Keep advertising changes separate during temporary housing
Give a temporary address only to the organizations that must reach you during the stay. Keep a second list for optional advertising choices, and decide those once you know your next lasting address.
Build two lists before you change anything
- Write down your arrival date and expected departure date at the temporary place, marking either as an estimate if it is not fixed.
- List the organizations that must reach you during the stay, such as an employer, a benefits office or a landlord. Update each through its own official route.
- Decide whether USPS forwarding fits your situation. USPS has separate address-change processes for individuals, families, businesses and certain special cases.
- List the stores and charities that send advertising. Mark each one as keep sending, pause, or decide later, and do not give these senders the temporary address.
Keep the host's mail and records out of it
A temporary address shared with marketers can stay in their records after you leave, which means more corrections later. Holding back optional changes keeps the list of records to fix short.
If you are staying with a host, never open their mail and do not ask senders to change their records. Keep invoices, legal notices and benefit letters off this worksheet; it is for tracking decisions only.
Private worksheet for temporary housing
Example for your own use. Replace the bracketed details and review what you share.
Set a decision date for the optional list
Check that nobody on the essential list still has only your old address. Then write a decision date next to each optional sender, such as the week you expect to move into a lasting home.
Official source
Keep personal records with the organization that handles them
Junk Mail Magic is for ordinary unwanted advertising. Use the official contact route in this guide for records, account changes or someone else’s correspondence.
Compare removal routes