Live With Less Catalogs and Ads – Day 4
Look through your magazine rack. I am not talking about magazines. I am talking about catalogs from companies and businesses, like JCPenney, Pottery Barn, Lehman’s, etc. The companies that send you catalogs or ads, with their sole purpose being to get you to buy their products. How many do you have? How many are sitting around your home?
Question: How often do you actually buy something from those specific catalogs? Do you look at the ads in the Sunday paper? Do you save every single one of them “just in case” you go to that store that week?
Catalogs and ads are the best ploy to get people to give into their instant gratification needs. I can be one of them. Can I just say Black Friday? How many of us look at those ads and think “I need that” when really, we don’t? They only feed into our consumerism, need to have it all, mentality.
I personally do not receive many catalogs or ads, in fact I am not sure I receive any at this time, except our town’s weekly “Reminder” which includes the grocery ads each week. Though, I rarely look at them because I usually only shop at Aldi, which makes my grocery shopping easy and cheap. Now, on the other hand, my husband has a Cabela’s credit card for work and my goodness, we receive multiple catalogs a week. I can only imagine how much that company spends on catalogs and ads, and thankfully their ploy to get my husband to buy their stuff “instantly” isn’t working!
Nevertheless, I still sometimes find myself receiving catalogs and ads from companies I don’t care to receive them from (especially if you sign up for their emails or to get a one-day coupon). Here are some ideas to:
Live With Less Catalogs and Ads
1. Look over your counters, coffee table, magazine racks, and night stands. Take out of all of the catalogs and ads you find lying around the house.
2. Make a list of them. ALL of them.
3. Ask yourself: do I really need all of these? Am I able to search the companies website online for the same products? Is it really worth the time I spend looking at these catalogs, only dreaming of what I will probably never buy?
4. Unsubscribe. The amount of time it will take you to either go online to find the number or email address to let them know you want to unsubscribe, will probably be shorter than the time it will take you to look through the next issue or ad. It may take an extra 3 minutes to take the action, but it will be worth HOURS of your time later. Unsubscribing is the best way you can make the most of your time and live with fewer catalogs and ads.
5. If you receive ads in the mail that you really have no control over, don’t waste any time – dump them straight into the recycling bin. Then you are not tempted to even look.
Just a few helpful hints in helping you clear the catalog and ad clutter in your home!
