Reduce marketing mail at your first apartment

Sort the mailbox into three lists

1. Read only the outside of ordinary advertising. Leave anything personal or official sealed if it names someone else.
2. For ads with your name, write down the sender, the name and address exactly as printed, and any label code. Use the contact or preferences page on the sender's official website and ask it to stop printed marketing to you at this address.
3. For Resident or unit ads, note the sender and ask whether it offers a way to stop mail addressed that way. If it offers no option, recycling the piece is a reasonable choice.
4. For earlier tenants, do not ask senders to change anything on their behalf. If you know how to reach the person, you can pass along the sender names and let them decide.
5. If you share the unit, agree on who will contact each sender before anyone does.

Forwarding is a separate service

A USPS change of address manages where mail is delivered. An advertiser's mailing preference is a separate record, and a marketing opt-out cannot change a delivery address. Some advertisers may hold your new apartment and your former address as separate records, so ask each named sender which address it is updating.

Start with your most frequent senders

Choose the three named senders that mail you most often and send those requests first. Mark the date on the worksheet so you can tell whether a later mailer comes from a sender you already contacted.

Official source

• USPS: Standard Forward Mail