trees, many non-profit organizations provide a method of making a donation on behalf of someone else. While these are often made in memory of someone who has passed away, or in celebration of birth, why not expand this practice throughout one's life?
If you are not sure which organization the recipient would like to support, you can give a charity gift card through Charityvest, operator of donor-advised funds (DAFs). The recipient will need to create an account and then they can select which non-profit organization to donate to.
Embracing a zero-waste lifestyle doesn't mean abandoning the joy and tradition of gifting. By exploring thoughtful alternatives like local experiences, services, and sustainable gifts, we can uphold our eco-conscious values without compromising on the warmth of giving.
Whether it's a subscription service that lessens waste or a pre-loved book that carries a personal touch, it's the intent and care behind the gift that truly counts. This festive season, let's redefine gifting in a way that cherishes our loved ones and our planet alike.
20.10.2023 21:14Redefining Gifting: Zero-Waste Ideas for the Eco-ConsciousDid you know that when you swipe or tap your credit card at a local small business, the shop owner pays about 3%? Specifically, Square charges merchants 2.6% + 10¢ for "card present" transactions—which includes Apple Pay / Google Pay—and higher rates if the card number is manually entered.
Because of rising transaction costs, local shops are increasingly asking customers to pay with cash – or otherwise face a surcharge.
When you pay with cash, that 3% provides the merchant with much-needed revenue to cover overhead such as rent and payroll.
It can be tempting to use a credit card when they reward you with free flights and hotel stays – but keep in mind the cost to your local economy. Not only does the merchant loose that extra revenue, but those fees are leaving your local economy entirely and most likely going to a multi-national corporation. A local business, on the other hand, reinvests this revenue in the local economy, in what economists refer to a Local Recirculation of Revenue.
While it may not always be convenient to pay with cash, it's worth thinking twice before swiping or tapping your card.
19.10.2023 17:03How paying with cash benefits your local economy
